SD-46: Albany County Dems Refuse to Endorse Sen. Breslin

With seven terms under his belt, yet facing two primary challengers in as many years, Senator Neil D. Breslin has been denied the automatic endorsement of the Albany County Democratic Committee, according to TU Local Politics:

Albany Dems’ review panel withholds backing in Senate race

April 20, 2010 at 1:32 pm by Jordan Carleo-Evangelist

The executive committee of the Albany County Democratic Committee has been called to meet Thursday night, just five days after the party’s candidate review panel declined to endorse seven-term-incumbent state Sen. Neil Breslin.

The review panel, in fact, declined to endorse any of the three Democrats — Breslin, Luke Martland and Tim Carney — who interviewed with it, passing the decision instead onto the executive committee, according to two people with knowledge of the committee’s action.

There’s about 500 words in Carleo-Evangelist's story, with plenty of quotes from Albany County Committeemen telling us not to read too much into it. I’ll provide some more choice quotations below the fold, but I rather like the way the Times Union journalist closes his post:

Cue rampant speculation.

Cross-posted on The Albany Project

After the profound revelation that Neil Breslin isn’t getting the auto-endorsement, the story immediately goes on to report that we shouldn’t really be bothered:

Review Committee Chairman Shawn Morse, who is also one of two deputy majority leaders in the Albany County Legislature, later confirmed the events but called it “not uncommon” and urged people not read too much into it.
::
“Our recommendation was to make no recommendation at this point, which really was, I think, the fairest way to do it,” said Morse, adding that the committee wanted to ensure that the executive committee had all the information it needs to make its choice.

Apparently, this story isn’t so much about the Breslin family’s falling support in Albany County, but more about the shiny new leadership in the County Democratic Party.

Morse said the committee’s move is evidence of the new openness that party Chairman Dan McCoy has tried to usher in, trying to dispel for good notions of closed doors and backroom deals.

Well I’d like to know where
You got the notion!

Later on in the story, it seems the County Party is more interested in just dispelling the notions as opposed to the closed doors and backroom deals themselves. Why would I think that?

One member of the executive committee assured Local Politics that Breslin “has the votes” to win the support of the executive committee.

So what are Albany County Democrats to think? Is all of this merely posturing to keep up appearances of an open process, or is it really, really about finding the right candidate to represent Albany County in the New York State Senate? Does this have anything to do with the incredible anti-incumbent sentiment statewide and does anybody have any idea what’s really going to happen when the executive committee meets Thursday?

And while he acknowledged that the topic of this year’s strong anti-incumbent sentiment did come up at the meeting, Morse also cautioned that the non-vote was not necessarily a referendum on Breslin, who he called a longtime, loyal Democrat.
::
Matthew Clyne, Democratic chairman in Breslin’s hometown of Bethlehem, declined to discuss the matter Monday. Breslin, whose family carries heavy political clout in Albany County (think County Executive Michael Breslin and Judge Thomas Breslin), said he was unaware of the committee’s action — or lack thereof.
::
Morse said about 17 of the committee’s 35 members were present. And at least two observers questioned whether traditional Breslin opponents were able to sway the half of the review committee that did attend.

McCoy could not immediately be reached for comment today.

Emphasis mine –SP

The big question I asked myself after the Luke Martland campaign brought this to my attention in a short press release today was: Is this a big story or a non-story?

It didn’t take me long to get an answer. When considering the incredible power Neil Breslin has on account of his name alone, this is a big story. If Breslin was indeed as reliable and loyal a liberal Democrat as the committeemen (and some TAPpers) might suggest, then his endorsement should have been locked up like it was the last time Breslin faced two primary challengers two years ago. Hell, back then, the committee actions were barely reported on the subject because it was such a given.

Nowadays, not so much. And just before that great line, “Cue rampant speculation,” Jordan Carleo-Evangelist gives us the real reason why this is a big story: it could very well get bigger.

Even if that’s the case, the endorsement of the party could come down to a full-scale, weighted floor vote of the 600-plus committee members at the party’s May 20 spring meeting — a la the 2008 vote to support Phil Steck in the 21st Congressional District.

In case you don’t remember that one, please be reassured that the political science term for that vote was “a doozy.” The difference here is that in NY-21 2008, Albany County was merely the largest county in a multi-county Congressional district in a open race without an incumbent.

This time around, Albany County is the district and we’re talking about a 14-year incumbent who’s brother has been the County Executive for fifteen years and who’s other brother has been the County Judge even longer. Oh, and we’re talking about the State Senator who had the gavel in his hands on the day of the 2009 Senate Coup.

My speculation is this: If the 2008 primary results might have revealed a chink in Senator Breslin’s plated armor...

...then today’s news has revealed that perhaps he’s been wearing studded leather all along.

Stay tuned as this race begins to take shape in the coming weeks and months. I’ve a hunch it may become one of the more interesting in New York State this year.

Speculate away!

SD-46: Luke Martland Calls Out Sen. "Flip Flop" Breslin on Budget, Education

Cross-posted to the front-page of

A week ago, I reported that State Senator Neil D. Breslin (D-Albany County) would face his second primary challenge in as many years from the same number of opponents.

Today, one of his opponents, Luke Martland, has sent out the first press release recieved by this blogger since signing up to recieve notifactions from Senator Breslin  himself, candidate Martland, and the other guy running, Tim Carney.

The release, quoted in it's entirety below, calls out Senator Breslin for both flip-flopping on his promise to not cut education and for making the actual cuts to education spending.  The only changes I make are hard returns for ease of reading and adding some italics for emphasis where appropriate:

Martland Blasts Breslin for Flip Flopping on Education Budget Cuts

(Albany)  -  State Senate candidate Luke Martland today blasted State Senator Neil Breslin (D-46th) for “Flip Flopping” on a commitment Breslin made to stop cuts to school aid. 

On March 8th Breslin signed a letter to Governor Paterson stating that he would not vote for any cuts to education.  Only two weeks later, on March 22nd, he voted for a budget that cut school aid by $1.4 billion.

When asked by CBS 6 News “what changed” he responded “…ahhh, I’m on a team, and the team is the Democratic Conference and uh … there needs to be cuts in education and I think that was the starting point of me saying no cuts.”  He also said his letter was merely an “overstatement” designed to establish a “bargaining position.”

New York Post State Editor and CBS6 commentator Fred Dicker said that Breslin’s Flip Flop is an outright lie. Dicker said Breslin apparently thinks “…that he can just lie outright, and that’s just a political strategy .... In fact that is what is going on we are being lied to all the time..”

“Neil Breslin voted for devastating cuts in school aid because his bosses in New York City told him to,” said Martland, who graduated from Albany High School and is challenging Breslin in the Democratic primary. “The party bosses say “flip” and Breslin flips, they say “flop” and he flops. This shows why Neil Breslin is one of the reasons that New York State government is dysfunctional and ethically corrupt. It is time for a change in Albany.”

“If I had signed a letter saying I could not support massive cuts to school aid, I would not have broken my promise and then voted for the cuts,” said Martland, whose mother taught at the Academy of the Holy Names and whose father was a professor at UAlbany.  “I’m not a flip flopper, I’m a fighter,” said Martland, who has spent his career in criminal justice as an assistant district attorney, assistant attorney general and working for the Department of Criminal Justice Services.  

Luke Martland’s stand on issues can be found at

The presser actually links to Martland's main page; here's the link to the issues page itself.  Martland has broken things down to four issues (Ethics, State Debt, Jobs, and Taxes) as well as Nine Promises all relating to reforming the way the Senate operates (none of which mention having to change any rules in order to do so).

To be fair, you can check out Breslin's campaign site as well.   But at the time of this writing, it's just a patriotic banner with the simplistic slogan "Our community, our values, our voice, our Senator" that says "Thank you" below.

This Democratic primary voter says "Thanks, but no thanks" here, and is glad to see at least one primary opponent getting things started this heavy, this early.

Coffee Party Brewing in the Empire State

In less than two months, the Coffee Party movement has grown to over 100,000 members nationwide. And in three days, National Coffee House Day will officially kick off the movement to reform our political culture in all fifty states.

New York is playing its part in about a dozen fledgling organizations that will meet in the afternoon of Saturday, March 13, 2010. From Downstate to Upstate, the Empire State is set to become one of the hot spots of the movement to cool down the rhetoric so we can once again speak to our common goals as Americans.

I organized the Albany County Coffee Party to make sure Albany itself wasn't left out; within a matter of days, one for the city of Albany sprouted up as well.

But this movement is about more than just one blogger, or one city. A complete list of all the New York Coffee Parties are linked to below the fold. And since this movement is bigger than just one state as well, then if you've just heard of the Coffee Party Movement or are not really sure what we'll be doing on Saturday or what we're about, the video directly below makes it clear and simple:



Looks like fun, huh? Click "There's more" to see if there's a New York Coffee Party organizing in your neck of the woods.

(Cross-posted on the front-page of The Albany Project and to the diaries on  Daily Kos.)

The Coffee Party is currently in start-up phase as a truly bottom-up grassroots, non-partisan, non-affilliated movement. It's an organization that seeks to be more than the sum of its parts by the time the Kickoff Coffee Houses are done with and the March 27 (or earlier!)follow-up meetings are planned in even more locations.


So while there isn't a statewide New York Coffee Party yet, part of the goal is to go super-local as well as super-national. Part of what we'll talk about at all the Coffee Parties linked to below will be how we get more conversations started in smaller towns and neighborhoods as well as how to link them up into multi-town-county-and-state levels of organization.

This is how we will later be able to take the common ground we discover on Saturday in our own favorite coffee houses directly to Congress to talk some common sense into our representatives in preparation for a Coffee With Congress from March 27 to April 11.

But here's where you, fellow New Yorker, can join us on the ground floor this very weekend on Saturday, March 13th, and in the days to come:

NEW YORK STATE COFFEE PARTY NATIONAL KICKOFF

All Coffee Parties to take place Saturday, March 13th, 2010 unless otherwise specified.

NEW YORK CITY METROPOLITAN AREA

Coffee Party near Times Square at Le Monde Gourmet Deli, 38 West 48th St., Manhattan at 12 Noon. Questions? CoffeePartyNYC@11372.info -or- 617-421-0100.

Coffee Party in Union Square at 7:30 PM Tuesday, March 16 at Food Depot, 138 5th Ave at 19th St., upstairs in seating area.

Coffee Party in SoHo at the Bleeker Bar next to NoHo Star at 333 Lafayette Street at 12 Noon.

Coffee Party in Forest Hills, Queens at Manor Oktoberfest, 7311 Yellowstone Blvd., Forest Hills, NY, at 12 Noon.

Coffee Party in Mineola at Mo'joe, 95 Mineola Boulevard at 12 Noon.

Coffee Party in Westeshter County at 191 North Highland Avenue, Ossining, at 2:00 PM.

THE HUDSON VALLEY & CAPITAL REGION

Coffee Party in Albany County at Uncommon Grounds, 1235 Western Avenue, Albany at 2:00 PM.

Coffee Party in Downtown Albany at the Starbucks, 10 North Pearl Street at 12 Noon.

Coffee Party in Red Hook at Taste Budd's on 40 West Market Street at 9:00 AM.

Fair Trade Coffee in Poughkeepsie at Woman's Work, 2600 South Road at 12 Noon.

Coffee Party in the Hudson Valley at the Crafted Kup, 44 Raymond Avenue, Poughkeepsie at 10:00 AM.

CENTRAL AND WESTERN NEW YORK AREA

Coffee Party in Rochester at the Bagel Bin Cafe, 2600 Elmwood Avenue at 12 Noon.

Coffee Party in Amherst on Friday, March 12 at 6:00 PM at Tim Hortons, 3394 Sheridan Drive.

Coffee Party in Jamestown at 2:00 PM at Labyrinth Press Company, 12 East 4th Street.

Coffee Party of Northen Chautauqua County at Central Station Restaurant at 332 Central Avenue, Dunkirk at 10 AM.

The events above are just a handful of the over 250 Coffee Parties that will be taking place across the country. So if you're of the Jersey or Connecticut part of the Tri-State Area, or if you're a Green Mountain Boy, you can just head to Coffee Party USA to find out where these are going on closets to you. There you can join the thousands of ordinary Americans taking the first step to stop being fed up with politics and take charge of our government.

All this from one Facebook comment in January. This is democracy in action.

See you there!