Count the State Senate Seats needed...

In the 35th State Seante District Andrea Stewart-Cousins will probably beat Senator Nick Spano

In the 24th State Senate District Mathew Titone beating Citycouncilman Lanza for Senator Marchi's open seat.

In the 2nd State Senate District Brooke Ellison could beat Senator John Flanagan

In the 47th State Senate District John Murad winning the district that Ray Meier is vacating in his run for congress (which he is losing by the account of the public polls and non-partisan Congressional Quarterly's opinion).

In the 11th State Senate District Nora Marino has 3 to 1 Democrats for every Republican registered in her district as she runs against Padavan.

I am sure I've missed a couple of other susceptible districts. The Democrats only need four more seats to win control of the State Senate, and I am sure the next election after the Democrats take control of the senate you will see about a dozen Republican State Senators will retire because they will not want to be in the minority. The Democratic takeover of the state senate will certainly be before the redistricting for the 2012 election which will cause a critical mass of seats change hands to the Democrats. After the 2012 elections the State Seante could very well have 43 seats and look like the state assembly today with veto proof majority.

The Chief Reports: Can't Keep Both Salaries: Say City Reservists Repaying Too Much

Can't Keep Both Salaries

Say City Reservists Repaying Too Much

By
REUVEN BLAU
The state should create a uniform differential pay program to accommodate city workers returning from military duty who are now required to pay back as much as $100,000 of their supplemental earnings, a Democratic candidate for State Assembly said last week

"These are people who are literally defending the city against future terrorist attacks," said Rory Lancman, who's running to succeed Queens Assemblyman
Brian M. McLaughlin, who is not seeking a new term. "We are not asking for them to get free money. All we are asking for is that the city calculate the money fairly, so that these guys are not paying more
than they received."

PBA,
Council Supporters

The proposal has also been championed by City Council Members Michael E. McMahon and Joseph P. Addabbo Jr. as well as the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association.

The Bloomberg administration, however, has traditionally opposed legislation that would add to the city's already burgeoning pension and labor costs.

"It's a very small sum in the scheme of things to protect this city," Mr. Lancman countered. "We are not talking about more than a couple of thousand city workers. It's not going to be more than a few million dollars."

State statute requires every locality to continue to pay up to 30 days a year to workers who perform ordinary National Guard and Reserve military service. After Sept. 11, 2001, that period was extended to 60 days for employees called up in connection with the terrorist attacks.

The state Department of Civil Service provides differential pay for state workers called to duty, who must choose between receiving their military or state salaries. The state determines the employee's total military pay, which includes a housing and food allowance, and then adjusts and supplements the worker's periodic paycheck so that the combined pay equals their normal civilian salary.

City
Staff Must Repay

City workers, however, are required to repay the lesser of the two salaries upon returning from military service. The Department of Citywide Administrative Services has also asked that the workers repay military housing, food, and hazardous duty allowances."The way the city is calculating how much these guys owe is based on gross pay as opposed to net pay," Mr. Lancman added. "The city is actually asking them to pay back more than they receive. That's ridiculous."

Kristen Zach, Councilman McMahon's Deputy Chief of Staff, said that her Police Officer husband returned from a year of military service in 2002 but only recently received a letter from DCAS asking for the money to be returned.

"It was a huge surprise," she remarked, noting that they owe $37,000 according to the city's calculations. "Now we have to figure out what to do. A lot of people were lulled into a false sense of hope."

Saved But Then Spent

Most officers initially saved the extra wages but then spent the money, she said. "Because there was no word for four years, people didn't really expect they were going to have to pay back," she commented. "Other cities such as Philly and Los Angeles have cancelled the debt." Most of the officers, she continued, aren't expecting the Bloomberg administration to erase the debt. "Nobody is saying we shouldn't have to pay anything back," she added. "It's just not reasonable the way the city is calculating payments."

Council Member McMahon has drafted a resolution urging the Bloomberg administration to change the way the city has estimated what employees owe. "It's a way to encourage the Mayor to do the right thing," Ms. Zach said. A mayoral spokesman declined to comment on the proposal, noting that it has not yet been drafted.

According to an internal DCAS memo, there have been 1,624 city workers called to active duty since Sept. 11, 2001. The departments most affected and the numbers of reservists in each are: Police Department, 988; Fire Department, 172; Correction Department, 149; Sanitation Department, 65; and Human Resources Administration, 34.

Sanitation
Faster to Notify

Agencies have established their repayment plans differently, the document noted. For instance, the Sanitation Department has been notifying employees of their obligation to pay back the money shortly after the workers return from service.

The NYPD, however, has only recently begun sending letters to members telling them about the amounts that they owe, the memo acknowledged. "The first letters went to approximately 100 individuals who returned from military duty from 2001 through September 2002," the DCAS document noted. "The NYPD expects to issue letters at a later point to those individuals who returned from leave in more recent years."

Because of the delay, many of the officers have already retired, Mr. Lancman pointed out. Those officers have been ordered to pay the money in full within 30 days. In contrast, current employees are required to give no more than 10 percent of their biweekly civilian salary towards repayment. "When they came back, the city was going to let it slide," the Assembly candidate asserted. "You can't retire, because the day you retire you are going to owe the whole thing."

Not a Crowd-Pleaser

The DCAS memo also noted the negative media attention the issue had been attracting since the notification letters were mailed. DCAS Director of Communications Mark Daly advised city officials that the matter "appeared in at least two news reports and was the subject of a call to the Mayor's radio show."

Mr. Addabbo, who chairs the Civil Service and Labor Committee, said that he will hold a hearing on the matter in early fall. "The issue has to be paid attention to," he remarked in an Aug. 15 phone interview. "So many of our city workers are being hit with a severe financial burden." Mr. Lancman's broader proposal is in its nascent stages. He is pitted against Morshed Alam, who is running as a Democrat and a Republican, in the Sept. 12 primary election. Mr. Alam is also a member of District Council 37's Civil Service Technical Guild Local 375.

But Mr. Lancman is quick to point out that Mr. Alam's own local has refused to endorse him, despite his gaining the backing of DC 37. Mr. Lancman, who political pundits view as the favorite, has been endorsed by many elected officials and has broad labor support, including
that of the United Federation of Teachers and the DC 37 Retirees' Association.

NY Post Reports: Morshed Alam's 'No-Show' Nonprofit

August 21, 2006 -- A nonprofit run by an Assembly candidate out of his Queens home cancelled its city contract for immigration and youth services after officials paid a surprise visit and found "no discernable attendance," The Post has learned.

The American Bangladesh Friendship Association notified the city's Department of Youth and Community Development that it had decided on Jan. 25 to halt a $16,000 contract begun on July 1, 2005, for immigration referral and youth services.

Two days earlier, at 7 p.m., two DYCD officials made an unannounced visit to the program, located in the basement of a private house at 169-08 Grand Central Parkway.

"The visit noted no discernable attendance and/or registration records," Timothy Johnson, DYCD's director of discretionary contracts, wrote in a Feb. 1 memo.

The executive director of American Bangladesh Friendship Association at the time was Morshed Alam, who is running for the Assembly seat vacated by Brian McLaughlin, the labor leader under investigation for allegedly helping rig a city electrical contract.

Alam told The Post that his group has since disbanded because "a lot of people have moved from the neighborhood" and attendance at its programs had diminished.

The city paid the organization $10,000 of the $16,000 due on the contract - including $4,200 in rent to Alam and his wife, the property owners, between July 1, 2005 and Jan. 31, 2006.

That's not allowed.

"That was a misunderstanding," said Alam. "We didn't realize it was a conflict. That was a place we were using for a long, long time. When we had the contract, they didn't say anything."

Last week, Alam said, DYCD officials notified him he would have to return the rent payments.

Tough Week For Morshed Alam

It's been a tough week for Republicrat Morshed Alam, who is Democrat Rory Lancman's opponent for the open 25th District State Assembly seat in Queens. First, he got caught using a non-union printer for his lit and posters, even though the lit in question touts his being a DC37 member and claims he "Supports labor's right to organize and for their members to be treated with dignity and respect." I guess that doesn't apply to workers in the printing trade. Then the New York Observer caught him fabricating endorsements. The reporter's conversation with Councilman Leroy Comrie is particularly funny ("He's been calling me and begging me and calling me and asking me and calling me and asking me."). Then the Queens Tribune outed Alam as also running on the Republican line (understandably, Alam was "reluctant" to discuss his Republican endorsement). And finally Alam's campaign finance filing showed him with barely $14,000 on hand. (Rory Lancman filed with over $78,000 on hand). Like I said, it's been a tough week for Morshed.
Rory, on the other hand, had another great week, with UNITE HERE adding its name to the formidable list of unions already backing Rory, including 32BJ, RWDSU, CSEA, DC37 Retirees, DC37 Local 983, UFCW Local 1500, Carpenters Local 45, Mason Tenders, Painters DC9, SEIU Local 74, CWA 1180, 1106 & 1102 (and, of course, the Working Families Party).

Morshed Alam's "endorsements"

Candidate for Queens 25th Assembly District, has less than impressive financial filing ($14,000 on hand), has yet to receive the endorsement of his home union Local 375, filed petitions to run in both Democratic and Republican primaries, campaign literture have routinely had typos and misspellings: such as an endorsement of City Councilman Leroy Comric (he spelt it Comrie).

To top it all off The Politicker has reported that one of the few endorsements he claims to have received, hasn't endorsed him.


Politicker:

"I haven't endorsed anybody in that race." said Councilman Comric

So why did this guy say you did?

"We served on the school board together. He's been calling me and begging me and calling me and asking me and calling me and asking me. I told him I'd try. But I was in the middle of budget process and wasn't thinking about anything else."

NYC Candidates file their petitions

CONGRESS

District: 5
Gary Ackerman-D,I,W

District: 6
Gregory Meeks-D

District: 7
Joseph Crowley-D,W
Jose Serrano-D
Kevin Brawley-C

District: 8
Jerrold Nadler-D,W
Eleanor Friedman-R
Dennis Adornato-C

District: 9
Anthony Weiner-D,W

District: 10
Edolphus Towns-D
Charles Barron-D
Roger Green-D
Ernest Johnson-C
Eric Spruiell-W

District: 11
David Yassky-D
Yvette Clarke-D
Chris Owens-D
Carl Andrews-D
Stephen Finger-R
Mariana Blume-C
Elon Harpaz-W

District: 12
Nydia Velazquez-D, W
Miguel Gonzalez-R
Allan Romaguera-C

District: 13
Vito Fossella-R, C
Stephen Harrison-D, W
Anita Lerman-I

District: 14
Carolyn Maloney-D, W
Alan Harris-I
Daniel Maio-R

District: 15
Charles Rangel-D, W
Edward Daniels-R

District: 16
Jose Serrano-D, W
Ali Mohamed-C

District: 17
Eliot Engel-D,W
Jessica Flagg-D
Jim Faulkner-R,I,C

State Senate

District: 10
Ada Smith-D
Shirley Huntley-D
Allan Jennings Jr-D
Jereline Hunter-C

District: 11
Nora Marino-D, W
Frank Padavan-R, I, C

District: 12
George Onorato-D

District: 13
Hiram Monserrate-D
John Sabini-D

District: 14
Malcolm Smith-D, W

District: 15
Serphin Maltese-R, I, C
Bartholemeo Bruno-R
Albert Baldeo-D

District: 16
Toby Ann Stavisky-D, W

District: 17
Martin Malave Dilan-D, W
Victor Guarino-C

District: 18
Tracy Boyland-D
Velmanette Montgomery-D, W
Viviana Vazquez-Hernandez-C

District: 19
John Sampson-D, W
Mary Vicino-C

District: 20
Eric Adams-D, W
Anthony Alexis-D
Guillermo Philpotts-D
James Gay-C

District: 21
Noach Dear-D
Kevin Parker-D, W
Sal Grupico-C

District: 22
Martin Golden-R, C

District: 23
Diane Savino-D, W

District: 24
Matthew Titone-D, W
Robert Helbock-R,I,C
Andrew Lanza-R,I

District: 25
Martin Connor-D
Kenneth Diamondstone-D, W

District: 26
Liz Krueger-D, W
Philip Pidot-R

District: 27
Carl Kruger-D
Mildred Mahoney-C

District: 28
Jose Serrano-D, W
Rubye Wright-R
Agustin Alamo Estrada-C

District: 29
Thomas Duane-D, W
Dan Russo-R

District: 30
Bill Perkins-D, W
Ruben Dario Vargas-D
Jolinda Ruth Cogen-R

District: 31
Eric Schneiderman-D, W
Alba Sanchez-R, C

District: 32
Ruben Diaz-D
Israel Cruz-D
Iris Carrasquillo-R
Arlene Anderson-C

District: 33
Efrain Gonzalez Jr-D
Jeffrey Sternberg-R,C

District: 34
Jeffrey Klein-D,W
Joseph Jay Savino-R,I,C

District: 36
Ruth Thompson-D,W
Crystal Wade-D
Curtis Brooks-R
George Rubin-C

State Assembly

District: 22
Ellen Young-D, I
Terrence Park-D
Grace Meng-D, W
Julia Harrison-D
Christopher Migliaccio-C

District: 23
Audrey Pheffer-D, W
Stuart Mirsky-R, C

District: 24
Mark Weprin-D, W

District: 25
Rory Lancman-D, W

District: 26
Ann Margaret Carrozza-D, W

District: 27
Nettie Mayersohn-D
Walter Lamp-C

District: 28
Andrew Hevesi-D, W
Dolores Maddis-R, C
Blair Burroughs-W

District: 29
William Scarborough-D, W

District: 30
Margaret Markey-D

District: 31
Michele Titus-D, W
Micahel Duvalle-D

District: 32
Vivian Cook-D

District: 33
Barbara Clark-D, W

District: 34
Ivan Lafayette-D, W

District: 35
Jeffrion Aubry-D

District: 36
Michael Gianaris-D, W

District: 37
Catherine Nolan-D

District: 38
Anthony Seminerio-D,R,C

District: 39
Jose Peralta-D,W
Carmen Enriques-D

District: 40
Diane Gordon-D??
Godfrey Jelks-C

District: 41
Helene Weinstein-D, W
Jonathan Testaverde-C

District: 42
Rhoda Jacobs-D

District: 43
Karim Camara-D, W
Saquan Jones-D
Jesse Hamilton-D
Kenneth Cook-C

District: 44
James Brennan-D, W
Yvette Velazquez Bennett-C

District: 45
Steven Cymbrowitz-D

District: 46
Alec Brook-Krasny-D, W
Martin Levine-D
Ari Kagan-D
Michele Heitzner-R, C

District: 47
William Colton-D, W
Phyllis Carbo-R, C

District: 48
Dov Hikind-D, R
Herbert Ryan-C

District: 49
Peter Abbate Jr-D, W
Lucretia Regina-Potter-R,C

District: 50
Joseph Lentol-D
Richard Trainer-C

District: 51
Felix Ortiz-D, W
Washington Artus-R, C

District: 52
Joan Millman-D, W
Richard French-C

District: 53
Vito Lopez-D, W
Ameriar Feliciano-C

District: 54
Darryl Towns-D, W
Khorshed Chowdhury-C

District: 55
William F Boyland Jr-D, W
Royston Antoine-D

District: 56
Annette Robinson-D
Richard Taylor-D

District: 57
Hakeem Jeffries-D, W
William Batson-D
Freddie Hamilton-D
Henry Weinstein-C

District: 58
Robert Gaffney-C
Nick Perry-D, W
Wellington Sharpe-D

District: 59
Alan Maisel-D
Harvey Clarke-D
Abraham Levy-D
Stephen Walters-C

District: 60
Janele Hyer-Spencer-D, I, W
Anthony Xanthakis-R, C

District: 61
John Lavelle-D, W

District: 62
Vincent Ignizio-R,I,C

District: 63
Michael Cusick-D, I, C,W

District: 64
Sheldon Silver-D, W
Lawrence Capici-R,I

District: 65
Alexander Pete Grannis-D, I
Michael Fandal-R

District: 66
Deboarh Glick-D, W
Peter Hort-R

District: 67
Linda Rosenthal-D, I
Theodore Howard-R

District: 68
Adam Clayton Powell-D, W
John Ruiz-D
Edward Gibbs-D
Dean Loren Velasco-R, I

District: 69
Daniel O’Donnell-D
Christopher Lanzillotti-R

District: 70
Keith Wright-D, W
Monique Wasington-D
Will Brown Jr-R

District: 71
Herman D Farrell-D
Glenda Allen-R

District: 72
Adriano Espaillat-D, W
Francesca Castellanos-D
Martin Chicon-R

District: 73
Jonathan Bing-D, W
Robert Heim-R, I

District: 74
Sylvia Friedman-D, W
Brian Kavanagh-D
Juan Pagan-D
Esther Yang-D
Frank Scala-R

District: 75
Richard Gottfried-D, W
Debra Leible-R

District: 76
Peter Rivera-D, W
Steven Stern-R, C

District: 77
Aurelia Greene-D
Anthony Curry-D, C
Kathleen Benjamin Larkins-R

District: 78
Jose Rivera-D
William Sullivan-R, C

District: 79
Michael Benjamin-D
Sigfredo Gonzalez-D
Sharon Grady-R

District: 80
Naomi Rivera-D
Joseph Thompson-D
Robin Basile-D
Frank Olivo-R
Robert Goodman-C declined

District: 81
Jeffrey Dinowitz-D, W
Mark Goret-R, C

District: 82
Michael Benedetto-D, W
Raymond Capone-R, C

District: 83
Carl Heastie-D, W
Johnnie Goff-R, C declined

District: 84
Carmen Arroyo-D
David Rosado-R
Harry Almodovar-D, C

District: 85
Ruben Diaz Jr-D
Carmen Hernandez-D
Evelyn Russell-R
William McDonagh-C

District: 86
Luis Diaz-D
Urnest Kebreau-R
Sham Ninah-C

Queens County Dems Endorse Rory Lancman for 25th Assembly District

This morning Rory Lancman, candidate to run for Assemblyman Brian McLaughlin's vacated seat, got one step closer this morning by receiving the county organization's endorsement. It is expected that Supreme Court Judge's son John Dorsa will drop out of the primary race leaving frontrunner Rory Lancman and frequent candidate Morshed Alam to run for the September 12th primary.

This morning Rory Lancman was officially endorsed
for the 25th Assembly District by the Queens County Democratic Party

Rory Lancman and Queens Democratic Party Executive Secretary Michael Reich

Special Elections Today!

If you live in one of the following Districts remember to go vote.

* Member of the Assembly in the 8th Assembly District, in the County of Suffolk, caused by the resignation of the Honorable Thomas F. Barraga;

* Member of the Assembly in the 17th Assembly District, in the County of Nassau, caused by the resignation of the Honorable Maureen C. O’Connell;

* Member of the Assembly in the 59th Assembly District, in the County of Kings, caused by the resignation of the Honorable Frank R. Seddio;

* Member of the Assembly in the 67th Assembly District, in the County of New York, caused by the resignation of the Honorable Scott Stringer;

* Member of the Assembly in the 74th Assembly District, in the County of New York, caused by the resignation of the Honorable Steven Sanders;

* Member of the Assembly in the 139th Assembly District, in the Counties of Genesee, Monroe, Niagara and Orleans, caused by the resignation of the Honorable Charles H. Nesbitt;

* Member of the Senate in the 60th Senatorial District, in the Counties of Erie and Niagara, caused by the resignation of the Honorable Byron W. Brown.

Letter to the Times Union Editor

Proposition 1 is a losing proposition


First published: Wednesday, October 12, 2005

Proposition 1, on the ballot this November, is a proposal to amend the New York Constitution to change the budget process.

Any change to a broken process may sound like a good idea at first to those of us who watch our state Legislature daily from the up-close environs of the Capital Region, but Proposition 1 would actually make things worse.

It would give the 212 members of the Legislature more authority over the budget when the state fiscal year begins without a new budget in place. In other words, if our senators and Assembly members don't pass the budget on time, we'd reward them with more power to draft the budget than they already have, weakening the role of our governor (whomever it may be at the time). Obviously, the Legislature will delay the budget vote just to increase its bargaining power.

A reform law passed some years ago provided that legislators wouldn't get paid once the fiscal year begins until they get the budget done. That's only fair. The rest of us don't get paid unless we perform our job duties.

But Proposition 1 would insulate politicians from that sort of discipline. It would allow them to be paid regardless of how late the budget is.

Weighing in against Proposition 1 are former Gov. Hugh Carey and Gov. Pataki, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, former New York City Mayor Ed Koch, Citizens' Union, the small-business members of the National Federation of Independent Business, the Business Council of New York State and the Citizens Budget Commission.

All of us are urging New Yorkers to vote no on Proposition 1 on Election Day. We need real reform in Albany. Proposition 1 would only make the state's fiscal problems worse.

ROGER A. HANNAY

President

Hannay Reels Inc.

Westerlo