Showing posts with label Dick Dadey. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dick Dadey. Show all posts

Monday, December 23, 2013

This Week In Bill de Blasio Conflicts of Interest : Rafael Cestero

Bill de Blasio transition advisor may be creating conflict of interest : The New York Daily News

Dick Dadey, a Christine Quinn loyalist who never confronted Quinn's administration of the City Council over corruption, is now coming forward to charge that the incoming de Blasio administration is guilty of more conflicts of interest.

The affordable housing developer Rafael Cestero is vetting possible agency heads for the New York City Housing Authority and the Department of Housing Preservation and Development, The New York Daily News is reporting, adding that, "Cestero's role creates the possibility that one day he might be lobbying or doing business with the appointees he's helped to select, creating a conflict of interest, experts said."

However, Cestero's role has been being hidden from voters and the media, and in the opaque shadows of developers and lobbyists controlling government leadership positions, the only thing that can result is corruption.

If the de Blasio administration doesn't do something to stop all these conflicts of interest, maybe we just have to wait for Cestero to rig development deals with NYCHA and NYCHPD, resulting in the kind of embarrassing scandals that will perhaps lead to reforms in how the mayor-elect will choose his deputies ?

Thursday, August 8, 2013

Who is Dick Dadey ? How has he improved voter participation ?

When Dick Dadey was the executive director of the Empire State Pride Agenda, he was visible in the effort to redraw the boundaries of the Third City Council District in Manhattan that made it possible to elect an LGBT candidate for the first time from that district. In 1991, Tom Duane was elected to the New York City Council. At the time, Mr. Duane’s campaign manager was Christine Quinn. In the time since, up to and including Mr. Dadey’s term as the executive director of Citizens Union, Mr. Dadey has had a close association with Ms. Quinn, the present City Council Speaker and mayoral candidate.

Earlier this year, information about the role that each of Mr. Dadey and the Pride Agenda had in the 1991 campaign to bring Mr. Duane and Ms. Quinn to power used to be found on the Pride Agenda’s Web site. But now that information has been deleted.

Why was the Pride Agenda’s redistricting activities removed from its Web site ?

Because of the close association that still exists between Mr. Dadey and Speaker Quinn, Mr. Flores questions the independence of Citizens Union, especially since each time that Speaker Quinn’s slush fund continues to lead to more public corruption cases, Mr. Dadey is always ready to provide political cover for Speaker Quinn. After The New York Post published a critical editorial of Speaker Quinn’s slush fund, hours later Mr. Dadey was quoted as defending Speaker Quinn in The New York Times. Another example follows where Speaker Quinn’s spokesperson used Mr. Dadey’s own remarks to deflect responsibility away from Speaker Quinn for the on-going corruption tied to Speaker Quinn’s slush fund.

This week, WNYC published an interactive online map documenting the extremely low voter turnout during the 2009 mayoral election. One of the reasons few citizens vote is because good-government groups like Citizens Union make a promise to be a “watchdog” over our government. Yet, under Mr. Dadey’s leadership, Citizens Union was informed last week by the New York State Board of Elections that Citizens Union must register as a political action committee as a consequence of all of its electioneering activities. Among its questionable recent activities is the contemplation of endorsing one of its previous benefactors.

If Citizens Union is going to engage in political favoritism and make campaign endorsements, then how independent can Citizens Union remain under immense political pressures, including those of the Speaker Quinn’s political machine ? During the 10 years that Mr. Dadey has been at Citizens Union and the 15 years that Speaker Quinn has been a councilmember, have any meaningful, transformational reforms been brought about to increase voter participation in the matters of our own governance ?

2013-08-08 Roots of Betrayal - Who is Dick Dadey Press Release by Connaissable