At the Board of Elections, Council speaker's political machinations threaten to undermine ballot petitioning

Ousting the president of the city's Board of Elections was supposed to give City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito "power and control of a host of patronage jobs," but the succession process has been turned ndsıpǝ poʍu

"It's in the Council's hands." New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito was all set to expand her power, influence, and control over patronage jobs that govern the corrupt ballot counting for New York City elections. Except that the president of the Board of Elections, whom she had threatened to replace, got up and quit on her. Last Friday, Board of Elections President Gregory Soumas resigned his post. With President Soumas' sudden departure, Speaker Mark-Viverito may lose the upperhand she had been coveting in choosing his replacement. Since Manhattan Democratic Chairman Keith Wright had failed to reappoint Mr. Soumas for another term as president of the Board of Elections, the City Council, headed by Speaker Mark-Viverito, was salivating at the opportunity to seize control of the appointment process. But President Soumas' resignation may allow the Manhattan Democratic chair to appoint a replacement. Speaker Mark-Viverito's power grab over the Board of Elections is reminiscent of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's egocentric reasoning for disbanding the Moreland Commission : “It’s my commission. My subpoena power, my Moreland Commission. I can appoint it, I can disband it. I appoint you, I can un-appoint you tomorrow. So, interference? It’s my commission. I can’t 'interfere' with it, because it is mine. It is controlled by me.” Generally, appointments of the commissioner, who serves as president of the Board of Elections, comes with corrupt spoils and privileges. A commissioner on the Board of Elections, especially the Board's president, can establish election policy and make politically-motivated hires for the scores of patronage jobs controlled by commissioners. Often, those politically-motivated hires are made in concert with the politicians or political operatives, who appointed the commissioners, The New York Daily News reported. While the Council speaker and the Manhattan Democratic chair fight over control over President Soumas' successor, the broken political system is ignoring the threat of confusion that now threatens to spread to the ballot petitioning being undertaken now by political candidates running for office this year. The Board of Elections reviews balloting petitions for accuracy and completeness, and on top of the mixed-motivations that govern who gets appointed as commissioners of the Board of Elections, those political machinations are compounded by the way some political operatives scheme to challenge balloting petitions, a process ultimately overseen by the Board of Elections' commissioners -- and its president.

RELATED Melissa Mark-Viverito may replace Board of Elections head with her own pick (The New York Daily News) Melissa Mark-Viverito on elections board prez's future: "It's in the Council's hands." (The New York Daily News) NYC Board of Elections President Gregory Soumas quits ahead of possible ouster in City Council Speaker power play (The New York Daily News)

Two prominent Democrats Complain About Cuomo's Pick For Lieutenant Governor

With dissatisfaction growing amongst Democrats, Gov. Cuomo faces a bumpy reelection campaign

Is Gov. Andrew Cuomo going to get his neoliberal ass handed back to him in the form of collapsing opinion polling leading up to this year's gubernatorial election (à la Christine Quinn in last year's mayoral election) ? One can only hope.

Fred Dicker in today's The New York Post reports that more and more brave Democratic leaders, some of whom can hardly be called on to form a coalition for anything, are speaking up in a rare unified voice of dissatisfaction with Gov. Cuomo's reelection campaign.

Bill Samuels is seriously considering a primary challenge to Gov. Cuomo's pick for lieutenant governor, former Congresswoman Kathy Hochul, based on her work as a bank lobbyist, work that Mr. Samuels rejects as in contravention of the state's progressive sensibilities.

• RELATED : Cuomo’s pick for Lt. Gov. facing challenge from left (The New York Post)

Mr. Samuels, who is described having "millions to spend," could upset Gov. Cuomo's plans for an avalanche reelection margin of victory.

Joining Mr. Samuels in expressing dissatisfaction with Gov. Cuomo's pick for lieutenant governor is none other than radical right wing Bronx conservative Democrat, Sen. Ruben Diaz. Generally counted on to espouse bigoted positions on social issues, Sen. Diaz shocked the conscious of middle of the road Democrats when he reasonably objected to Ms. Hochul's selection based on her own incredulous radical right wing rejection of the Dream Act, a proposed state law that would, amongst other things, allow undocumented college students who meet in-state tuition requirements to qualify for state financial aid and scholarships for higher education. The Dream Act is supported by progressive Democrats, but Ms. Hochul has a record of opposing legislation that would end aspects of de jure discrimination against undocumented immigrants.

Democrats have several reasons to be disgusted with Gov. Cuomo. His neoliberal record of closing five New York City hospitals during his first term under the guise of "Medicaid reform" were nothing more than a scorched earth campaign of austerity cuts to healthcare for the poor, the sick, and people of color in the urban neighborhoods of New York City. To undermine pressure for reforms from the political left, Gov. Cuomo enabled a break-away faction of Democratic state senators to form an unholy alliance with Republican state senators to jam the state legislature into gridlock. His recent budget reforms amounted to more tax cuts for the wealthy at the continuing expense of the working class and the poor. Finally, his cockblocking of ethics and campaign finance reforms up in Albany was so foul that federal prosecutors could no longer turn their backs to the governor's alleged obstruction of justice. Government reform activists in New York City are eagerly awaiting to see if a grand jury empaneled by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Manhattan will hand down indictments of corrupt Cuomo administration officials.

If Gov. Cuomo's reelection is already triggering backlash from disparate corners of the state's Democratic Party, it foretells of a long hot wilting summer for the governor's popularity. Already, the governor is calling on electoral help from the Dan Cantor, New York executive director of the Wrecking Families Party, to fluff his reelection campaign.

With each passing day & each revelation, I get the sense that Gov Cuomo is becoming the Demicratic Party's version of Dick Cheney.

— Michael Benjamin (@SquarePegDem) May 23, 2014

The Losing New York City Council Speaker Candidate Is Less Corrupt Than The Winner

The Losing Council Speaker Candidate #constantcontact http://t.co/tmpGyWojvJ

— Louis Flores (@maslowsneeds) January 7, 2014

About 36 hours remain before the next class of New York City Councilmembers file into City Hall to vote for the next Council speaker. Supporters for both candidates are freaking out. I just got flamed on Facebook by an animal rights activist. I get it. People want their candidate to win ; consequently, they mistakenly think that by attacking me they will help their candidate win -- as if I have that much influence, as if I ever did ? I just want to point out that I'm in this for reform. It doesn't matter who wins anymore, it never did. The Council speaker race is all about how desperate the candidates can get to out broker the sleaziest backroom deals to win. The political coverage so far in this year's speaker race has exceeded the scrutiny former Council Speaker Christine Quinn got in 2005. By that measurement, we've already won, because some of the true extent of backroom dealing has been described by a couple of bloggers and a handful of mainstream media reporters. Meanwhile, some activists still contact me with questions about where the corruption exists ? After a series of YouTube videos, blog postings, links to other blogs and other news reports, tweets, and newsletters, all this information is available on Google. Now, let's see which Council speaker candidate dares to go for bust. Word is that every corrupt favour is being called in from every political hack in town. The fight has stopped being one to win, but a race to the bottom, because, technically, the winner only wins after putting together the most corrupt backroom deals to round up support. The winner readily risks flouting campaign finance laws and ethics regulations. If the desperation to win reaches new highs, let's hope that whatever remaining scrutiny on the Council speaker race will report that escalated corruption. Only in the Council speaker race will the candidate that comes in second actually be the one that is less corrupt than the winner.

Pay-To-Report News Brainwashing : The Effect Of Endless Political TV Ads

It is only through a full debate of ideas that all sides can come to an appreciation for one another, an informed participation by voters, and the hope of an agreement on issues.

But that's not what's happening now.

From True News From Change NYC :

Pay to Report Local TV News Control. Spending on advertising has fueled the increase in TV lobbying costs. Well-funded special interests funnel millions to lobbyists for public campaigns to sway lawmakers on hot-button issues. (TU) Local News which is mainly weather, traffic, cooking and dog segments is making millions in lobbyists spending. Union and business interest like the pro fracking interest are also spending millions on ads to local stations. All this money is coming in as local news dumbs down.

Pols and Interests Groups Use Local News By Pushing Their Paid Ads To Win Support For Their Issues

News Brainwashing. The only real news on dumb down local TV are in the paid ads which are not news but bias views of the pol or interests group who paid for the ads to gain public support. Local TV stations stand to profit from boom in super-PAC spending (The Hill) * CSNY’s budget blitz: $3.9 million (updated) (TU) * Save NY airing tax cap ad (TU) * Budget opponents up their ads and mailers (TU) * Bloomberg Blames Negative Ads For Poor Showing In Education (Politico) * Save NY now airs ad on school money (TU) * NYC's Bloomberg Pays for TV Ads Backing Cuomo's Pension (Bloomberg News) * Bloomberg Defends His Administration With TV Ad (NY1) * Local TV News For $ale: How Special Interests Control News Content and Public Opinion (True News)

What Has Happen to the Watchdog Groups of Government or Politics ? An explosion of online news sources in recent years has not produced a corresponding increase in reporting, particularly quality local reporting, a federal study of the media has found.Coverage of state governments and municipalities has receded at such an alarming pace that it has left government with more power than ever to set the agenda and have assertions unchallenged, concluded the study. “In many communities, we now face a shortage of local, professional, accountability reporting,” said the study, which was ordered by the Federal Communications Commission and written by Steven Waldman, a former journalist for Newsweek and U.S. News and World Report. “The independent watchdog function that the Founding Fathers envisioned for journalism — going so far as to call it crucial to a healthy democracy — is in some cases at risk at the local level.

Because newspapers have always served as tip sheets for local television reporters and for reporters on the national level, newspapers cutbacks because of the loss of readership to the Internet have had “ripple effects throughout the whole media system." With fewer reporters available to tackle in-depth topics, news releases from politicians and policy makers end up having more influence in some cases, he said, contributing to a kind of power shift toward institutions and away from citizens. * Local News : The Dumbing Down of Journalism (True News)

Will Christine Quinn Hold Public Hearings Investigating "Worthless" $95 Million BOE Electronic Scanners ?

Will Christine Quinn Hold Public Hearings Investigating "Worthless" $95 Million BOE Electronic Scanners ?

The @nytimes calls the @BOENYC a "patronage-riddled agency with one job, which it does very poorly." http://t.co/BTmahLEWQd #paperballots

— Informed Voting (@informedvoting) September 17, 2013

The editorial board of The New York Times will call for in an editorial to be published in tomorrow's newspaper a call for a reform effort to revamp the inept and patronage-laden New York City Board of Elections.

"Perhaps a good, civic-minded project for Mr. Bloomberg, Speaker Christine Quinn and Mr. Thompson — all of whom know how to run big operations — is to take on reform of this abysmal system," the editors write.

Earlier today, Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson conceded loss to his rival, Bill de Blasio, after political pressure had been escalated from Mr. de Blasio's camp. Before today, Mr. Thompson had said that he had wanted to stay in the race, after he had finished in second place, to see if the counting of 80,000 paper ballots would force a run-off between he and Mr. de Blasio.

“We don’t know how many votes I got, or even how many votes were cast,” said Mr. Thompson, adding that he was frustrated with the slowpoke mishandling of the vote count by the Board of Elections, “When are they going to finish?” Mr. Thompson further noted that the Board of Elections had denied him -- and voters -- a final count of the votes cast on primary election day : “it’s such a disadvantage — it just isn’t fair.”

Voters complained about @Quinn4NY scuttling voter referenda on term limits, how can Democrats scuttle uncounted votes ? #SMH @NY1thecall

— Informed Voting (@informedvoting) September 17, 2013

Will Christine Quinn redeem her failed political career by holding public hearings into the "worthless" $95 million electronic scanners that the Board of Elections had to scuttle in order to run the primary election day ?

How could 50 year old machines reasonably be expected to perform better than $95 million optical scanners ? Drill down. @NY1thecall TY

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) September 11, 2013

Will Bill Thompson Betray Black Voters on Stop-And-Frisk ?

New York City Democratic mayoral candidate Bill Thompson’s restrained approach to ending stop-and-frisk policing has paid dividends with the endorsement from a coalition of city law-enforcement unions, the NYTimes writes. (via City & State First Read)

From the NYTimes :

Jumaane D. Williams, a city councilman from Brooklyn who has sponsored legislation against stop-and-frisk tactics, bluntly suggested that Mr. Thompson was taking the allegiance of black voters for granted.

“I think he believes that the color of his skin is what’s needed to get to communities of color, rather than standing on the correct substance of issues,” he said.

City Council Community Outreach Does Campaign Outreach For Christine Quinn

The Community Outreach Unit of the New York City Council, a taxpayer-financed office that has organized rallies to protect student subway discounts and sponsored adult education fairs, frequently functions as something else as well: a publicity and public relations machine for Christine C. Quinn. Read more : City Council’s Outreach Unit, Run by Quinn, Mainly Benefits Her Campaign

@uft - @quinn4ny uses Council's 16 person "Community Outreach Unit" as her private campaign staff nyti.ms/Yyq8Ps @mjalonschi

— Defeat Chris Quinn (@defeatquinn) April 19, 2013

The New York Times described the Community Outreach Unit, a taxpayer-financed group of many political operatives, as almost entirely focused on propping up Speaker Quinn's political image, which would benefit her mayoral campaign.

"Inside the community outreach office recently, there was a photograph of Ms. Quinn handing a plaque to Whoopi Goldberg. Below, a dry erase board bore reminders about two coming events the group helped organize: a breakfast for women of faith and a celebration of Irish culture. Ms. Quinn was the featured speaker at both. At the Irish event, the unit’s workers escorted to their seats prominent Irish-American families, including relatives of Thomas Manton, the former chairman of the Queens Democratic Party, whose backing was crucial to Ms. Quinn’s election as speaker," The New York Times reported.

This isn't the first time Speaker Quinn has been accused of using taxpayer money for her campaign.

A former deputy chief of staff to Council Speaker Christine C. Quinn who recently served as a top aide to Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s re-election effort has been fined for violating city law by soliciting campaign contributions for Ms. Quinn while working for her.

In announcing the sanction on Monday, the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board said in a statement that around April 2007, the former aide, Maura Keaney, made between six and a dozen phone calls to union representatives to ask them to be on the host committee for a fund-raising event for Ms. Quinn’s re-election bid. The ethics board, which fined Ms. Keaney $2,500, noted that serving on the host committee required a campaign contribution. (NYTimes : Ethics Panel Fines Ex-Aide to Speaker)

Does Outreach do fundraising ? Remember Maura Keaney ? @suzannahbtroy @nyccouncil @chriscquinn @defeatquinn @dumpchrisquinn @colvinj

— Stop Christine Quinn (@stopchrisquinn) April 19, 2013

Moreover, the Association for Neighborhood and Housing Development, a nonprofit group, which has publicly supported Speaker Quinn's campaign platform for several years, requested $100,000 in City Council slush funds for each of the past three years to advocate for Speaker Quinn. By admission of the office of Speaker Quinn, these funds were granted by Speaker Quinn. (WSJ : City Grants Aids Quinn Campaign)

Cy Vance District Attorney 2013 Parody Campaign Video

How long will Manhattan District Attorney Cy Vance allow the parody campaign video produced by the artist and blogger Suzannah B. Troy to be up on YouTube, considering what happened to the ''Dirty D.A.'' video, which had to go underground ?

Reaction To Christine Quinn's Secret Campaign Deal With Ray Kelly

Joe.My.God. Readers React To Christine Quinn's ''Secret Deal'' To Keep NYPD Commish Ray Kelly Out Of Mayoral Race

On Joe.My.God.'s blog post today, several readers posted comments criticising New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn's backroom deal with Commissioner Raymond Kelly :

''Christine Quinn is a great example of why we shouldn't just blindly vote for someone just because they are LGBT,'' wrote KT.

''Quinn has been saying for more than a year now that the next mayor should ask Kelly to stay on. Apparently, Christine is a big fan of Stop and Frisk,'' wrote band.

''This all reminds me of the ending of The Devil Wears Prada,'' wrote Joe.My.God.

The tone of the blog post and the comments was very critical of Speaker Quinn for making backroom deals, for supporting Commissioner Kelly, and for supporting stop-and-frisk.