City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito
How the Advance Group Conspired to Steal the 2009 and 2013 Election
de Blasio Sees Failing Schools As Pay to Play Cash Cows for Consultants
Pricey bureaucrats plague de Blasio’s program to fix failing schools (NYP) After keeping it secret for more than a year, the city Department of Education has finally revealed it employs at least 114 bureaucrats and “coaches” — making a combined $12.7 million a year and rising — to run Mayor de Blasio’s stumbling Renewal program to fix failing schools. In response to a lawsuit by The Post charging Freedom of Information Law violations, the DOE turned over a list of 71 Renewal administrators and other staffers, most earning well over $100,000 annually. However, the list failed to mention a $175,000-a-year superintendent and 42 “leadership coaches” and “ambassadors,” the DOE acknowledged Saturday. The Renewal crew oversees 86 of the lowest-achieving schools citywide — down from 94 when the program started two years ago. The DOE has closed or merged eight. Yet despite persistent poor performance, enrollment drops, safety problems and low student attendance, Renewal administrators got raises of 2.5 percent to 10 percent this school year, records show. As Renewal costs have risen, enrollment has dipped 16 percent, from 45,140 students in 2014-15 to 38,870 in 2015-16. “Parents with little confidence in Renewal schools are withdrawing their children, or not enrolling them,” Davids said. Chronic absenteeism in Renewal schools was 43.4 percent in 2014-15 — a dismal stat exposed by The Post in July, after Fariña falsely claimed that absenteeism was actually down.* Previewing Education Agenda for Re-Election Run, De Blasio Doesn't Focus on Charter Schools (NY1)
Is Speaker Mark-Viverito A Racist?
Push to probeCouncil Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito for bias over claims of racial remarksr egarding NYCHA hiring (NYDN) Mayor de Blasio's Human Rights Commission has been asked to investigate allegations that City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito pressured NYCHA to replace a black development manager in the Bronx with a “Spanish manager.” Community activist Tony Herbert announced Monday he’d demanded probes from the commission, as well as the Manhattan U.S. attorney’s office and city Department of Investigation. “What we don’t need is someone creating dissension between African-Americans and Hispanics in this day and age,” Herbert said.
Vinny the Chin CM Wills
Queens Councilman, Facing Criminal Charges — Doesn't Show up in Court — Or at City Hall (NY1) For almost two years, Councilman Ruben Wills has had criminal charges pending in two separate cases in two different criminal courts. And for months, the cases have made little progress moving forward, as NY1's Courtney Gross reports.
Why Didn't The NY1 Reporter Ask The Speaker How A Councilman Avoiding Justice is Still A Standing Member on the Council?
City Councilman Ruben Wills' seat has been empty a lot lately. The indicted Queens Councilman has not been to City Hall since December, and he has not been to his court appearances, either. Wills is on medical leave, and that illness is the latest hiccup delaying his corruption trial. It was nearly two years ago that the Queens Councilman was charged by the state attorney general with grand larceny and filing false business records. He is accused of stealing public tax dollars from a nonprofit group he founded. "I am not resigning on charges," Wills said in May 2014. "This is America , people. We are presumed innocent before you are proven guilty." It did not end there for Wills. Less than a year later, the attorney general brought more charges, this time in Manhattan criminal court, claiming Wills had not disclosed income he made from a private business on his city conflict of interest form. "We don't even understand what the charges are in this point in time, but what I can say is, I am innocent and I look forward to my day in court," Wills said. Both of those cases have stalled. The attorney general's office unusually and successfully removed Wills' attorney from the Manhattan case last year, claiming the AG's office wanted to call that attorney as a witness. That so-called conflict issue has seeped into the Queens case. A judge must determine whether that attorney, Steve Zissou, can fairly serve in Queens after he was kicked off the case in Manhattan .That decision cannot happen until Wills comes to court. Wills' attorney told us he has a serious medical issue with an uncertain prognosis. He could not comment any further. Wills' attendance record was not stellar prior to his illness. Since his original indictment in May of 2014, the councilman has missed 87 meetings or hearings at City Hall. That means he has made just 55 percent of them. Wills has another court appearance scheduled this week. He is not expected to be there. * New York City Councilman Ruben Wills, the legally embattled Democrat, explained his chronic absence from City Hall and detailed personal and family issues that have kept him from tending to his district, Politico New Yorkreports:
Why Didn't The NY1 Reporter Ask The Speaker How A Councilman Avoiding Justice is Still A Standing Member on the Council?
Unbroken "Quality Of Life" Windows As Speaker Seeks to Wipe Out 700,000 Warrants
Cops Mark-Viverito's Amnesty Promotes Crime
Cops say plan to wipe out warrants will ‘promote crime’ (NYP) “The summonses are an investigative clue for more serious crimes,” explained the detective, who requested anonymity. “You have probable cause to grab him based on the pissing warrant. We can grab him and talk to him. They bring him in and say, ‘Hey, that’s the guy they were looking for for murder.’ ” Sergeants Benevolent Association president Ed Mullins warrant amnesty would send the wrong message. “What they’re doing is promoting additional quality-of-life crimes,” he said.* The Post writes that Mark-Viverito’s proposal to offeramnesty to 700,000 New Yorkers with outstanding warrants for low-level crimes is a big mistake that will bring the city back “to the dark days when New York was the national symbol of urban squalor and decay”:* In a State of the City address titled “More Justice,” NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito outlined a plan to reinvent the city’s criminal justice system and target some of the most systematically troubled parts of the city’s legal infrastructure.*
City Council Speaker @MMViverito is focused on curbing abuses at Rikers Island (AMNY)
Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito is expected to unveil plans during her State of the City speech today to grant amnesty for outstanding
City Council plans to wipe out 700,000 warrants (NYP) Scofflaws who’ve ignored tickets for boozing in public, urinating in the streets and other quality-of-life offenses have no reason to behave now — City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito is announcing legislation today to wipe out more than 700,000 outstanding warrants for the low-level misdeeds. The free passes will also be handed out to people nailed for disorderly conduct, breaking park rules, idling a vehicle, creating unreasonable noise and littering. Mark-Viverito is unveiling the measure, which grant amnesty for nearly half of the city’s 1.5 million outstanding warrants, in her State of the City speech. “Our support for the NYPD and our efforts to improve the criminal-justice system are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they go hand in hand.” Mark-Viverito successfully pushed for an increase in the number of police officers last year. But she and fellow council members have also come under fire from critics who say that many of the legislators’ ideas would hamper cops’ ability to get criminals off the streets. “Densely populated cities like ours require that everyone act in a civil manner, or our neighborhoods will become virtual cesspools,” said Patrick Lynch, president of the Patrolmen’s Benevolent Association.“Lack of enforcement of quality-of-life laws endangers the health and welfare of everyone and makes the city a less attractive place to live, work or visit.” Councilman Steven Matteo (R-Staten Island
Why is the Council Speaker Giving A State of the City Speech?
“After a year of asking her office why the Speaker has a "State of the City" address, I still haven't gotten a satisfactory answer. It appears that the Speaker of the NYC Council is the only legislator in the entire nation who gives a "State of the..." speech. As far as I can tell, there is no state Assembly or Senate leader who gives one. Certainly neither the Speaker of the House of the US nor the Senate Majority Leader gives one. I can't find any other city council whose leader gives one, either. Not that it is all Mark-Viverito's fault...Peter Vallone the Elder started the tradition. And what better reason is there to carry on a meaningless act of pomp? “ SETH BARRON.
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True News Also Wags the Daily News On the Speaker Statement That the Mayor Owns Central Park
True News Yesterday
Did Mark-Viverito Just Admit The Council is the Mayor's Puppet?
Central Park is Owned By the People, Not You and the Mayor Madam Speaker
Did Mark-Viverito Just Admit The Council is the Mayor's Puppet?
Central Park is Owned By the People, Not You and the Mayor Madam Speaker
Mark-Viverito: Critics just have to deal with Central Park stable plan (NYP) City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said Tuesday that critics of the city’s plans to convert a maintenance building into stables in Central Park should just accept that the city has the power to do it. “At the end of the day, the city owns the park, the city owns this facility, and the city is making a decision to invest in this facility,” Viverito said. “There are those who may think they own the park. Central Park Conservancy has a contract with the City of New York . The park in Central Park is city property, and the mayor does make decisions as to what are priorities for the city.” Outside City Hall on Tuesday, pedicabbies protested the move, chanting: “Central Park is not for sale.” *After de Blasio characterized a potential ban on pedicab rides below 86th Street in Central Park as a “fair outcome” in the deal to cut the number of horse carriages, pedicab drivers protested outside of City Hall, Politico New York reports: * The de Blasio Diaries, Chapter 53: Save a horse, ride amayor (Vanity Fair)* "Animal rights advocates suddenly back de Blasio horseproposal" (PoliticoNY) * #NYCLASSsays it backs new bill to limit horse-drawn carriages to #CentralPark
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Ethics Board Also Ignores Lobbyists Working to Elect Candidates to Help Them Make $$$ Off of City Contracts
A gift for MelissaMark-Viverito: Ethics watchdogs let the City Council speaker off easy forconflicts of interest (NYDN Ed) By all rights, were justice equal in New York government, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito would be out of her job today. The city’s ethics regulations bar public employees from accepting gifts — but the Conflicts of Interest Board comes down hard, in fact, unforgivingly hard, only on the little guy or gal for even trivial rule violations. Consider 24-year veteran sanitation worker Lenworth Dixon, who accepted a $20 tip from a grateful homeowner for whom he had carted off yard waste. In 2014, the board forced Dixon to retire and fined him $1,500. Or consider 20-plus-year sanitation workers Robert Bracone and Rene Torres, who had each accepted a $5 tip. The board drove both men to retire and pay $2,000 fines. Now, consider Mark-Viverito. In 2013, she accepted freebie services from a lobbyist as she campaigned among her colleagues to be speaker. Still worse, the firm represented clients who would need the speaker’s backing for legislation. According to the conflicts board, the gifted services had a value of $3,796. Despite the fact that the amount was more than 700 times larger than a $5 tip, and despite the fact that Mark-Viverito had undermined the integrity of her office, the board imposed a fine of only $7,000 Which was $18,000 less than the top penalty. Which Mark-Viverito can pay out of her campaign funds, rather than out of the city salary she’ll continue to receive. Parks Department manager Cristina Badillo never got a break like that. The board last year fined her personally $1,000 for accepting a $15 gift of chocolate liqueur and an $8 box of Whitman’s chocolates. Still worse, the board ordered Mark-Viverito to pay $4,000 to the lobbying firm of Scott Levenson, who was her partner in crime. She will take that money, too, from a campaign account. Still worse, Levenson can take that $4,000 and pay his fine, in that exact amount. Still worse, Mark-Viverito admitted guilt only after waging a long battle against the board, running up legal bills of $123,313, with more to come. Again, she’ll
Another Slap of the Wrist for Lobbyists Advance Group This Time Illegally Working for Mark-Viverito Speakers Campaign
An Interlocking-Directorate of Lobbyists That Controls the Council Speaker
Setting precedent, Conflict of Interest Board settles with Mark-Viverito (CapitalNY) Lawyers for City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito have reached a settlement with the city’s Conflict of Interest Board following an investigation into free political consulting services that Mark-Viverito accepted during the race for speaker in 2013. As part of the settlement, the speaker has agreed to pay a $7,000 fine for accepting the services, a small fraction of the $25,000 statutory maximum she faced when the inquiry was first launched. The ethics board launched the non-criminal investigation in January of last year, alleging she acted improperly by accepting help from the Advance Group — a lobbying firm which has business dealings with the city. Elected officials are barred from accepting anything of value from registered lobbyists including a gift in the form of a service. The settlement decision was strengthened by the fact that the structure of Mark-Viverito’s undeclared campaign account is different because the race was not subject to regular campaign finance rules. Normally, elected officials are barred from using campaign money to run for another office, or to spend money from transition committees which typically only help pay for inauguration events. During the race, The Advance group helped Mark-Viverito prepare for the race, which included several community forums and debates as well as behind-the-scenes politicking with council members and county party leaders who helped collect votes in her favor. * Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid(NYO) Ms. Mark-Viverito insisted today that this was not the case but out of an “abundance of caution,” the relationship would end. Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid - Blogs(TU) * An operative with the controversial Advance Group, Jonathan Yedin, who has been working in Brooklyn Democratic Party politics for more than a decade and belongs to Mr. Seddio’s political club. Though Ms. Mark-Viverito eventually stopped taking free advice from the Advance Group, Mr. Yedin remained a crucial player in the brokering of the deal, sources said. Inside Melissa Mark-Viverito’s Road to Victory(NYO) * Nailed! @MMViverito must pay $7K fine for accepting free help from lobbyists in bid for job (NYDN) In addition to the $7,000 fine, which Mark-Viverito can use campaign funds to pay, she’ll pay the Advance Group $3,796.44 for its work.
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Speaker Melissa and Her 50 Thieves Move the Horses to the Park For A Real Estate Fix to Hike Their Pay
Monday After what he deemed a “disastrous” hearing on the subject, New York City Councilman David Greenfield called for the delay of a vote on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s horse carriage ban, which is scheduled for Friday.
Speaker Melissa and Her 50 Thieves Move the Horses to the Park For A Real Estate Fix to Hike Their Pay
Monday After what he deemed a “disastrous” hearing on the subject, New York City Councilman David Greenfield called for the delay of a vote on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s horse carriage ban, which is scheduled for Friday.
Speaker Melissa and Her 50 Thieves Move the Horses to the Park For A Real Estate Fix to Hike Their Pay
Monday After what he deemed a “disastrous” hearing on the subject, New York City Councilman David Greenfield called for the delay of a vote on Mayor Bill de Blasio’s horse carriage ban, which is scheduled for Friday.
A gift for MelissaMark-Viverito: Ethics watchdogs let the City Council speaker off easy forconflicts of interest (NYDN Ed) By all rights, were justice equal in New York government, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito would be out of her job today. The city’s ethics regulations bar public employees from accepting gifts — but the Conflicts of Interest Board comes down hard, in fact, unforgivingly hard, only on the little guy or gal for even trivial rule violations. Consider 24-year veteran sanitation worker Lenworth Dixon, who accepted a $20 tip from a grateful homeowner for whom he had carted off yard waste. In 2014, the board forced Dixon to retire and fined him $1,500. Or consider 20-plus-year sanitation workers Robert Bracone and Rene Torres, who had each accepted a $5 tip. The board drove both men to retire and pay $2,000 fines. Now, consider Mark-Viverito. In 2013, she accepted freebie services from a lobbyist as she campaigned among her colleagues to be speaker. Still worse, the firm represented clients who would need the speaker’s backing for legislation. According to the conflicts board, the gifted services had a value of $3,796. Despite the fact that the amount was more than 700 times larger than a $5 tip, and despite the fact that Mark-Viverito had undermined the integrity of her office, the board imposed a fine of only $7,000 Which was $18,000 less than the top penalty. Which Mark-Viverito can pay out of her campaign funds, rather than out of the city salary she’ll continue to receive. Parks Department manager Cristina Badillo never got a break like that. The board last year fined her personally $1,000 for accepting a $15 gift of chocolate liqueur and an $8 box of Whitman’s chocolates. Still worse, the board ordered Mark-Viverito to pay $4,000 to the lobbying firm of Scott Levenson, who was her partner in crime. She will take that money, too, from a campaign account. Still worse, Levenson can take that $4,000 and pay his fine, in that exact amount. Still worse, Mark-Viverito admitted guilt only after waging a long battle against the board, running up legal bills of $123,313, with more to come. Again, she’ll tap campaign funds. Still worse, the Department of Investigation found that that two other registered lobbyists, Kevin Finnegan of 1199 and Jonathan Westin of NY Communities for Change, also “volunteered” on Mark-Viverito’s speaker campaign. The board has taken no action there.
Another Slap of the Wrist for Lobbyists Advance Group This Time Illegally Working for Mark-Viverito Speakers Campaign
An Interlocking-Directorate of Lobbyists That Controls the Council Speaker
Setting precedent, Conflict of Interest Board settles with Mark-Viverito (CapitalNY) Lawyers for City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito have reached a settlement with the city’s Conflict of Interest Board following an investigation into free political consulting services that Mark-Viverito accepted during the race for speaker in 2013. As part of the settlement, the speaker has agreed to pay a $7,000 fine for accepting the services, a small fraction of the $25,000 statutory maximum she faced when the inquiry was first launched. The ethics board launched the non-criminal investigation in January of last year, alleging she acted improperly by accepting help from the Advance Group — a lobbying firm which has business dealings with the city. Elected officials are barred from accepting anything of value from registered lobbyists including a gift in the form of a service. The settlement decision was strengthened by the fact that the structure of Mark-Viverito’s undeclared campaign account is different because the race was not subject to regular campaign finance rules. Normally, elected officials are barred from using campaign money to run for another office, or to spend money from transition committees which typically only help pay for inauguration events. During the race, The Advance group helped Mark-Viverito prepare for the race, which included several community forums and debates as well as behind-the-scenes politicking with council members and county party leaders who helped collect votes in her favor. * Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid(NYO) Ms. Mark-Viverito insisted today that this was not the case but out of an “abundance of caution,” the relationship would end. Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid - Blogs(TU) * An operative with the controversial Advance Group, Jonathan Yedin, who has been working in Brooklyn Democratic Party politics for more than a decade and belongs to Mr. Seddio’s political club. Though Ms. Mark-Viverito eventually stopped taking free advice from the Advance Group, Mr. Yedin remained a crucial player in the brokering of the deal, sources said. Inside Melissa Mark-Viverito’s Road to Victory(NYO) * Nailed! @MMViverito must pay $7K fine for accepting free help from lobbyists in bid for job (NYDN) In addition to the $7,000 fine, which Mark-Viverito can use campaign funds to pay, she’ll pay the Advance Group $3,796.44 for its work.
Goo Goos Want to Go After GOP LLC Corruption But Stay Away From Democratic Lobbyists PAC Corruption Like in the Speaker Case
Good government groups are asking legislators to abide by what they’ve dubbed the “Clear Conscience Pledge” – a written commitment to increase transparency, limit outside income and close the LLC
Puppet Council Speaker Controlled By New Private Tammany Hall Shadow Govt
What About Lobbyists MirRam Group and Piti Bishop That Also Worked to Make Mark-Viverito Speaker
Since the Speakers election Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin has picked up of 70 clients to lobby for. 51 clients to lobby the city council, 17 to lobby the office of the mayor
What the NYP left out was that MirRam that group that profited from the graft was illegally working on the the campaign to make Melissa Mark Viverito Speaker. The lines that the NYP did not copy from the CrainsNY piece was the most important to point out how MirRam acted illegally. CrainsNY - "Last November, during the heart of the City Council speaker race, an employee of the MirRam group fielded a press request from Crain's on Ms. Mark-Viverito's behalf for an article about her past refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. But on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for MirRam said any work done for Ms. Mark-Viverito was only related work for her 2013 City Council campaign, though it had ended weeks before the press request was fielded by MirRam. The firm was not paid to assist her speaker campaign." Another lobbying firm close to Ms. Mark-Viverito, the Advance Group,* Melissa Mark-Viverito Paid MirRam $35,000 for Her Campaign Hispanic Federation gets biggest @NYCCouncil member item:$400K out of speaker's pot. (Capital)The federation has ties to almost every Hispanic lawmaker in The Bronx, including Rivera, but primarily benefits two men: political strategist Luis Miranda, who co-founded it and once served as its president, and Roberto Ramirez, a former Bronx Democratic Party boss. The men run a private political consulting firm, the MirRam Group. It’s paid by the Hispanic Federation and is hired by politicians who steer taxpayer money to the nonprofit.Flashback Twi$ted web of political nonprofits in Bx.(NYP)
The City's Ethics Board Did Not Notice The Lobbyists Help In the Speakers Campaign or the Fact That Got Help From Advance's PAC NYCLASS While Advance Was Helping Her Become Speaker
Lobbying firm makes millions on political, union ties(NYP) The lobbying firm Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin helps elect politicians — then tells them how to vote when they get in office. In her quest to become City Council speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito enlisted the help of the firm, paying it more than $61,000 in consulting fees. Since Mark-Viverito took power last year, Pitta Bishop has been paid more than $3.3 million by clients to lobby council members, including the speaker, to get mostly pro-union laws passed. Mark-Viverito even hired a former Pitta Bishop lobbyist, Carlos Beato, as her $130,000-per-year legislative counsel. * Mark-Viverito spent $106K on bid to become speaker(Capital)
City rules bar public officials from taking gifts worth more than $50 from people who do business with the city. And lobbyists are barred from giving any gifts to pol YET PITI BISHOP RAISED 1/5 OF THE MONEY MARK-VIVERITO RAISED FOR HER SPEAKERS CAMPAIGN
Council speaker puts connected lobbyist on payroll(CrainsNY) Melissa Mark-Viverito quietly handed a $130,000-a-year staff position to a lobbyist from the firm that helped propel her to the City Council speakership, payroll records show. In late March, Carlos Beato, who was a lobbyist at the firm Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin, joined the City Council payroll as a deputy general counsel. The move came not long after the lobbying shop. * City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito got help landing job from top lobby firm that reps unions and real estate doperevels(NYDN) Documents released Wednesday show that the councilwoman set up a fundraising committee called Viverito NYC on Nov. 5 and designated Vito Pitta of the lobbying firm Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin as its "liaison." About one-fifth of the contributions, $21,400, came from Pitta's clients, mostly municipal unions who pay him to press their causes before city government. On the other side of the ledger, Mark-Viverito’s committee spent $80,000 on her campaign for speaker — including “consultant” fees of $17,000 to Pitta’s firm, according to the campaign finance documents released by the state Board of Elections.* Honest graft(NYP Ed) Crain’s is reporting that more than $1.31 million is headed to a powerful, politically connected Bronx nonprofit called the Hispanic Federation. To put that in perspective, this is more than a four-fold jump over what the same group got last year. And $833,333 of it will come from a fund controlled by Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito .
Council Speaker Would Your Policy to Weaken Broken Windows Helps Mr. Aponte Keep His 357 Magnum Gun
Broken Windows policing takes more guns off the street (NYP) Here’s another reminder why the campaign by Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and her City Council acolytes to decriminalize quality-of-life offenses is such a foolish mistake. Early Sunday morning, within just a three-hour period, cops nabbed two men jumping subway turnstiles in two separate incidents. Both were carrying loaded illegal guns. Mark-Viverito would have police simply issue a citation for turnstile jumpers. In that case, cops never would’ve found the loaded .380 Walther in Joseph Aponte’s bag at the IRT 59th St. station. Or the loaded Smith and Wesson .357 Magnum revolver police said was tucked in the waistband of Coleman Reader’s pants at the Nostrand Avenue station in Bed-Stuy. That’s precisely how Broken Windows policing, which Commissioner Bill Bratton first introduced more than two decades ago, is supposed to work. It’s designed to stop more serious crimes by getting thugs off the street — and the subways — while they’re committing “minor” crimes, before they graduate to more serious ones.* New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-ViveritoCharts Course Away From De Blasio (Bloomberg)
Thanks to Twitter de Blasio's Puppet Speaker Becomes A Real Pol for A Brief Second
Mark-Viverito mistakenly tweets she’s running for mayor (NYDN) Maybe it was a Freudian slip — but City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s omission of a three-letter word from a tweet Friday briefly startled City Hall. “Amused at how innocuous comments taken out of context to conform to an agenda,” Mark-Viverito tweeted. “Will set record straight. I'm running against de Blasio PUNTO.” She quickly deleted that tweet and replaced it with, “Wow thats how to make news. NOT running against de Blasio.”
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After Splitting Her On Uber Cuomo Continues to Woo de Blasio's Council Puppet Speaker
In the midst of the economic crisis in Puerto Rico , Gov. Andrew Cuomo is set to announcehe’ll soon be leading a delegation on a “solidarity” trip to the troubled island. Participants will include NYC Council Speaker and Puerto Rico native Melissa Mark-Viverito.* Mayor looks to reconnect with City Council members: (Capital)* De Blasio Not Invited on Cuomo-Led Puerto Rico Trip (WSJ)
The Council Speaker Puppet Rebellion
Sunday Mark-Viverito, mayor meet to hash out Uber deal differences (NYDN) * Taxis warn of industrywide collapse (CrainsNY) * The de Blasio administration’s feud with Uber was tainted from the start because it failed to recognize how passionate its supporters are and that a revamp of the entire taxi system’s regulatory framework is needed, the Times reports:
Saturday City Council to de Blasio: ‘We are not the mayor’s pawn’ (NYP) * Mayor de Blasio just can’t seem to work with anyone (NYP) * Uber Deal Strains Ties for de Blasio and Mark-Viverito (NYT) After Mayor Bill de Blasio backed away from his vow to halt the growth of the car-hailing service Uber, Melissa Mark-Viverito, the City Council speaker, delivered a searing rebuke to the mayor. * Council Speaker's Attack on Mayor May Give Her Perception of Independence (NY1) * It is unclear whether New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s disagreement over how Uber negotiations were handled is a momentary spat or a turning point, The New YorkTimes reports: * Some New York City Council members said Mark-Viverito’s comments were important for illustrating that the legislative body is not a pawn of the de Blasio administration, and one source said it may signify a rift between the two, the Post reports: * after installing the speaker of his choice @BilldeBlasio gets a reminder it is not his @NYCCouncil * The making of Mark-Viverito’s Uber outburst (Capital)
Team de Blasio is So Bad They Cannot Hold Their Puppet Speaker In Line
Mark-Viverito: Uber cap is my call, not de Blasio’s (NYP) In a startling move, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito on Thursday took swings at Mayor de Blasio — her longtime pal and ally — for portraying the council as a political pawn in his botched bid to put a cap on Uber. Administration officials abandoned the push, which required council approval, but still claimed victory aftersecuring Uber’s cooperation in a four-month study on traffic congestion. De Blasio on Thursday threatened to revisit the cap, which would cover all for-hire vehicles, by the end of the year. But Mark-Viverito insisted it was the council that had proposed and independently tabled the controversial cap — and that it’s the council that will decide whether and when to revisit it. * Holman Jenkins Sr. writes in the Wall Street Journal thatUber’s ability to avoid unfavorable legislation in New York City is a triumph for pro-consumer principle, but also points to the political ineptitude of its detractors:
“I’m not going to allow anyone to attempt to save face at the expense of this council,” Mark-Viverito said in City Hall’s Red Room. “This council decides what we discuss, what debates we will have, what will be taken off the table, what will be on the table,” she added. “In him saying that the cap bill is [on] the table — it’s really not for him to decide.” * STEALING HER THUNDER: Mark-Viverito lashes out at de Blasio after he insists he won victory in Uber battle — without mentioning her key role in the drama (NYDN) Add City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito to the list of Mayor de Blasio’s former friends. The speaker, until now a close ally of the mayor, lashed out at him Thursday after he insisted he won a victory in his war with Uber — but never mentioned her key role in the drama while he was traveling back from Italy. “Let’s be clear — this had nothing to do with the mayor,” a visibly upset Mark-Viverito said in Spanish when asked about the Council’s decision Wednesday to drop a bill that would have capped Uber growth at 1%. “I’m not going to allow anyone to attempt to save face at expense of this Council,” she said. “This Council decides what bills will be discussed, what debates we will have, what will be taken off the table, what will be put on the table. No one else leads that discussion.”* After de Blasio struck a surprise deal to table a cap on Uber vehicles, mayoral allies, elected leaders and members of the taxi industry were left to make sense of the move, the Times writes: * Newsday writes that New York Cityshould study all causes of congestion on Manhattan , not just those caused by e-hailing services like Uber and Lyft: * Uber rewrites the book on beating de Blasio (Capital)* De Blasio gets schooled on Uber by Cuomo, Mark-Viverito and... Kate Upton?: It’s no secret that Mayor Bill de… * The multi-billion-dollar car-hail company Uber has essentially produced a guidebook for how to defeat de Blasio. * New Yorkmust not go back to the pre-Uber era (CrainsNY) * De Blasio Faces Backlash From Council Speaker After Uber Deal (DNAINFO) A host on "CBS This Morning" asked de Blasio why he "caved" on a plan to cap the growth of Uber.* Albany vexes de Blasio again, this time on Uber cap(CrainsNY) Gov. Andrew Cuomo alluded to the state's interests on for-hire vehicles after receiving a memo from opponents of the city bill. * Some yellow cab drivers are making the switch to Uber as their earnings have dwindled since the e-hail service arrived in New York City, but questions about how the industry will impact traffic and quality of service remain, the Journal writes:
Saturday City Council to de Blasio: ‘We are not the mayor’s pawn’ (NYP) * Mayor de Blasio just can’t seem to work with anyone (NYP) * Uber Deal Strains Ties for de Blasio and Mark-Viverito (NYT) After Mayor Bill de Blasio backed away from his vow to halt the growth of the car-hailing service Uber, Melissa Mark-Viverito, the City Council speaker, delivered a searing rebuke to the mayor. * Council Speaker's Attack on Mayor May Give Her Perception of Independence (NY1) * It is unclear whether New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Mayor Bill de Blasio’s disagreement over how Uber negotiations were handled is a momentary spat or a turning point, The New YorkTimes reports: * Some New York City Council members said Mark-Viverito’s comments were important for illustrating that the legislative body is not a pawn of the de Blasio administration, and one source said it may signify a rift between the two, the Post reports: * after installing the speaker of his choice @BilldeBlasio gets a reminder it is not his @NYCCouncil * The making of Mark-Viverito’s Uber outburst (Capital)
Team de Blasio is So Bad They Cannot Hold Their Puppet Speaker In Line
Puppet Council Speaker Controlled By New Private Tammany Hall Shadow Govt
Top Speaker Lobbyist Pitta Bishop Puts A Man Inside Her Office
Memo to NYP Political Director: David Seifman: MirRam Violated the City's Ethics Law
Speaker Hiding the Member Items and Legislation Hides Lobbyists Shadow Govt
Council SpeakerMelissa Mark-Viverito’s secrets on money and legislation (NYDN) A new era of secrecy and subterfuge has descended on the City Council under Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito. She has failed to keep current an easily searchable database showing how Council members have divvied up slush funds totaling hundreds of millions of dollars. At the same time, Mark-Viverito refuses to release paperwork showing how she bottled up a home-rule message calling on the state Legislature to sweeten disability pension benefits for newly hired police and firefighters. By our reading of the Freedom of Information statute, Mark-Viverito is clearly violating the law regarding the public’s access to information — likely because releasing the information will show her dictatorial hand at work. Let’s take the issues one at a time, starting with the slush. The Council annually doles out hundreds of millions of dollars to favored non-profit groups in the form of “member items.” After five members were busted for filching cash or funding phony groups, former Speaker Chris Quinn created a searchable database detailing who got money and from which member. Now, several weeks after the new budget passed, the database still has last year’s numbers and names and, until we inquired, there was no information at all showing how the Council divided several hundred million dollars in capital funds. As for the disappearance of the pension measure, Mark-Viverito faces the justified wrath of Uniformed Firefighters Association President Steve Cassidy. While we oppose his plan as too costly, he’s right in saying Mark-Viverito snookered him. Backed by a veto-proof 37 colleagues, Councilwoman Elizabeth Crowley asked the Council’s legislative staff to draft a home rule message to be sent to Albany . She was told another member had already put in the same request and that, per tradition, the work would be done for this unnamed legislator. Whoever it was never introduced the home rule measure in the Council, killing it. Rightly, Cassidy wants to know the identity of the assassin. Mark-Viverito refuses to release the name, preposterously claiming lawyer-client privilege. Follow her logic and almost nothing the Council does would be public. Just how Mark-Viverito would like it.
City’s new budget allots $57M for ‘pork’ spending (NYP) * : * City Council reaches $21 million deal to keep community-based nonprofits in business (NYDN) New budget proves it really pays to be friends with Mark-Viverito (NYP) A politically connected consulting firm that helped Melissa Mark-Viverito become City Council speaker scored big bucks for its clients in the city’s new budget, records show. The lobbying firm Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin was able to rake in at least $1.08 million in council discretionary funds for 14 nonprofit clients in fiscal year 2016 — including $780,000 directly funneled by Mark-Viverito, a Post analysis of city data shows. The Manhattan Democrat’s cozy relationship with the Staten Island-based lobbying firm includes once paying it more than $61,000 to help get her elected speaker in 2013. * City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito directed her $16 million in discretionary funds toward a potpourri of progressive causes, but borough leaders say distribution is more even than in the past, City & State reports:
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito City Council Member Items Slush Fund City Council Crime Fighting and the NYPD
Mark-Viverito Like the Mayor Won't Comment On Her Lobbyist Political Consultant
And They Both Won't Hold Town Hall Meeting to Explain the Role Pitta Bishop and Berlin Rosen Play in Their Administrations
Mark-Viverito won’t discuss lobbyist connections (NYP) City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito dodged questions Sunday about her cozy relationship with a powerful lobbying firm, arguing she’s “doing everything by the rules.” Mark-Viverito refused to discuss her conversations with Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin — even though she paid the company $61,000 during her run for City Council speaker. “As you guys reported, we follow and we’re doing everything by the rules and legal. That’s the bottom line,” she told The Post. Since Mark-Viverito was elected to the top post a year and a half ago, Pitta Bishop has raked in more than $3.3 million to lobby council members. The firm successfully lobbied the council on 12 bills since she won the job.
NYP Waits Almost 1 Year After True News Reported On Pitta Bishop Control of the Speaker and Ties to the Union
The Permanent (Shadow) Government Created Lobbyists As A Way to Control Who Gets Elected and A Way to Get Government to Do What They Want and Stay As Victims
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As the city's political machines weakened the permanent government created lobbyists to remain in control of New York City
Today lobbyist political consultants and favored PR firms that pour money into campaigns form a powerful and growing shadow government in New York. Pols trying to cover that up. They cut government contracts for their clients without media or prosecutors attention who sent Tammany Boss de Sapio to jail for a pay to play government contract for Con Ed. The Old Tammany Hall Machine was corrupt, but the only function of the new lobbyists consultant created after the de Sapio era to pay to play government contracts. Today's lobbyist's controlled private machine gain power by getting electing candidates, feeding them with campaign contributions from their clients who are looking for city contracts or zoning changes, they never meet the voters. They move government without having to disclose their activities. They elect candidates who will be helpful to the clients they lobby for. Call them clever, call them stealthy. Most are not a registered lobbyist. Yet he regularly meets with government officials.
A Lobbyistsl Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's arrest aided by closefriend, Albany lobbyist(NYDN) Brian Meara has been cooperating as a 'fact witness' as part of U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's investigation, sources told The News. The criminal complaint against Silver references an unnamed lobbyist who the sources say was Meara. According to the criminal complaint, the lobbyist represented a developer who was using a law firm that paid Silver for bringing in business. The developer, sources say, was politically connected Leonard Litwin, who Meara repped at the time.
From True News During the Past Year
Lobbyists Campaign Consultants Pitta Bishop Works Both for the I Can't Breathe and Pitta Bishop Which Represents the Detectives Endowment Assoc.
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Pitta Bishop Del Giorno Giblin is paid $40,000 a year to represent the PBA's Detectives' Endowment Association, Inc. After the split with the Advance Group, Ms. Mark-Viverito indeed made hefty payments to a number of other consultants (including lobbying and compliance firm Pitta Bishop) that aided her speaker bid. In a novel move, Pitta Bishop set up a 2017 campaign account for an unspecified city office, and Ms. Mark-Viverito raised more than $100,000, despite only needing the votes of 26 council colleagues to win the early 2014 leadership race. That led another good-government group, Common Cause/NY, to charge that she had exploited loopholes in state election law. Ms. Mark-Viverito's opponents in the speaker race did not similarly set up campaign funds to hire staff. But officials from Pitta Bishop say the move was fully vetted by the city Campaign Finance Board and state Board of Elections.Pitta Bishop Del Giorno Giblin Has Hit the Jack Pot With Over A 100 New Lobbying Clients Since She Took the Speakers Office .One Wonders How the lobbying Firm Explains the Speakers Views to Their PBA Client.
What Does the Council Speaker Really Believe?
Council speaker puts connected lobbyist on payroll(CrainsNY) Melissa Mark-Viverito quietly handed a $130,000-a-year staff position to a lobbyist from the firm that helped propel her to the City Council speakership, payroll records show. In late March, Carlos Beato, who was a lobbyist at the firm Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin, joined the City Council payroll as a deputy general counsel. The move came not long after the lobbying shop. * Nicole Gelinas of the Manhattan Institute writes in the Post that New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s push to decriminalize “nuisance” offenses would lead to an increase in more serious crimes:
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito got help landing job from top lobby firm that reps unions and real estate doperevels(NYDN) Documents released Wednesday show that the councilwoman set up a fundraising committee called Viverito NYC on Nov. 5 and designated Vito Pitta of the lobbying firm Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin as its "liaison." About one-fifth of the contributions, $21,400, came from Pitta's clients, mostly municipal unions who pay him to press their causes before city government. On the other side of the ledger, Mark-Viverito’s committee spent $80,000 on her campaign for speaker — including “consultant” fees of $17,000 to Pitta’s firm, according to the campaign finance documents released by the state Board of Elections.
What Does the Council Speaker Really Believe?
To the Winner Lobbyists Goes the Spoils (City Council)
Since the 2013 elections Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin has picked up of 70 clients to lobby for. 51 clients to lobby the city council, 17 to lobby the office of the mayor
Another big winner of 2013 made a similar argument. Jon Del Giorno, sitting in his firm's 28th-floor conference room a few blocks from City Hall, downplayed the notion that his closeness with Ms. Mark-Viverito will help his firm, Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin, which has hovered near the bottom of, or just out of, the top-10 list. Pitta Bishop has done Ms. Mark-Viverito's election-law compliance since 2005, and last year Mr. Del Giorno quarterbacked her uphill speaker bid. In a clever and unprecedented move, the firm set up a 2017 campaign account for an unspecified office with the state Board of Elections, which allowed Ms. Mark-Viverito to raise $100,000 and hire a full staff for her run, despite needing just 26 votes from council colleagues to win. More than $21,000 of the money reportedly came from Pitta Bishop's long roster of business and labor clients, and gave Ms. Mark-Viverito an edge over her rivals. Common Cause New York said the new speaker was "exploiting" the state's lax campaign-finance system.
In an unseemly but legal case of double-dealing, Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin helped Melissa Mark-Viverito become New York City Council speaker and is now lobbying Council members to pass mostly pro-union legislation
The Speakers Lobbyists Cash In
Pitta Bishop is A Lobbyist for A Nunber of LLCs Including Litwin's Glenwood management
Lobby for the City Council Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin,: MedReview, Inc., Meadows Office Supply Co., Inc., National Lighthouse Museum, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Inc., Knickerbocker Plaza LLC, Local 420 AFSCME AFL-CIO, Vera Institute of Justice, Inc., Hotel, Restaurant & Club Employees & Bartenders Union Local 6, New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council AFL-CIO, Detectives Endowment Association Police Department, City of New York Inc., Lakeside Manor Home For Adults Inc., Community Health Center of Richmond, Inc,, Grasmere and Cameron Lakes Bluebelt Conservancy, Inc., Plumbers and Gasfitters Local Union No. 1 of the United Association, New York State Conference of IUOE, Richmond Uni Home Care, Inc., Adco Electrical Corp, BIO-REFERENCE LABORATORIES, INC., New York Hotel Trades Council and Hotel Assoc. of NYC, Inc. Health Benefits Fund, LOCAL 372 NEW YORK CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION EMPLOYEES, UNITE HERE, MagnaCare Administrative Services, LLC, District Council No. 4, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, AFL-CIO, A.T.U.-Division 1181-1061 AFL-CIO, OFFICE &PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION LOCAL 153, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades DC 9 , RICHMOND UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER, BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc., International Union of Operating Engineers Local 14-14B, Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A, Glenwood Management Corp., LOCAL UNION NO. 94-94A-94B, I.U.O.E., AFL-CIO, NYSARC, INC., NEW YORK CITY CHAPTER, New York Black Operator's Injury Compensation Fund, Inc., UNIFORMED SANITATIONMEN'S ASS'N LOCAL 831 - I.B.T, Associated Brick Mason Contractors of Greater New York, Inc., East Side Alliance Against Overdevelopment, Inc., Urgent-MD Hewlett Management LLC , SOSH Architects, P.A.,, Lobby for the City Council and office of the mayor Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin,: New York Wheel LLC, WellPoint, Inc., Pier A Battery Park Associates, LLC, Garage Employees Local Union No. 272, Staten Island Marine Development, LLC, The Francis School, Chef's Choice Cash & Carry Food Distributor, Inc., THE WITKOFF GROUP LLC, Il Commandatore Restaurant Inc., RJ LEE GROUP, INC., Cameron Club of Staten island, Inc., Milrose Consultants, Inc., Jewish Community Center of Staten Island, Inc, UNIFORMED FIRE ALARM DISPATCHERS BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION, INC. , Lobby for the office of the mayor Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin,: Gardeners/Growers/Landscapers Association of New York, Inc., Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, SOSH Architects, P.A.
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Puppet Council Speaker Controlled By New Private Tammany Hall Shadow Govt
Top Speaker Lobbyist Pitta Bishop Puts A Man Inside Her Office
Who Are the Lobbyists Pitta Bishop and How Do They Control the Council
How Does the Speaker Within Months Lead A Protests Against the NYPD and Ask for 1000 More Cops?
The Detectives Endowment Association paid Pitta Bishop $66,000 in 2014, pushing for legislation on undercover detectives and 1,000 new police officers. Mark-Viverito announced last month that she supported the 1,000-new-cops initiative, in opposition to the mayor.* The New York City Council, led by Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, voted to create a new “Office of Civil Justice” to better connect plaintiffs in housing and immigration court with attorneys, the Observer writes: * NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito will march in Manhattan on Saturday to demand the liberation of Oscar López Rivera, a Puerto Rican nationalist currently held in federal prison for conspiracy.
True News Has Reported That the Lobbyists Campaign Consultants Have Destroyed the Election Process
The Shadow Govt Controls By Controlling the Elections Process
Campaign Consultant Lobbyists Work to Elect Kings So They Can Feast Like Kings
In another bit of coziness, Pitta Bishop donates to friendly lawmakers’ campaigns. Though the lobbying firm can give no more than $400 per candidate, the two founders also run Pitta and Giblin LLP, an affiliated law firm that has no donation restrictions. In 2014, that firm gave out $71,700, including $37,000 to Gov. Cuomo’s re-election campaign. Individual donations also sidestep the lobbying firm’s limits. Vincent Pitta’s wife, Antoinette, donated $4,500 to de Blasio’s 2013 race, campaign-finance records reveal. While there are no direct donations to Mark-Viverito, more than 20 percent of the $100,000 raised for her speaker campaign came from Pitta Bishop’s clients, mainly unions, as did much of the cost of her $27,000 inauguration. Critics say that allowing lobbying firms to donate to politicians, be paid by politicians as consultants, and then lobby those same politicians is troubling.
Why Did the NYP Keep Out the Lobbyists Advance Group Illegally Working for Speaker Mark-Viverito?
Daily News Charges Against Mark-Viverto
EXCLUSIVE: City Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules(NYDN) Mark-Viverito, an East Harlem councilwoman, accepted unpaid assistance from the Advance Group, a prominent lobbying firm working to further her candidacy (Daily News 11/27/2013)
Mark-Viverito Drops Advance
Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid(NYO) Ms. Mark-Viverito insisted today that this was not the case but out of an “abundance of caution,” the relationship would end. Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid - Blogs(TU)
Politicker Reports Than Advance Group Was A Crucial Player In the Brooklyn Deal to Make Mark-Viverito Speaker
An operative with the controversial Advance Group, Jonathan Yedin, who has been working in Brooklyn Democratic Party politics for more than a decade and belongs to Mr. Seddio’s political club. Though Ms. Mark-Viverito eventually stopped taking free advice from the Advance Group, Mr. Yedin remained a crucial player in the brokering of the deal, sources said. Inside Melissa Mark-Viverito’s Road to Victory(NYO) * Melissa Mark-Viverito Lobbyist Firm Never Quit, Continued Lobbying Despite Investigations * EXCLUSIVE: City Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules(NYDN) Mark-Viverito, an East Harlem councilwoman, accepted unpaid assistance from the Advance Group, a prominent lobbying firm working to further her candidacy.
How the Advance Group Conspired to Steal the 2009 and 2013 Election
Berlin Rosen Work to Make Mark-Viverito Speaker But Was Never Paid
NY1 in Its Report Said the Speaker Has Close Ties to Berlin Rosen, But There is No Record Of Her Paying Them Since 2009 Berlin Rosen Was In the Room When Brookyn Boss Seddio Made His Deal With the Mayor to Back Mark-Viverito. In 2009 Berlin Rosen Was A Consultant for Berlin Rosen
Berlin Rosen and de Blasio One NY PAC Slush Fund
NY1 Berlin Rosen and the Wiseguys Lobbyists
The WFP and Berlin Rosen Has Played Fast and Lose With the Election Law, Data and Field Arrests
Did Speaker Mark-Viverito Break the Law By Taking Money From NYCLASS?
At the Same Time Advance's Levinson Was
Why Did the NYP Leave Out the Work the Lobbyists MirRam Did to Make Mark-Viverito Speaker?
Memo to NYP Political Director: David Seifman: MirRam Violated the City's Ethics Law
What the NYP left out was that MirRam that group that profited from the graft was illegally working on the the campaign to make Melissa Mark Viverito Speaker. The lines that the NYP did not copy from the CrainsNY piece was the most important to point out how MirRam acted illegally. CrainsNY - "Last November, during the heart of the City Council speaker race, an employee of the MirRam group fielded a press request from Crain's on Ms. Mark-Viverito's behalf for an article about her past refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. But on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for MirRam said any work done for Ms. Mark-Viverito was only related work for her 2013 City Council campaign, though it had ended weeks before the press request was fielded by MirRam. The firm was not paid to assist her speaker campaign." Another lobbying firm close to Ms. Mark-Viverito, the Advance Group, landed in hot water for providing free consulting services during Ms. Mark-Viverito's speaker campaign. * Honest graft(NYP Ed) Crain’s is reporting that more than $1.31 million is headed to a powerful, politically connected Bronx nonprofit called the Hispanic Federation. To put that in perspective, this is more than a four-fold jump over what the same group got last year. And $833,333 of it will come from a fund controlled by Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito . In 2012, The Post reported the Hispanic Federation had received $24 million in taxpayer funds since 1998. And between 1998 and 2008, the federation in turn paid MirRam and another firm tied to Miranda $681,644.Now MirRam has lobbied its client, Speaker Mark-Viverito, to hand $1.31 million in new taxpayer money to a group that pays it handsomely in return.
Shadow Government Lobbyists That Help Mark-Viverito Become Speaker . . . Eat the King They Made Meat
Private Lobbying Groups Like The MirRam Group Elected Mark-Viverito Speaker Not the Elected Party Leaders of the Voters
The Advance Group was not the only lobbying firm to help. Early in Ms. Mark-Viverito's speaker bid, an employee from another lobby firm close to Ms. Mark-Viverito, the MirRam Group, handled an inquiry from Crain's for a story about her past refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. MirRam also was not paid for work on the speaker race. But MirRam maintains the work was merely related to Ms. Mark-Viverito's 2013 City Council bid—for which MirRam was paid—though that campaign had ended weeks before the Crain's inquiry. MirRam has since successfully lobbied Ms. Mark-Viverito on behalf of other clients.* Just don't call these consultants lobbyists(CrainsNY)*CrainsNY also reported Mark-Viverito is getting help by two other consultant lobbyists firms, Bishop Pitta Del Giorno and the Mirram Group. The first two have deep labor connections, while the latter has ties in the Hispanic community and in upper Manhattan and the Bronx . Ms. Mark-Viverito was escorted around Brooklyn 's Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club recently by Michael Cohen, a Bishop Pitta consultant, according a source in attendance.
After the Council Rubber Stamps the Mayor's Budget and the Cops Turn Back On Him the Speaker Becomes the Leader of the Anti NYPD Effort Now 100 More Cops?
Triangulation of A Puppet Speaker?
Mulgrew "Gum up the works"
‘Great place’: De Blasio’s budget leaves a (mostly) contented Council(Capital)* As he presented his $73.9 billion budget at City Hall Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was giving up on his campaign promise to get rid of the City Council's discretionary funding, saying he and the Council have "agreed to disagree" on the topic.* Friction by press release only
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Was Mark-Viverito's Election for Speaker illegal?
Speaking of speakers (NYDN Ed) Gifts of service to Melissa Mark-Viverito must not go unpunished. When, after the 2013 elections, then-Councilwoman Mark-Viverito was angling, with Mayor de Blasio’s enthusiastic backing, to become Speaker Mark-Viverito, she relied on the help of a well-connected political consulting and lobbying firm called the Advance Group. The pros helped her prepare for debates, network with county leaders, court fellow Council members — and win the second-most powerful job in city government. She got those usually high-priced services for the low, low price of zero dollars and zero cents. In other words, Mark-Viverito received a highly valuable in-kind campaign contribution from a company with lots of business before the city — including representing dozens of clients who regularly lobby the Council. This column urged the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board to take up the matter. The City Charter, after all, states: “No public servant shall accept any valuable gift . . . from any person or firm” who “is or intends to become engaged in business dealings with the city.” To its credit, the board has now opened up a case; the speaker has filed campaign finance statements that she has spent $20,000 on lawyers to represent her. What could her defense possibly be? Neither the facts of her accepting freebies nor the rules against it are in dispute. She should be fined the max possible, $25,000. Even still, she’ll end up getting away with having violated the charter in order to be one of the top officials sworn to uphold it.
Have the Progressive Caucus Also Violated the City Ethic Law By Asking A Lobbyist to Work for Free ?
From the NYT: "The caucus asked a labor official, Alison Hirsh, the political director of 32BJ, the union of janitors and doormen, to negotiate with the county chairmen, other council members and speaker candidates on its behalf." Alison Hirsh, who is a registered lobbyist. The progressive has not registered with the BOE and CFB to legally hire a lobbyist.
To the Winner Lobbyists Goes the Spoils (City Council)
Since the 2013 elections Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin has picked up of 70 clients to lobby for. 51 clients to lobby the city council, 17 to lobby the office of the mayor
Another big winner of 2013 made a similar argument. Jon Del Giorno, sitting in his firm's 28th-floor conference room a few blocks from City Hall, downplayed the notion that his closeness with Ms. Mark-Viverito will help his firm, Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin, which has hovered near the bottom of, or just out of, the top-10 list. Pitta Bishop has done Ms. Mark-Viverito's election-law compliance since 2005, and last year Mr. Del Giorno quarterbacked her uphill speaker bid. In a clever and unprecedented move, the firm set up a 2017 campaign account for an unspecified office with the state Board of Elections, which allowed Ms. Mark-Viverito to raise $100,000 and hire a full staff for her run, despite needing just 26 votes from council colleagues to win. More than $21,000 of the money reportedly came from Pitta Bishop's long roster of business and labor clients, and gave Ms. Mark-Viverito an edge over her rivals. Common Cause New York said the new speaker was "exploiting" the state's lax campaign-finance system.
The Speakers Lobbyists Cash In
Lobby for the City Council Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin,: MedReview, Inc., Meadows Office Supply Co., Inc., National Lighthouse Museum, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Inc., Knickerbocker Plaza LLC, Local 420 AFSCME AFL-CIO, Vera Institute of Justice, Inc., Hotel, Restaurant & Club Employees & Bartenders Union Local 6, New York Hotel and Motel Trades Council AFL-CIO, Detectives Endowment Association Police Department, City of New York Inc., Lakeside Manor Home For Adults Inc., Community Health Center of Richmond, Inc,, Grasmere and Cameron Lakes Bluebelt Conservancy, Inc., Plumbers and Gasfitters Local Union No. 1 of the United Association, New York State Conference of IUOE, Richmond Uni Home Care, Inc., Adco Electrical Corp, BIO-REFERENCE LABORATORIES, INC., New York Hotel Trades Council and Hotel Assoc. of NYC, Inc. Health Benefits Fund, LOCAL 372 NEW YORK CITY BOARD OF EDUCATION EMPLOYEES, UNITE HERE, MagnaCare Administrative Services, LLC, District Council No. 4, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, AFL-CIO, A.T.U.-Division 1181-1061 AFL-CIO, OFFICE &PROFESSIONAL EMPLOYEES INTERNATIONAL UNION LOCAL 153, International Union of Painters and Allied Trades DC 9 , RICHMOND UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER, BJ's Wholesale Club, Inc., International Union of Operating Engineers Local 14-14B, Brooklyn Legal Services Corporation A, Glenwood Management Corp., LOCAL UNION NO. 94-94A-94B, I.U.O.E., AFL-CIO, NYSARC, INC., NEW YORK CITY CHAPTER, New York Black Operator's Injury Compensation Fund, Inc., UNIFORMED SANITATIONMEN'S ASS'N LOCAL 831 - I.B.T, Associated Brick Mason Contractors of Greater New York, Inc., East Side Alliance Against Overdevelopment, Inc., Urgent-MD Hewlett Management LLC , SOSH Architects, P.A.,, Lobby for the City Council and office of the mayor Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin,: New York Wheel LLC, WellPoint, Inc., Pier A Battery Park Associates, LLC, Garage Employees Local Union No. 272, Staten Island Marine Development, LLC, The Francis School, Chef's Choice Cash & Carry Food Distributor, Inc., THE WITKOFF GROUP LLC, Il Commandatore Restaurant Inc., RJ LEE GROUP, INC., Cameron Club of Staten island, Inc., Milrose Consultants, Inc., Jewish Community Center of Staten Island, Inc, UNIFORMED FIRE ALARM DISPATCHERS BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATION, INC. , Lobby for the office of the mayor Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin,: Gardeners/Growers/Landscapers Association of New York, Inc., Council of School Supervisors and Administrators, SOSH Architects, P.A.
Council Speaker Campaign Gives the Most Member Items $$ to Her Campaign Consultants Lobbyists MirRam
After a Bad Night for Their Client Espaillat MirRam Still Made Money Today
Melissa Mark-Viverito Paid MirRam $35,000 for Her Campaign
Hispanic Federation gets biggest @NYCCouncil member item:$400K out of speaker's pot. (Capital)The federation has ties to almost every Hispanic lawmaker in The Bronx, including Rivera, but primarily benefits two men: political strategist Luis Miranda, who co-founded it and once served as its president, and Roberto Ramirez, a former Bronx Democratic Party boss. The men run a private political consulting firm, the MirRam Group. It’s paid by the Hispanic Federation and is hired by politicians who steer taxpayer money to the nonprofit.Flashback Twi$ted web of political nonprofits in Bx.(NYP)
Lobbyist Pitta Bishop On Both Sides of the NYPD Crisis . . . Control Power In Puppet City
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The Pitta Bishop Del
Palladino, the president of the Detectives' Endowment Association
Council Speaker Mark-Viverito who last mother put on an I Can't Breathe T-Shirt to join the anti-police protesters has made Pitta Biship Del Giorno millions in lobbying fees after the lobbyists help her win the speakership. The lobbying firm also represents the Detectives' Endowment Association, whose leader Palladino said Mr. de Blasio should offer an kind apology. As the lobbyists who operate as political consultants have taken over the Tammany Hall machine these lobbying firms like Pitta Biship Del Giorno have moved away from positions or ideology and represents both sides in their quest for power to make money.* Ethics reform in Albanyfar from a done deal @AlanChartock
Council Speaker From I Can't Breathe to 1000 More Cops All About Spin of the Moment
Mark-Viverito pushes plan to hire 1,000 more cops(NYP) The Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin Lobbying Firm Represent the "I Can't Breathe" Council Speaker at the Same Time It Represents the Detective's PBA- Michael Palladino, the president of the Detectives' Endowment Association
Council Speaker Mark-Viverito who last mother put on an I Can't Breathe T-Shirt to join the anti-police protesters has made Pitta Biship Del Giorno millions in lobbying fees after the lobbyists help her win the speakership. The lobbying firm also represents the Detectives' Endowment Association, whose leader Palladino said Mr. de Blasio should offer an kind apology.* As City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito pushes to add a thousand police officers, liberal elected officials are in an unfamiliar position—bearing the brunt of fury from activists on the left, the Observerreports:
The NYC nabes that simultaneously see the most crime, 911 calls, arrests are known as the "Crime Cloud" at the NYPD- 'Broken Windows' report
As the lobbyists who operate as political consultants have taken over the Tammany Hall machine these lobbying firms like Pitta Biship Del Giorno have moved away from positions or ideology and represents both sides in their quest for power to make money. Kelly Scott Murder Change My Mind Abourt Cop Cam Ray Kelly reverses body cam stance after Scott shooting (NYP) * 'IT HAS CHANGED MY MIND': Death of Walter Scott makes former NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly a supporter of police body cameras (NYDN) * New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito plans to repeat her call for the city to hire 1,000 new police officers in her official budget response Tuesday, The Wall Street Journal reports: * NYPD foundation got $1M gift from United Arab Emirates (NYDN) * ‘MARCH 2 JUSTICE': Protesters kick off 8-day, 250-mile walk from Staten Island to D.C. to raise awareness for police reform (NYDN) * The New York City Council is starting to “crowd-source” questions from social media at hearings in an effort led by “Twitter fanatic“ Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, the Daily News reports: * Commissioner Bratton on how the NYPD lost its way (NYDN) * Thee Rant, a blog for current and former NYPD officers, includes several racist posts that the department views as a problem, but the NYPD is limited in what it can do to prevent such posts, ProPublica reports: * Bratton vows to double down on ‘broken windows’ policing (NYP) Police Commissioner Bill Bratton said on Thursday that the NYPD plans to double down on quality-of-life policing — as he unveiled a sweeping report on “broken windows.” Bratton told a press conference at the police academy that the NYPD is committed to finding common ground with the city’s different communities and elected officials regarding “broken windows” law enforcement. * Bratton Explores Giving Warnings in Lieu of Arrests for Minor Offenses (NYT)The comments by William J. Bratton, the New York police commissioner, came amid a debate over the policing of minority communities and a conversation in the city about altering some practices.
Speaker Supports Gentrification Igniting Rezoning
Council Speaker Rejects Claims That de Blasio Rezonings Are Moving Too Fast (NYO) Defending her ally, Mayor Bill de Blasio, Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito rejected the claims of affordable housing advocates that City Hall is moving too swiftly with its plan to rezone more than a dozen neighborhoods. “I’m not understanding why they’re talking about the pace–[the rezonings] haven’t even been submitted, right? The conversations have just started,” Ms. Mark-Viverito, a Democrat like the mayor, told the Observer at an unrelated City Hall press conference this afternoon. “In my case, where East Harlem was mentioned in the State of the City with the mayor, there hasn’t been a formal plan presented to City Planning.”* Melissa Mark-Viverito on 2017: ‘You Can Never BeOver-Ready’ (NYO)
Other Shadow Government Lobbyists That Help Mark-Viverito Become Speaker
The MirRam Group
The Advance Group was not the only lobbying firm to help. Early in Ms. Mark-Viverito's speaker bid, an employee from another lobby firm close to Ms. Mark-Viverito, the MirRam Group, handled an inquiry from Crain's for a story about her past refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. MirRam also was not paid for work on the speaker race. But MirRam maintains the work was merely related to Ms. Mark-Viverito's 2013 City Council bid—for which MirRam was paid—though that campaign had ended weeks before the Crain's inquiry. MirRam has since successfully lobbied Ms. Mark-Viverito on behalf of other clients.
Lobbyists Campaign Consultants Pitta Bishop Works Both for the I Can't Breathe and Pitta Bishop Which Represents the Detectives Endowment Assoc.
Pitta Bishop Del Giorno Giblin is paid $40,000 a year to represent the PBA's Detectives' Endowment Association, Inc. After the split with the Advance Group, Ms. Mark-Viverito indeed made hefty payments to a number of other consultants (including lobbying and compliance firm Pitta Bishop) that aided her speaker bid. In a novel move, Pitta Bishop set up a 2017 campaign account for an unspecified city office, and Ms. Mark-Viverito raised more than $100,000, despite only needing the votes of 26 council colleagues to win the early 2014 leadership race. That led another good-government group, Common Cause/NY, to charge that she had exploited loopholes in state election law. Ms. Mark-Viverito's opponents in the speaker race did not similarly set up campaign funds to hire staff. But officials from Pitta Bishop say the move was fully vetted by the city Campaign Finance Board and state Board of Elections.Pitta Bishop Del Giorno Giblin Has Hit the Jack Pot With Over A 100 New Lobbying Clients Since She Took the Speakers Office .One Wonders How the lobbying Firm Explains the Speakers Views to Their PBA Client. Council speaker puts connected lobbyist on payroll(CrainsNY) Melissa Mark-Viverito quietly handed a $130,000-a-year staff position to a lobbyist from the firm that helped propel her to the City Council speakership, payroll records show. In late March, Carlos Beato, who was a lobbyist at the firm Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin, joined the City Council payroll as a deputy general counsel. The move came not long after the lobbying shop.
New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito is wrong to push for summonses rather than arrests for subway turnstile jumpers because detaining them can help prevent other crimes Melissa hops the turnstile(NYP) When Rudy Giuliani appointed Bill Bratton to head the police back in 1994, among the first moves the new commissioner made was to go after subway turnstile jumpers. For in his time as head of the city’s transit police, Bratton had learned that many of those arrested for fare-beating weren’t first-offenders or kids out on a lark. Many turned out to have criminal records or outstanding warrants. Detaining them often helped authorities prevent other crimes and help get career criminals off the streets. * Why does term-limited Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito have $152,408 in her 2017 NYC campaign account? @errollouis asked, but no clear answer.
Savino laid into the City Council Speaker after She Blasted the IDC Work in Public Housing
Which is why we find Melissa Mark-Viverito’s speech this week so alarming. In her State of the City address, the council speaker calls for the city to go back to the past by giving fare-beaters a summons rather than arresting them. Yes, there’s room to debate about which infractions should be considered arrest-worthy. In and of itself, jumping a turnstile might not seem the biggest crime. But from the vantage of history, we can now see that going after these fare-beaters was a huge first step in the recovery of this city. In many ways, it was at the heart of the Broken Windows policing that transformed a crime-plagued metropolis into America ’s safest big city.* Staten Island stateSenator Diane Savino calls City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito 'anidiot' on Facebook (NYDN) The state Senator was very upset with Mark-Viverito's comments that implied the Independent Democratic Conference had ignored public housing. Savino laid into the City Council Speaker, declaring: 'I will match my legislative record of real accomplishments against yours!'* Jeffrey Klein NY Senate | NYCHA Housing | NYC Worst Landlord * New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said she was “surprised” that Independent Democratic Council leader Jeff Klein issued a report on public housing, implying that he hasn’t shown much interest before,the Observer writes: * NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito said she’s “surprised” the IDC “suddenly finds public housing of interest.” She dismissed a recent report on the subject by the conference as “nothing new.” …not suprisingly, Sen. Diane Savino had something to say about that. She called Mark-Viverito an “idiot” on Facebook.* Staten Island state Senator Diane Savino calls CityCouncil Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito 'an idiot' on Facebook (NYDN) The state Senator was very upset with Mark-Viverito's comments that implied the Independent Democratic Conference had ignored public housing. Savino laid into the City Council Speaker, declaring: 'I will match my legislative record of real accomplishments against yours!'* Report: Sen. Diane Savino calls Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito an 'idiot' on Facebook (SI Advance) While on the Brian Lehrer Friday on WNYC, Ms. Mark-Viverito was asked about a city housing report in which Ms. Savino, Klein and others commented on "deplorable" conditions in New York City Housing Authority buildings .@JeffKleinNY proposes program to let private developers "adopt" a NYCHA project, repair decrepit conditions, get tax credits in return * Calling NYCHA the city’s “worst landlord,” state Sen. Jeff Klein and other politicians released a report that found “deplorable” conditions at the public housing authority’s developments, the Daily Newswrites: * New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito presentsher own agenda (WSJ)* How good eggs in Albany can stop therot (NYDN) To start, they ought to call out corrupt colleagues early and often
Daily News Editorial Spanks the Speaker for Watergate Level Corruption of Her Election As Speaker and the Entire 2013 Election
Speaking of speakers (NYDN Ed) Gifts of service to Melissa Mark-Viverito must not go unpunished. When, after the 2013 elections, then-Councilwoman Mark-Viverito was angling, with Mayor de Blasio’s enthusiastic backing, to become Speaker Mark-Viverito, she relied on the help of a well-connected political consulting and lobbying firm called the Advance Group. The pros helped her prepare for debates, network with county leaders, court fellow Council members — and win the second-most powerful job in city government. She got those usually high-priced services for the low, low price of zero dollars and zero cents. In other words, Mark-Viverito received a highly valuable in-kind campaign contribution from a company with lots of business before the city — including representing dozens of clients who regularly lobby the Council. This column urged the city’s Conflicts of Interest Board to take up the matter. The City Charter, after all, states: “No public servant shall accept any valuable gift . . . from any person or firm” who “is or intends to become engaged in business dealings with the city.” To its credit, the board has now opened up a case; the speaker has filed campaign finance statements that she has spent $20,000 on lawyers to represent her. What could her defense possibly be? Neither the facts of her accepting freebies nor the rules against it are in dispute. She should be fined the max possible, $25,000. Even still, she’ll end up getting away with having violated the charter in order to be one of the top officials sworn to uphold it.
de Blasio Won't Denounce Speaker for Wearing I Can't Breathe T-Shirt to Police Unions
Police unions asked de Blasio to denounce Melissa Mark-Viverito(NYDN) The leaders of the city's NYPD unions asked Mayor de Blasio to publicly denounce City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito for wearing an "I can't breathe" tee shirt but he refused, according to one of the union heads. Sergeants Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins, speaking Monday in a radio interview on AM 970 The Answer, said that the union bosses asked de Blasio to repudiate her at their closed door meeting last week. De Blasio defended the speaker in that meeting. '[He said] she's not his puppet, and that she felt very strongly about a grand jury decision," Mullins said. When asked point blank if he'd say he disagreed with her, Mullins said he ignored them.* Councilmen: Mullins ‘out of line’ to denounce speaker (Capital)Two allies of City Council speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito criticized the head of the sergeants union on Monday, after the union leader disclosed that he had asked for Mayor Bill de Blasio to denounce the speaker's participation in protests related to the Eric Garner case. Council members Jumaane Williams and Donovan Richards criticized Ed Mullins, president of the Sergeants Benevolent Association, for publicly discussing details of a meeting with the mayor last week, and for focusing on what they consider distractions to improving police and community relations.
Bill de Blasio's Rubber Stamp? (New Republic)
The inside story of how Melissa Mark-Viverito came to run
the New York City Council
For Six Months True News Has Been Reporting That the Council Speaker Paid A Lobbyists Who Was Lobbying Her . . . Today the Daily News Reports the Same Info As Exclusive
Daily News Dumb Crook Reporters?
A kick in the teeth (NYDN Ed) The Daily News delivers nearly 40,000 carriage horse petitions to City Hall, but Mayor de Blasio has blinders on
As Reported in True News for Months
Lobbyists Are the New Party Bosses
Melissa Mark-Viverito spent big bucks on speaker's race, campaign filings show
Flashback Why Did the Daily News Keep Out Its Own Story About the Advance Group Illegally Working for Speaker Mark-Viverito?
Daily News Charges Against Mark-Viverto
EXCLUSIVE: City Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules(NYDN) Mark-Viverito, an East Harlem councilwoman, accepted unpaid assistance from the Advance Group, a prominent lobbying firm working to further her candidacy (Daily News 11/27/2013)
Mark-Viverito Drops Advance
Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid(NYO) Ms. Mark-Viverito insisted today that this was not the case but out of an “abundance of caution,” the relationship would end. Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid - Blogs(TU)
To the Winner Lobbyists Goes the Spoils (City Council)
Since the 2013 elections Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin has picked up of 70 clients to lobby for. 51 clients to lobby the city council, 17 to lobby the office of the mayor
Another big winner of 2013 made a similar argument. Jon Del Giorno, sitting in his firm's 28th-floor conference room a few blocks from City Hall, downplayed the notion that his closeness with Ms. Mark-Viverito will help his firm, Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin, which has hovered near the bottom of, or just out of, the top-10 list. Pitta Bishop has done Ms. Mark-Viverito's election-law compliance since 2005, and last year Mr. Del Giorno quarterbacked her uphill speaker bid. In a clever and unprecedented move, the firm set up a 2017 campaign account for an unspecified office with the state Board of Elections, which allowed Ms. Mark-Viverito to raise $100,000 and hire a full staff for her run, despite needing just 26 votes from council colleagues to win. More than $21,000 of the money reportedly came from Pitta Bishop's long roster of business and labor clients, and gave Ms. Mark-Viverito an edge over her rivals. Common Cause New York said the new speaker was "exploiting" the state's lax campaign-finance system.
The Speakers Lobbyists Cash In
True News Had the Whole MirRam Member Item Story June 25th . . . CrainsNY and the Clueless NYP Followed
Council Speaker Campaign Gives the Most Member Items $$ to Her Campaign Consultants Lobbyists MirRam
After a Bad Night for Their Client Espaillat MirRam Still Made Money Today
Melissa Mark-Viverito Paid MirRam $35,000 for Her Campaign
Hispanic Federation gets biggest @NYCCouncil member item:$400K out of speaker's pot. (Capital)The federation has ties to almost every Hispanic lawmaker in The Bronx, including Rivera, but primarily benefits two men: political strategist Luis Miranda, who co-founded it and once served as its president, and Roberto Ramirez, a former Bronx Democratic Party boss. The men run a private political consulting firm, the MirRam Group. It’s paid by the Hispanic Federation and is hired by politicians who steer taxpayer money to the nonprofit.Flashback Twi$ted web of political nonprofits in Bx.(NYP)
What the NYP left out was that MirRam that group that profited from the graft was illegally working on the the campaign to make Melissa Mark Viverito Speaker. The lines that the NYP did not copy from the CrainsNY piece was the most important to point out how MirRam acted illegally. CrainsNY - "Last November, during the heart of the City Council speaker race, an employee of the MirRam group fielded a press request from Crain's on Ms. Mark-Viverito's behalf for an article about her past refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. But on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for MirRam said any work done for Ms. Mark-Viverito was only related work for her 2013 City Council campaign, though it had ended weeks before the press request was fielded by MirRam. The firm was not paid to assist her speaker campaign." Another lobbying firm close to Ms. Mark-Viverito, the Advance Group, landed in hot water for providing free consulting services during Ms. Mark-Viverito's speaker campaign.
Advance Got In Hot Wate, WTF
WHERE ARE THE PROSECUTORS?
As the Daily News Reported
Daily News Charges Against Mark-Viverto City Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules(NYDN) Mark-Viverito,
an East Harlem councilwoman, accepted unpaid assistance from the
Advance Group, a prominent lobbying firm working to further her
candidacy (Daily News 11/27/2013) Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid(NYO)
Ms. Mark-Viverito insisted today that this was not the case but out of
an “abundance of caution,” the relationship would end. Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid - Blogs(TU)
Pathetic NYP: Said "someone should cry foul" First They Should Study the City's Ethic Law
One Week After True News and 3 Days After CrainsNY Pick Up Our Story the Post Discovers Their Own Story About Hispanic Federation and MirRam
Wednesday Honest graft(NYP
Ed) Crain’s is reporting that more than $1.31 million is headed to a
powerful, politically connected Bronx nonprofit called the Hispanic
Federation. To put that in perspective, this is more than a four-fold
jump over what the same group got last year. And $833,333 of it will
come from a fund controlled by Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito . In 2012,
The Post reported the Hispanic Federation had received $24 million in
taxpayer funds since 1998. And between 1998 and 2008, the federation in
turn paid MirRam and another firm tied to Miranda $681,644.Now MirRam
has lobbied its client, Speaker Mark-Viverito, to hand $1.31 million in
new taxpayer money to a group that pays it handsomely in return.The real
crime here is that, so far as we know, none of this is illegal. We’re
not saying the federation, which funds other Bronx nonprofits, never
does any good work. But when taxpayer dollars are steered to politically
connected groups through a process that doesn’t even require a council
vote, someone should cry foul.
A nonprofit organization founded and represented by NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s top political consultant saw its pork-barrel funding quadruple in the first budget deal she brokered.
A
nonprofit organization founded and represented by the chief political
consultant of Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito saw its pork-barrel
funding quadruple in the speaker's first budget, Crain’s reports:
Of the $1.3 million windfall allocated to the nonprofit Hispanic Federation in the city budget passed last Wednesday, more than $830,000 came from a newly created program funded by monies directly under Ms. Mark-Viverito's control. The lobbying firm that serves as her campaign consultant, the Manhattan-based MirRam Group, specifically lobbied lawmakers including Ms. Mark-Viverito to create the fund. Luis Miranda, a founding partner of the MirRam Group, who is close to Ms. Mark-Viverito, founded the influential Hispanic Federation in 1990 and now serves as its paid lobbyist. The Hispanic Federation has also paid more than $680,000 for "consulting" to MirRam and a firm registered to Mr. Miranda and his wife, the New York Post reported in 2012. he Hispanic Federation, an umbrella group that provides grants to Latino nonprofits and advocates on issues such as immigration, employs MirRam on an $8,500 monthly retainer, according to state lobbying records. Besides serving as Ms. Mark-Viverito's main City Council campaign consultant, MirRam quietly provided assistance in the midst of Ms. Mark-Viverito's council speaker campaign last fall, though it denies the work was related to the speaker race. The firm has become a force in the city's political landscape, especially among minority elected officials in Manhattan and the Bronx. The firm's other founding partner is Roberto Ramirez, the former Bronx Democratic Party leader. he Hispanic Federation, an umbrella group that provides grants to Latino nonprofits and advocates on issues such as immigration, employs MirRam on an $8,500 monthly retainer, according to state lobbying records. Besides serving as Ms. Mark-Viverito's main City Council campaign consultant, MirRam quietly provided assistance in the midst of Ms. Mark-Viverito's council speaker campaign last fall, though it denies the work was related to the speaker race. The firm has become a force in the city's political landscape, especially among minority elected officials in Manhattan and the Bronx. The firm's other founding partner is Roberto Ramirez, the former Bronx Democratic Party leader. MirRam also lobbied Queens Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras, the council's finance committee chairwoman. Another lobbying firm close to Ms. Mark-Viverito, the Advance Group, landed in hot water for providing free consulting services during Ms. Mark-Viverito's speaker campaign.
After a Bad Night for Their Client Espaillat MirRam Still Made Money Today
Melissa Mark-Viverito Paid MirRam $35,000 for Her Campaign
Hispanic Federation gets biggest @NYCCouncil member item:$400K out of speaker's pot. (Capital)The federation has ties to almost every Hispanic lawmaker in The Bronx, including Rivera, but primarily benefits two men: political strategist Luis Miranda, who co-founded it and once served as its president, and Roberto Ramirez, a former Bronx Democratic Party boss. The men run a private political consulting firm, the MirRam Group. It’s paid by the Hispanic Federation and is hired by politicians who steer taxpayer money to the nonprofit.Flashback Twi$ted web of political nonprofits in Bx.(NYP)
The NYP is Wrong About Honest Graft . . . If They Are Going to Copy That Should at Least Understand What they Copy
Memo to NYP Political Director: David Seifman: MirRam Violated the City's Ethics LawWhat the NYP left out was that MirRam that group that profited from the graft was illegally working on the the campaign to make Melissa Mark Viverito Speaker. The lines that the NYP did not copy from the CrainsNY piece was the most important to point out how MirRam acted illegally. CrainsNY - "Last November, during the heart of the City Council speaker race, an employee of the MirRam group fielded a press request from Crain's on Ms. Mark-Viverito's behalf for an article about her past refusal to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. But on Wednesday, a spokeswoman for MirRam said any work done for Ms. Mark-Viverito was only related work for her 2013 City Council campaign, though it had ended weeks before the press request was fielded by MirRam. The firm was not paid to assist her speaker campaign." Another lobbying firm close to Ms. Mark-Viverito, the Advance Group, landed in hot water for providing free consulting services during Ms. Mark-Viverito's speaker campaign.
Advance Got In Hot Wate, WTF
WHERE ARE THE PROSECUTORS?
As the Daily News Reported
Pathetic NYP: Said "someone should cry foul" First They Should Study the City's Ethic Law
One Week After True News and 3 Days After CrainsNY Pick Up Our Story the Post Discovers Their Own Story About Hispanic Federation and MirRam
A nonprofit organization founded and represented by NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s top political consultant saw its pork-barrel funding quadruple in the first budget deal she brokered.
Of the $1.3 million windfall allocated to the nonprofit Hispanic Federation in the city budget passed last Wednesday, more than $830,000 came from a newly created program funded by monies directly under Ms. Mark-Viverito's control. The lobbying firm that serves as her campaign consultant, the Manhattan-based MirRam Group, specifically lobbied lawmakers including Ms. Mark-Viverito to create the fund. Luis Miranda, a founding partner of the MirRam Group, who is close to Ms. Mark-Viverito, founded the influential Hispanic Federation in 1990 and now serves as its paid lobbyist. The Hispanic Federation has also paid more than $680,000 for "consulting" to MirRam and a firm registered to Mr. Miranda and his wife, the New York Post reported in 2012. he Hispanic Federation, an umbrella group that provides grants to Latino nonprofits and advocates on issues such as immigration, employs MirRam on an $8,500 monthly retainer, according to state lobbying records. Besides serving as Ms. Mark-Viverito's main City Council campaign consultant, MirRam quietly provided assistance in the midst of Ms. Mark-Viverito's council speaker campaign last fall, though it denies the work was related to the speaker race. The firm has become a force in the city's political landscape, especially among minority elected officials in Manhattan and the Bronx. The firm's other founding partner is Roberto Ramirez, the former Bronx Democratic Party leader. he Hispanic Federation, an umbrella group that provides grants to Latino nonprofits and advocates on issues such as immigration, employs MirRam on an $8,500 monthly retainer, according to state lobbying records. Besides serving as Ms. Mark-Viverito's main City Council campaign consultant, MirRam quietly provided assistance in the midst of Ms. Mark-Viverito's council speaker campaign last fall, though it denies the work was related to the speaker race. The firm has become a force in the city's political landscape, especially among minority elected officials in Manhattan and the Bronx. The firm's other founding partner is Roberto Ramirez, the former Bronx Democratic Party leader. MirRam also lobbied Queens Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras, the council's finance committee chairwoman. Another lobbying firm close to Ms. Mark-Viverito, the Advance Group, landed in hot water for providing free consulting services during Ms. Mark-Viverito's speaker campaign.
Did Speaker Mark-Viverito Break the Law By Taking Money From NYCLASS?
At the Same Time Advance's Levinson Was Working As An Illegal Campaign Consultant for Council Speaker NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito Also Received Money From NYCLASS
Council Speaker Delivers to Gentrifying Developers
Melissa’s tall tale(NYDN)
Melissa’s tall tale (NYDN Ed)
If the City Council speaker really wants more affordable housing, why isn't she supporting a new Harlem development?
If you’re Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, how do you respond to plans for hundreds of new affordable apartments in your East Harlem district? Do you thank the developers for setting aside 25% of a luxury project for the needy, going beyond what city housing programs require? Do you offer constructive thoughts about a plan that could help Mayor de Blasio meet his goal of building 80,000 reduced-rent apartments like these? Not a chance. Instead, the woman with the power to make or break big projects griped to the Daily News’ Juan Gonzalez about the “lack of affordable units” and the height of the towers that will contain them.
The CFB Finds the Advance Coordinated PAC NYCLASS $$$ and Campaign $$$
The Investigation Of the Advance Group NYCLASS Corruption Continues With Fines Against Two CN Cumbo and Levenson
City council members fined over money from anti-horse carriage group(NYP)Two city council members were slapped with hefty fines for accepting prohibited campaign contributions from a group at the center of the Central Park horse carriage brouhaha. Freshman member Laurie Cumbo (D-Brooklyn) was fined $7,868, and newbie Mark Levine (D-Manhattan) was fined $8,686 by the city’s Campaign Finance Board for accepting over-the-limit funding from a “prohibited source.” The board found that the funding source for both campaigns – New Yorkers for Clean, Livable and Safe Street (NYCLASS) – was too intertwined with the candidates’ consultant, The Advance Group (TAG).Campaigns are prohibited from coordinating with third-party groups that make “independent” expenditures. Yet TAG president and lobbyist Scott Levenson was political director for NYCLASS, and both groups shared the same office space.* Two NYC campaigns fined over cash from animal rights group(Newsday) But NYCLASS and The Advance Group were intertwined -- NYCLASS' political director doubled as The Advance Group's president, for example -- and spending by NYCLASS "could not be and" was "not independent" of the campaigns, the finance board said. The contributions were over the $2,750 limit as nonindependent spending and weren't reported by the campaigns, the board said. Cumbo and Levine responded with a joint statement, saying their campaigns are opposed to outside spending in elections.* 2 City Council members fined thousands for accepting improper campaign funds from anti-carriage horse group NYCLASS(NYDN)
"We take our obligation to avoid coordinating with any outside group spending money on our races very seriously," they said. "Although we disagree with the conclusions the CFB reached in our cases, we support the CFB's efforts to monitor the accurate reporting of independent expenditures in general. Thus we have chosen to settle these allegations by repaying to the CFB the amount of NYCLASS's investment in our races."* A lawyer for The Advance Group blasted the Campaign Finance Board’s penalties Wednesday. “The CFB has failed to offer one iota of evidence that coordination took place in this case,” said attorney Larry Mandelker. “This is a clear case of guilt-by-association.”
CFB Chair Gill-Hearn the Investigation Moving Forward
Two Weeks Ago True News Reported About the CFB's Investigation of Cumbo
Investigation Not About Quinn
The Big Crime of the is Mixing the Citizen Action PACs With the Public Funds (CFB) The Buzz going around the ever shrinking group who really know what is going on in this town, is that their are emails being look at between Advance and their political client CM Laurie Cumbo , and that those emails show no firewalls between the Citizens United PACs and the CFB campaigns.L
.
.
Puppet Council Speaker Controlled By New Private Tammany Hall
Top Speaker Lobbyists Puts A Man Inside
Top Speaker Lobbyists Puts A Man Inside
Pitta Bishop also worked for PA Letitia James, Brooklyn BP Eric Adams, Councilman Chaim M Deutsch
Daily News Charges Against Mark-Viverto
EXCLUSIVE: City Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules(NYDN) Mark-Viverito, an East Harlem councilwoman, accepted unpaid assistance from the Advance Group, a prominent lobbying firm working to further her candidacy (Daily News 11/27/2013)
Mark-Viverito Drops Advance
Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid(NYO) Ms. Mark-Viverito insisted today that this was not the case but out of an “abundance of caution,” the relationship would end. Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid - Blogs(TU)
Politicker Reports Than Advance Group Was A Crucial Player In the Seddio Deal to Make Mark-Viverito Speaker
Speaker Mark- Viverito Nowhere Woman
More than 2/3 of voters in NY13 haven't heard enough of
How the Papers Try to Define A Speaker Controlled By Lobbyists
True News Called the Council's Member Items Reforms Bull Shit Before the Daily News, NYT
Last Weeks Cartoon From True News Wags the NYT
Today's NYT writes that proposed rule changes to improve the legislative process for the New York City Council are good, but where the rules reform package doesn’t crack down harder on members’ ability to steal money is bad The City Council, Playing by Better Rules(NYT Ed) The New York City Council missed an opportunity by seeking to study “member items” rather than end these stipends that pad members’ salaries.
De Blasio Says End Member Items Now . . .
Fake Council Progressives Have Removed Reform From the Progressive Movement
Daily News Editorial Stick a fork in the pork(NYDN Ed) The Council doubles down on "what, me worry?" as yet another member is arrested. Following the arrest of Ruben Wills, Mayor de Blasio needs to stand up to objections from City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and push to abolish member items or require that all contracts be awarded based on competitive sealed bids.
Councilman's Arrest Revives Debate on Grants(WSJ)
NYC Councilman Ruben Wills: “ I am not resigning on charges, this is America, people. We are presumed innocent before we are proven guilty.” * Ruben Wills: ‘I Am Presumed Innocent and That’s What I’m Going With’(NYO) * Wills Used Charity To Conceal Matching Funds Theft (Updated)(YNN) * Councilman Ruben Wills defiantly proclaimed his innocence after arrest for looting a non-profit group he once ran (NYP) * Schneiderman Slams Councilman Wills’ ‘Shameful Breach’ of Trust(NYO)
Bill de Blasio Says ‘It’s Time to End Member Items’(NYO) Mayor Bill de Blasio today repeated his opposition to City Council member items, setting himself up for a showdown in the coming months with council members, who rely on the millions of dollars to fund senior centers, parks and other projects in their districts, boosting their reputations in the process.
Mayor Bill de Blasio today repeated his opposition to City Council
member items, setting himself up for a showdown in the coming months
with council members, who rely on the millions of dollars to fund senior
centers, parks and other projects in their districts, boosting their
reputations in the process.
Fake Council Progressives Have Removed Reform From the Progressive Movement
Daily News Editorial Stick a fork in the pork(NYDN Ed) The Council doubles down on "what, me worry?" as yet another member is arrested. Following the arrest of Ruben Wills, Mayor de Blasio needs to stand up to objections from City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and push to abolish member items or require that all contracts be awarded based on competitive sealed bids.
Councilman's Arrest Revives Debate on Grants(WSJ)
NYC Councilman Ruben Wills: “ I am not resigning on charges, this is America, people. We are presumed innocent before we are proven guilty.” * Ruben Wills: ‘I Am Presumed Innocent and That’s What I’m Going With’(NYO) * Wills Used Charity To Conceal Matching Funds Theft (Updated)(YNN) * Councilman Ruben Wills defiantly proclaimed his innocence after arrest for looting a non-profit group he once ran (NYP) * Schneiderman Slams Councilman Wills’ ‘Shameful Breach’ of Trust(NYO)
Bill de Blasio Says ‘It’s Time to End Member Items’(NYO) Mayor Bill de Blasio today repeated his opposition to City Council member items, setting himself up for a showdown in the coming months with council members, who rely on the millions of dollars to fund senior centers, parks and other projects in their districts, boosting their reputations in the process.
Where the Check On de Blasio Budget?
Mulgrew "Gum up the works"
‘Great place’: De Blasio’s budget leaves a (mostly) contented Council(Capital)* As he presented his $73.9 billion budget at City Hall Thursday, Mayor Bill de Blasio said he was giving up on his campaign promise to get rid of the City Council's discretionary funding, saying he and the Council have "agreed to disagree" on the topic.* Friction by press release only.
* City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito reported she earned between $5,000 and $44,000 in rental income last year, after failing to disclose the earnings on previous years’ ethics forms, the Daily News reports: http://goo.gl/8MsT0T
Lobbyists Puppet Council Speaker . . .
Top Speaker Lobbyists Puts A Man Inside
Fake Council Reform . . .
True News Called the Council's Member Items Reforms Bull Shit Before the Daily News
TN Wags the DN
Today's Daily News - Reform the reform (NYDN Ed) It took a new mindset and a new regime at the City Council to produce a series of badly needed reforms. Credit goes to Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito and Rules Committee Chair Brad Lander for delivering a package worthy of passage. . . Putting unilateral power to disburse public money in the hands of elected officials eager to spread magic dust and win the gratitude of their constituents (and reelection) invites corruption. Ex-members Larry Seabrook, Miguel Martinez and Hiram Monserrate are all behind bars for stealing member items. Dan Halloran’s trial starts next month.
Which explains why a former councilman named Bill de Blasio, who smelled the stench of the slush up close, wants all $400 million in yearly member items banned. That, of course, is a no-go with the Council, which would rather get a round of applause for reform while continuing to tap a huge kitty of cash. Besides wrongly wanting to keep the slush funds, Mark-Viverito also punted on the extra cash payments, called lulus, that she hands out to members for running committees and holding leadership posts. Though a majority supports a ban, the speaker went only so far as to recommend that an advisory commission due to be appointed next year take up the matter. That’s a dodge. Ban lulus. Ban member items. Go the distance on reform.
Yesterday's True News
Changing How Funds Are Distributed Does Not Fix Corruption of Member Items System
Lipstick on So Called Progressive Pigs Power Grab
All of the corruption connected to member items has come from who the council members have distributed the funds to, not how many dollars in funds the speaker gave members. It is a power grab by member disguised as reform. Councilman Larry Seabrook was convicted of orchestrating a broad corruption scheme to funnel hundreds of thousands of dollars in city money to his relatives, friends and a girlfriend through a network of nonprofit organizations that he controlled. Councilman Miguel Martinez was convicted of misappropriating $55,000 meant for two nonprofit groups in his district, the Washington Heights Art Center and the Upper Manhattan Council Assisting Neighbors.
City Council 2014, Progressives
City Council Member Items Slush Fund
Dear Madam Council Speaker
A Snarky Quote By Your Flack Is Not Going to Create Jobs or Keep Business in NYC . . . Not Even A Donut
New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito ridiculed a planned visit to New York City by Texas Gov. Rick Perry to try to woo business back to his home state, calling the visit a sideshow, the Daily News reports: Percentage of unionized workforce: New York, 24.3 percent. Texas, 4.8%. NY employment growth, March, 2013-2014, 1.2%. Texas employment growth, 2.8%. NY population growth, 2.3 percent in past decade. Texas, 20.1 percent! Poverty as % of population. NY, 18.1 percent. Texas 16.4 percent. NYC's unemployment rate, 7.9%. Texas, 5.5%. NY added 500,000+ jobs in past decade, but Texas added almost 2 million.* Texas Gov. Rick Perry to visit New York to woo local businesses to his state(NYDN) Rick Perry is coming to New York to lasso businesses and lead them south to the Lone Star State, but the City Council speaker is wondering if he’ll be swinging on the flying trapeze. Texas’ conservative. Judge Gerald Connolly is laughing at Airbnb counsel's attempt to introduce blind quotes in a New York Post article as part of argument
5. EXCLUSIVE: City Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules(NYDN) Mark-Viverito,
an East Harlem councilwoman, accepted unpaid assistance from the
Advance Group, a prominent lobbying firm working to further her
candidacy. Melissa Mark-Viverito Lobbyist Firm Never Quit, Continued Lobbying Despite InvestigationsSpeaker Against Vacation Time
New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito opposes a bill that would require businesses with 10 or more employees to provide paid vacation time, Crain’s Insider reports:
Council Hires New General Counsel(NYO) Kathleen Ahn, who most recently served as general counsel at the city’s
Department of Small Business Services, will be the council’s new chief
lawyer, making sure new legislation passes muster and overseeing any
litigation with other offices. She previously worked as a special
assistant to former President Bill Clinton at the White House, deputy
chief of staff to then-Senator Joe Biden, at the College Board and for
Con Ed.
de Blasio Puppet Speaker Attacks Cuomo II
New Council Spends More $$$ Already
City Council plans 10 percent raise in its budget(NYP) The move by Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito follows five years of relative austerity under her predecessor, Christine Quinn, who ended her tenure with a $51.5 million budget. The new budget for Fiscal Year 2015, which starts on July 1, will be $56.9 million.
Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin Makes the Speaker and Cashes In
Meet the New Progressive City Council, Sock Puppets for Lobbyists
A consulting firm—Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin—that helped Melissa Mark-Viverito in her runs for City Council and Council speaker has lobbied her on behalf of four clients, the Daily News reports: Disclosure reports show an advocacy group, the East Side Alliance Against Overdevelopment, paid Pitta Bishop $15,000 in November to fight a plan by Memorial Sloan-Kettering hospital to build two towers on city-owned land on E. 73rd St. Pitta Bishop lobbied Council members from Manhattan, including Mark-Viverito — who represents East Harlem — to vote against the project when it came before the 12-member Manhattan Borough Board on Nov. 21. Mark-Viverito voted no, but the project was approved 6 to 4. Mark-Viverito’s spokesman said her vote had no connection to the lobbying by her consultant. In January and February, Pitta Bishop lobbyists also met with Mark-Viverito’s staff on behalf of another client, the Vera Institute. The goal? Vera’s request for additional Council funding of a pilot program providing legal aid to immigrants. Vera received $500,000 in funding last year and wants $5 million more this year. Pitta Bishop also lobbied Mark-Viverito in January and February seeking “support for museum programming related to anti-bullying” run by the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Manhattan. She was asked to speak at an anti-bullying event targeted to children, which she agreed to do, her spokesman said. And Luis Miranda of the MirRam Group enjoys a close relationship with Ms. Mark-Viverito.
A Play Budget Written By the Lobbyist That Run the Council and Mayoral Staff
Mayor Shoot Down Council More Cop Plan
De Blasio shoots down bid to expand NYPD by 1,000 cops(NYDN) * Both NYPD Commissioner William Bratton and de Blasio pushed back against a City Council proposal to hire 1,000 police officers, the Daily News writes: * SHOT DOWN: NYPD Commissioner Bill Bratton, Mayor de Blasio reject City Council's proposal to hire 1,000 officers(NYDN)
The New York City Council’s proposed budget, which will be unveiled today, will push for $24 million for free lunches for all public school children and $94 million to add 1,000 new police officers to the NYPD’s force, the Daily News writes: * The New York City Council will also unveil a proposal for a commission to overhaul the city’s property-tax system to make it more equitable, The Wall Street Journal reports: *Free Lunch for All Public school kids may get free lunch regardless of family income as part as $24M program in proposed City Council budget(NYDN) .
PC Bratton not only couldn't pick his top deputies now he's forced to say he doesn't need more cops despite patrol strength depletion
Sal Albanese
CM Feel Left Out By Speaker Mark-Viverito
― George Orwell, Animal Farm
Complaints mount in Council about Mark-Viverito(Capital) The burgeoning discontent has been prompted, most recently, by the speaker's appointments to the body's "budget negotiating team," or BNT. Several members, including some of her allies in the Progressive Caucus, are furious they were left out of the group, and rec "There is a huge problem with communication now," said a member who was appointed to the BNT. "That's what a lot of members are upset about, finding things out at the last minute. They don't feel informed." “Several members … are furious they were left out of the group, and recently held a conference call to air their concerns,” sources told the outlet. Others are angry about how they found out.
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito
To the Winner Lobbyists Goes the Spoils (City Council)
Since
the 2013 elections Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin has picked
up of 70 clients to lobby for. 51 clients to lobby the city council, 17
to lobby the office of the mayor
Another big winner of 2013 made a similar argument. Jon Del Giorno, sitting in his firm's 28th-floor conference room a few blocks from City Hall, downplayed the notion that his closeness with Ms. Mark-Viverito will help his firm, Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin, which has hovered near the bottom of, or just out of, the top-10 list. Pitta Bishop has done Ms. Mark-Viverito's election-law compliance since 2005, and last year Mr. Del Giorno quarterbacked her uphill speaker bid. In a clever and unprecedented move, the firm set up a 2017 campaign account for an unspecified office with the state Board of Elections, which allowed Ms. Mark-Viverito to raise $100,000 and hire a full staff for her run, despite needing just 26 votes from council colleagues to win. More than $21,000 of the money reportedly came from Pitta Bishop's long roster of business and labor clients, and gave Ms. Mark-Viverito an edge over her rivals. Common Cause New York said the new speaker was "exploiting" the state's lax campaign-finance system.
The Speakers Lobbyists Cash In
Mark-Viverito's Council is Really A Lobbyists Pay to Play Dream, What About the Rest of City Hall?
The Daily News writes that in continuing to deal with Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin, City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has brought pay-to-play to the Council, and she must cut ties with the firm or its clients: http://goo.gl/u9Rtmg Campaigning for appointment as the Council’s leader, Mark-Viverito accepted freebie services from a political consultant and lobbying firm — until, in November, the Blogs and Daily News caught her at it. Then she dipped into her campaign treasury to hire a different lobbyist to boost her fortunes. Having relied on this second firm during her reelection, Mark-Viverito retained its help in persuading her colleagues to name her speaker and then in raising money for her inauguration. Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin reciprocated by raising more than 20% of the $100,000 that Mark-Viverito spent on her speakership drive, as well as most of the $27,000 tab for her bash. Now, the Daily News’ Greg Smith reports, Pitta Bishop has lobbied Mark-Viverito on behalf of four clients — who will surely be the first of many unless Mark-Viverito either recuses herself from voting on matters involving Pitta Bishop clients or bars Pitta Bishop representatives from her office. A Manhattan community group hired Pitta Bishop to oppose a development plan by Memorial Sloan-Kettering hospital. Pitta Bishop lobbied Mark-Viverito. Wonder of wonders, she has turned thumbs down on the project. The criminal justice non-profit Vera Institute retained Pitta Bishop to seek a boost in city grants from $500,000 to $5 million. Pitta Bishop lobbied Mark-Viverito. She’s making up her mind. And so on and so forth ad nausea. Mark-Viverito has brought pay-to-play into bloom in the Council. She must sever ties with Pitta Bishop or its clients.
City Council de Blasio Doormat
Love-In
Absence of Contention at Council Hearing Helps Reinforce the de Blasio Effect(NYT)
Nothing better illustrates the new relationship between the fiercely liberal City Council and the fiercely liberal mayoral administration than the tone of preliminary budget hearings. Showing off a good relationship between the liberal Council and the liberal de Blasio administration* Council forms budget negotiating team(Capital) * With much of the NYC Council ideologically aligned with the new de Blasio administration, the previously contentious budget hearings have at times turned into something like a love-in.
Our Dumb Down Speaker Put Foot In Her Mouth With A Tweet That Said East Jerusalem as part of “Palestine”
Saddened by the escalating violence in Palestine. We mourn the loss of life and call for an end to this cycle of viol
Viverito under fire for ‘Palestine’ tweet(NYP) City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito stepped into a Middle East minefield by referring to East Jerusalem as part of “Palestine” — drawing condemnation from supporters of Israel. Mark-Viverito, in a..“It’s not surprising that the speaker would talk in the language of the Pro-Palestinian far left that is led by fellow Democrats, President Obama and Secretary [of State John] Kerry,” said Bruce Blakeman, vice president of the American Jewish Congress and a GOP House candidate from Long Island. Mark-Viverito’s camp defended her remark.“Her only intention was to lament the violence that recently claimed the lives of a young Palestinian in J
Daily News Charges Against Mark-Viverto
EXCLUSIVE: City Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules(NYDN) Mark-Viverito,
an East Harlem councilwoman, accepted unpaid assistance from the
Advance Group, a prominent lobbying firm working to further her
candidacy (Daily News 11/27/2013)
Mark-Viverito Drops Advance
Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid(NYO)
Ms. Mark-Viverito insisted today that this was not the case but out of
an “abundance of caution,” the relationship would end. Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid - Blogs(TU)
Politicker Reports Than Advance Group Was A Crucial Player In the Seddio Deal to Make Mark-Viverito Speaker
More on the Advance Group Under Investigation
The Big 8 Lobbyists
CrainsNY on the Advance Groups Double Dipping
Melissa Keeps her Twitter
New York Council Speaker Keeps a Low Profile Everywhere but on Twitter(NYT)The Twitter feed of Melissa Mark-Viverito is an unfiltered, unruly
stream of musings and irritations, and sometimes loopy observations. The Tweets of Melissa Mark-Viverito
The Times further profiled Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito‘s Twitter habits. “I said, ‘You are not going to get rid of my Twitter,’” Ms. Mark-Viverito recalled telling her aides.* “You are not going to get rid of my Twitter" Delicious look by
Where your money's going - the $50 million odd City Council member items just released
Speaker Takes Shots At Pro Charter School Cuomo On Twitter
Speaker and Council Parties On Developers and Lobbyists Dime
Records: 87% of funds for Mark-Vierito’s inauguration bash were raised from 3 developers, 3 unions
Pay to Party and Then Play New Council
EXCLUSIVE: City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito's inauguration party paid for by real estate developers, unions (NYDN) Records show that 87% of the $30,000 Mark-Viverito raised for her lavish Jan. 30 party came from three developers — the Witkoff Group, Marathon Development and Lighthouse Group LLC — and three unions. The unions have pushed for the living wage laws recently enacted by the City Council. Records show that 87 percent of City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s $30,000 inauguration party was raised from three developers and three unions that hired one of her campaign aides as a lobbyist. And $6,500 came from three unions — the New York Hotel & Motel Workers, Plumbers Local 1 and Hotel Workers Local 6 — that have pushed for the living wage laws recently enacted by the City Council. Mark-Viverito has pushed to expand the laws even further. The Witkoff Group and the three unions have all hired the lobbyist group Pitta, Bishop, Del Giorno and Giblin to press City Hall for various causes. The firm’s founder, Vito Pitta, was a “liaison” to Mark-Viverito’s campaign.
Mark-Viverito Weekend Dump
Who Are the Power Brokers Picking the Next Speaker?
Who is Paying the Advance Group to Lobby For Melissa Mark-Viverito
* City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito let go of 10 staffers as her transition continues, though the number of layoffs is far fewer than those issued by her predecessors, Capital New York writes:
The City Council and It Money
Does not Include Corrupt Earning
INTERACTIVE: Meet your new City Council (and its money)(NY World) As new speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito takes the helm, financial
disclosures reveal the baggage and benefits 51 members bring to public
service New City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito went through a final
hazing in the days leading up to her selection on Wednesday, with
revelations that she holds real estate in Puerto Rico, owns a townhouse in East Harlem; that she appears not to have disclosed income from tenants there (an “unintentional mistake,” her staff said). This information and more is embedded in financial disclosures that
Mark-Viverito and other council members and candidates are required to
file. The most recent disclosures, from 2012, reveal important insights
about the new City Council, where 21 out of 51 members are freshmen. To
note a few: The presentation of information about the council members’ personal
financial information should be consumed keeping in mind a few notes.
First, for some new council members, their 2012 income may have taken a
slight hit if they decided to take leave from a position in order to
start running for the council full-time. Second, filings are done within
fairly large ranges, which can make it difficult to fully ascertain the
totals within certain categories, such as income, as can be seen by
selecting income from the drop-down menu and then mousing over a council
member’s image. Third, when it comes to the figures for debt, securities, real estate
investments, and property ownership, council member filings may be
(legally) misrepresentative of holdings if certain debts or assets are
held solely in a council member’s partner or spouse’s name. Public officials are
at times able to at least attempt to deflect attention from their
finances by utilizing this strategy. Fourth, on the category
of professional licensure: several council
members who at one time held a license in a given field may no longer
hold said license and therefore would not declare it in their most
recent filing. For example, Council Members Danny Dromm and Alan Maisel
were New York City public school teachers for several years prior to
joining the council.
Melissa Mark-Viverito Lobbyist Problems
It is Not Just Advance
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito got help landing job from top lobby firm that reps unions and real estate doperevels(NYDN) Documents released Wednesday show that the councilwoman set up a fundraising committee called Viverito NYC on Nov. 5 and designated Vito Pitta of the lobbying firm Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin as its "liaison." About one-fifth of the contributions, $21,400, came from Pitta's clients, mostly municipal unions who pay him to press their causes before city government. On the other side of the ledger, Mark-Viverito’s committee spent $80,000 on her campaign for speaker — including “consultant” fees of $17,000 to Pitta’s firm, according to the campaign finance documents released by the state Board of Elections.
Lobbying records show that
Pitta represents a variety of clients,
from municipal unions to real estate developers, before the Council.The
existence of Viverito NYC, and Pitta’s role, were not publicly known
until the committee filed a financial report Wednesday, the most recent
disclosure deadline for campaign committees created under state Board
of Elections rules.* City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito spent big to
get herself elected by her fellow council members, shelling out nearly
$80,000 between early November and early January, according to new state
campaign filings reported by Crain’s New York Business.
The money includes payments to a host of consultants who worked on her
campaign, which was also aided by several well-known lobbyists who are now helping her hire staff and dole out committee assignments.
Bishop Pitta Michael Cohen and Melvin Lowe
Ms. Mark-Viverito was escorted around Brooklyn's Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club recently by Michael Cohen, a Bishop Pitta consultant, according a source in attendance. Mr. Cohen has retained an attorney in relation to the indictment of Democratic political consultant Melvin Lowe but says he's not in the comaplaint.
Mark-Viverto May Have Violated Ethic Law
Advance Group Gamed the PACs
Losers Miss the Gravy Campaign Tricks
Mark-Viverito opponents hope to avoid carnage(Capital) Rivals won’t won’t be left with much once the spoils are doled out* The Rise of the Super Friends: BFFs Bring Liberal Love Fest to City Hall(NYO) * * New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito raised more than $100,000 after her election, and spent nearly $80,000 on consultants and donations to other political groups in her bid to become Speaker, Crain’s reports * Several lobbyists who helped Mark-Viverito in her successful bid to become Council Speaker are now aiding her in deciding committee assignments and who the Council should hire, Crain’s writes: * NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito skirted local campaign finance limits by opening a 2017 account with the state board of elections and using it to fund her speaker race.
Mark-Viverito Failed to Disclose $92G
New Council Speaker Releases Five Years of Tax Returns(NY1)
New City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito is a property owner
several times over, and her primary residence, an East Harlem condo, has
caused a bit of controversy."We are amending, as we speak, I'm amending
the forms to ensure the most accurate information," Mark-Viverito said
Tuesday. She did not report her rental income on city financial
disclosure forms.* Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has no apologies for tax forms’ contents, timing(NYDN) The
newly elected City Council speaker says she released her tax returns
Friday — a well-known dumping ground for bad news — because that is when
they were made available. Mark-Viverito also says people can interpret
the contents of the tax forms however they would like.* Velazquez disputes reports of mayor getting Mark-Viverito elected speaker(Daily Eagle)
Speaker Mark-Viverito Visits the Godfather Saturday Morning
Last
night, the council speaker released five years of her tax returns,
showing she made between $20,000 and $30,000 every year renting out
part of the property. The newly minted speaker also partially owns four
properties in Puerto Rico and did not report any rental income from
there.* Mark-Viverito not so charitable(Capital) Melissa Mark-Viverito did not donate any money to charity in 2012,
despite earning a combined $128,575, between her Council salary and
rental income from property she owns, according to tax returns that were
released by a spokesman late on Friday.* NYC health care union that backed de Blasio, Mark-Viverito wields new clout(NYDN) If de Blasio owes his landslide election to anyone, it’s Gorge Gresham and his
union SEIU-1199. The 200,000-member group was the only major labor union to
endorse de Blasio in the primary and did so back in May when he was
languishing in fourth place. The union followed up with a second big win: It leaned hard on City
Council members to elect Melissa Mark-Viverito, a former 1199 organizer,
as Council speaker.
Al Sharpton and Speaker Mark-Viverito Blast Media: 'They Just Went Crazy on Melissa'(NYO)* Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito Dodges Questions About Her Tax Returns(NYDN)
Crain’s New York Business reports that many business leaders are wary of Ms. Mark-Viverito’s reign. ”The concern is whether there will be that balance,” said Manhattan Chamber of Commerce President Nancy Ploeger. ”Everyone I talk to is really scared,” added an unnamed business leader.
More on the Council Speakers Race
NYT Article Predicts A Major Fight Today
“Adding
an additional layer of potential intrigue, in the absence of a speaker,
the meeting will be presided over by the city clerk, Michael McSweeney —
who happens to be a former aide to Mr. Crowley.”
NYC’s new bosses — not the same as the old(NYP)Here’s
the thing: It seems that neither de Blasio nor Mark-Viverito
ever bothered to report that income to the municipal ethics cops, as the
city’s mandatory-disclosure laws require. It was an “unintentional
mistake,” says the Mark-Viverito camp. Of course it was.If she emerges
with the job, not only will de Blasio have carried the
day for her (a huge coup for the fledgling mayor), but the city’s top
two jobs will henceforth be held by former employees of the Service
Employees International Union — a special-interest behemoth that has
been corrupting state and local government in New York for decades. Yes,
the results could be ugly — and often were downright scandalous.
But the de Blasio/Mark-Viverito alternative contains no checks
whatsoever, no balances — just a government beholden to shockingly
narrow interests that have shown no restraint in the past, and who
clearly have no plans to do so in the future.
Mark-Viverito got subsidized home although she was about to inherit fortune(NYP) * Mark-Viverito lobbied on behalf of Cuban spies(NYP) *Showdown near on next NYC Council Speaker(NEWSDAY) * Late Lobbying for Support as Speaker Election Nears(NYT)* STILL DEFIANT! Melissa Mark-Viverito fails to release tax returns on eve of City Council speaker vote(NYDN) * De Blasio battles Democratic bosses ahead of City Council vote(NYDN) * No-show Mark-Viverito (NYDN Ed) No income disclosure by speaker candidate* * As an unusual floor battle shapes up
with the New York City Council speaker’s race coming to a close, the
idea of creating a rival caucus, similar to that of the state Senate
IDC, has been floated among Dan Garodnick supporters, Crain’s writes: * How the City Council speaker is selected is just as important as who is selected, and it would be unfortunate if the next speaker feels he or she owes his or her election
to outsiders, not Council members, Dick Dadey and Alex Camarda of
Citizens Union write in the Daily News: * The Post writes that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio’s pick for City Council speaker, Melissa Mark-Viverito, embodies attributes associated with the privileged “1
percent” * Editorial: Daniel Garodnick is better to lead City Council (AMNY)
The New York Times reports that Congressman Joe Crowley, “who seemed to be investing a good deal of his prestige” on Dan Garodnick‘s
behalf, “was expected to attend the vote on Wednesday, which some
suggested could become an uncommonly bitter and open fight on the
Council floor.”* Capital New York reports that one of front-runner Melissa Mark-Viverito‘s
supporters “said the opponents can have their say, but the real sign of
how bad the fight has gotten will be if Garodnick supporters from the
Bronx and Queens try obstructing the vote, whose outcome is no longer in
question.” * While the media hits against Ms. Mark-Viverito keep coming. The New York Post: “Mark-Viverito lobbied on behalf of Cuban spies.” The Daily News: “Melissa Mark-Viverito fails to release tax returns on eve of City Council speaker vote.” The Post, again: “Mark-Viverito got subsidized home although she was about to inherit fortune.” * The Post, as a whole, does not seem fond of Ms. Mark-Viverito. The paper further editorialized today
that she “embodies many of the attributes we associate with the
privileged ’1 percent,’” citing “inherited wealth,” “union-busting,”
“sweetheart deals,” and “not paying her fair share.” “Now, that’s rich,”
the Post concluded.*Mark-Viverito Bloc Huddles Hours Before Speaker Vote(NYO)
Dan Janison I'm in Albany, but hearing about restricted access at the NYC Council chamber. "Blue tickets" required? If true violates open meetings law.
NYP: The Big Fold Mark-Viverito to Be Elected Unanimously
Melissa Mark-Viverito to be elected City Council Speaker(NYP) Negotiations now are centered on how to get Garodnick’s supporters behind Mark-Viverito for a unanimous vote. While
most of the plum chairmanships have already been promised to
Mark-Viverito supporters, the deck is in the process of getting
reshuffled so that Garodnick supporters don’t end up empty-handed. Her
win also gives de Blasio, who sources said played an unusually
aggressive role in the race by getting personally involved, a close ally
at the head of a 51-member body that’s intended to serve as a check on
the mayor’s office. In exchange, Seddio was promised that his members
would get plum
chairmanships and that he could play a significant role in filling
lower-level City Council posts, according to sources. De Blasio has
publicly denied putting pressure on council members and
has even refused to say publicly that he backed Mark-Viverito, whose
brusque demeanor has turned some colleagues against her.* Last-minute jockeying in NY Council Speaker race.(NYT) * .@DanGarodnick supporters meeting now - considering unity pledge for @MMViverito - story TK on * Dan Garodnick & his supporters arrived at 12:30. He hugged @MMViverito to applause. Seems like Council may be unified.* .@DanGarodnick puts out statement of support for @MMViverito new speaker of the @NYCCouncil *Dan Garodnick says a broader swath of the council should have been included in rules committee. A note of dissonance here.* De Blasio Ally Mark-Viverito Elected Council Speaker (WNYC) * The winners and losers of the NYC Council speaker fight.
Daily News Looks At A Progressive Candidate For Speaker and Calls Her A Hypocrite
Hypocrite for speaker(NYDN Ed) Mark-Viverito's words don't match her actions. No one was more supportive than Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito
of Mayor de Blasio’s Tale of Two Cities campaign — which castigated the
rich for taking an ever-larger slice of the city’s economy and railed
against unaffordable housing costs and the award of tax subsidies to
those who don’t need them. Violating the standards she demands of others, Mark-Viverito is legally
exploiting city tax breaks and real-estate financing incentives while
living the life of a wealthy woman. The breaks she is getting differ
only in degree from those afforded to the mega-developers she finds so
offensive. The money could be far better used to help a family for whom housing is truly unaffordable.*Garodnick After threats, real estate warms toGarodnick(Capital) "You can hardly say after [Midtown East] that he's real-estate
friendly," said another real estate executive, in an interview this
week.
"But for the overall health of the city, you’d like to see some
semblance of balance in the power structure and under the current likely
scenario, that would not exist." The Real Estate Board of New York has what the real estate executive
described as a "longstanding relationship with [Queens Democratic
leader] Joe Crowley. They have a newer relationship with the Bronx." Meanwhile,
completing the reversal of Garodnick's alliances, the Hotel Trades
Council is backing Mark-Viverito even though Garodnick, at the union's
behest, went to bat hard for the hotel workers to secure labor
agreements in Midtown East.* In Bid to Be Council Speaker, a Tenants’ Champion Fights an Uphill Battle(NYT)Daniel R. Garodnick is challenging Melissa Mark-Viverito, who is backed
by a City Council majority, powerful labor unions and Mayor Bill de
Blasio. speaker
candidate Dan Garodnick is hoping he can sway six more Council members
to support him before Wednesday and says if the mayor essentially
chooses the speaker, the Council won’t be an effective check of power. Monday Update*
Mark-Viverito Charter Schools 180 Mark-Viverito was for charters before she was against them (NYP)Melissa Mark-Viverito was for charter schools in her East Harlem district — until she hungered to become the next City Council speaker, critics charge. Viverito last week signed on to…* Mark-Viverito Unreported Rent Income UNSPOKEN: Council speaker hopeful Mark-Viverito leasing out space in Harlem building — WITHOUT reporting rental income in latest ethics gaffe(NYDN) * Here, via John Kenny of NYTrue.com, is the councilwoman speaking about her speaker dreams -- and being the center of attention in the contest:* How does Scott Stringer's endorsement of Melissa Mark-Viverito in the speaker's race affect Dan Garodnick's hope of an 11th-hour win?* Soccer plan at the mercy of Mark-Viverito | Capital New York *30 Meet Again Today Mark-Viverito Coalition Meets to Solidify Bloc Before Vote(NYO) * Mayor De Blasio Goes To Bat For Melissa Mark-Viverito - But The Bronx Won't Play Ball(NYDN)
Tuesday Council Speaker Update
De Blasio has refi ties to Dem boss key to Viverito bid(NYP)Since
2012, de Blasio has refinanced both homes he owns in Park Slope
through the firm where Brooklyn Democratic leader Frank Seddio formerly
served as vice president — Wall Street Mortgage Bankers.Public records
show that the most recent deal came just three days
after de Blasio’s primary victory on Sept. 10, when he refinanced his
11th Street home with the firm for $625,000. In June 2012, he had
refinanced another home his family owns down the block with Wall Street
Mortgage Bankers for $630,000. A de Blasio spokesperson says it is
“six degrees of separation” that the Brooklyn Democratic leader whom de
Blasio lobbied for support for Mark-Viverito used to work for the firm
through which de Blasio refinanced a pair of home*Admits to Hiding Rental Income "Unintentional Mistake" HIDE
AND SPEAK: NYC Councilwoman Mark-Viverito admits failing to disclose
rental income after trying her best to avoid controversy (NYDN) * Bronx members stick with Garodnick(Capital) Council members fear retribution from primary challenges in their future * When the Big Dogs Get Down to Business, Teeth Are Sometimes Bared(NYT)New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is
looking for two prizes (his pick for City Council speaker and the
governor to follow his pre-K plan), but the political landscape is set
up for battles on all fronts, The New York Times’ Michael Powell writes: *
Daily News Mark-Viverito Must Rlease Her Income Taxes The Daily News writes that with the New York City Council appearing poised to appoint Melissa Mark-Viverito as speaker, she must release her income tax filings to put minds at rest about stories that revealed she didn’t disclose rental income:* Nearly all of the 30 City Council members supporting Mark-Viverito’s bid met for an hour at Brooklyn Borough Hall Monday afternoon, according to the NYO. "Mark-Viverito, who made an appearance at the meeting, boasts a bloc five votes larger than the 26 she needs to be crowned the second-most-powerful elected leader in this city. The challenge, for her supporters, is to stave off a concerted challenge from Councilman Dan Garodnick and the two county organizations in the Bronx and Queens that are still aggressively pushing his candidacy." In a seemingly unusual development for a 51-voter race, two major newspapers have basically endorsed Dan Garodnick for City Council speaker, at least by disqualifying front-runner Melissa Mark Viverito. “To elevate her to that position would be to trash ethical standards,” the Daily News wrote, for example. Meanwhile, Bronx Councilwoman Annabel Palma, a Garodnick supporter, let loose on the Mark-Viverito forces, telling Capital New York, “This whole process has been handled through manipulation and threats.” “This whole process of … the unions having such a heavy hand on who gets a speaker is totally disrespectful,” she added.* Mark-Viverito Feted on Upper West Side Ahead of Speaker Vote(NYO) m* On the eve of the vote for City Council speaker, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio dodged questions comparing his advocacy for Mark-Viverito to Michael Bloomberg’s alliance with former Council speaker Christine Quinn, City & State writes: * Queens Lawmakers Still Won't Back Melissa Mark-Viverito For City Council Speaker(NYDN) * On Eve of Speaker Vote, de Blasio Evasive On Mark-Viverito and Quinn Comparison(City and State) * Garodnick Wages 11th-Hour Persuasion Campaign(NYO) * Speaker-race dissenters ponder caucus (CrainsNY)
NYT Endorses Garodnick for Speaker
The Next Council Speaker(NYT Ed) Focuses on issues of process and reform, not cult of personality
The Daily News reported
that she failed to report any rental income from a building she owns in
East Harlem, a disturbing lapse if she has tenants there, as voting
records suggest. The Post noted
that she recently signed onto a lawsuit seeking to nullify
“co-locations” of charter schools in school buildings, including one —
Dream Charter School in her district — that she boasted of helping to
finance. Ms. Mark-Viverito’s supporters insist that she will stand up to Mr. de
Blasio. They accuse her main rival for the post, Daniel Garodnick, of
representing the old system, in which Democratic leaders picked the
speaker and doled out committee chairmanships, patronage jobs and member
pork. It’s true that party bosses in Queens and the Bronx,
outmaneuvered by Mr. de Blasio, want Mr. Garodnick to win. But Mr. Garodnick has an independent streak
of his own and has distinguished himself in the fight to preserve
middle-class housing and other issues. The next speaker will be judged
by her or his independence and ability
to reform Council rules to introduce transparency and accountability.
Council members should consider the reputation and legislative record
offered by Mr. Garodnick, who seems the better choice.NY Daily News also Says No to Mark-Viverito Hiding income is unbecoming for a Council speaker
The 1% For Council Speaker Pretending to Be Representing the 99%
THE 1 PERCENT SPEAKER FOR THE 99 PERCENT: City & State columnist Seth Barron looks into populist Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito's privileged upbringing and her status as one of the wealthiest members of the City Council:* Contenders for Council Speaker Boast Extensive Outside Income(NYO) * Melissa Mark-Viverito and Dan Garodnick are the last two standing in a bitter backroom clash for City Council speaker. But the loser of the race won’t walk away needing cash.
Both Ms. Mark-Viverito and Mr. Garodnick boast extensive outside income unrelated to their plum City Council posts, according to city conflict of interest reports. Mr. Garodnick, for instance, quietly maintains an extensive stock portfolio investing in companies that have drawn their share of controversy, including several pharmaceutical and energy giants. Ms. Mark-Viverito, meanwhile, retains lucrative ownership stakes in housing and land in her native Puerto Rico and received tax breaks on her East Harlem home.
Reporter Not Doing Their Jobs on the Secret Deals Council Speakers Race
When Occupy Wall Street was the political fad, Mark-Viverito wore a T-shirt that said “99%” to signal that she was in that broad strata of the American economy. In fact, as revealed by Daily News reporter Greg Smith, Mark-Viverito is a member of the hated 1%. When MMV father died in 1997, he bequeathed millions to her mother, Mark-Viverito and two brothers. Around that time, she was applying for and winning ownership of a three-unit townhouse under a program meant for persons of limited income and assets. She reported her salary as a union researcher, which was low enough to qualify.
“Council-speaker battles are done behind the scenes,” said political strategist. “It’s never a done deal until the final vote”
MMV May Not Have the Votes Locked Up de Blasio Pushing Hard
More on the Council Speakers Race
Mark-Viverito On the Government Tit
Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, top speaker candidate, built up $1.5M in properties while paying no interest on city loan(NYDN) Mark-Viverito
benefited from a no-interest loan program through city Department of
Housing Preservation and Development before she accumulated a wealth of
properties in Puerto Rico and New York. Mark-Viverito has been benefiting from a homebuyer
assistance program she was eligible for starting in 1998, even though
today her net worth exceeds $1.5 million, according to record * Councilwoman Bruised Feelings in Zoning Fight (NYT)
Zoning Fight Puts on Display Polarizing Style of New York Council
Speaker Candidate. Melissa Mark-Viverito rammed through an unexpected,
last-minute zoning change supported by her
staunch ally, the 1199 S.E.I.U. health care workers union.* Council speaker hopeful Melissa Mark-Viverito pokes fun at rival's claim she put curse on home(NYDN)
Mark-Viverito Millionaire PR Flack Ethan Geto Catnip to the Press
Real Estates Guy Geto Put A Curse on the Middle Class
She received considerable financial contributions from the nonprofit for whom she had fought. For their part, executives of Jewish Home were unaware of the rezoning process, said Ethan Geto, a spokesman — even though some hearings were held in their building. When they realized that their plans would not conform with the new guidelines, they began working with Ms. Mark-Viverito, 1199 and others, Mr. Geto said. Participants in the talks recall that 1199 S.E.I.U. United Healthcare Workers East, which represented about 600 employees at the nursing home, became a potent force in pushing for the project. Mr. Geto said Ms. Mark-Viverito struck him as a principled defender of the community, with a knack for consensus. Often, it seemed as if Ms. Mark-Viverito and 1199 — whose members sometimes showed up en masse to meetings wearing their signature purple clothing — were working in sync, they said. Before 2007, very few, if any, trustees or people affiliated with Jewish Home donated to her City Council campaign. But after she injected herself in the dispute, she received more than $8,300 from people associated with Jewish Home — more than 10 percent of her $81,000 fund-raising total for the 2009 election. She also reported just one bundler of donations, a Jewish Home trustee, according to Campaign Finance Board records. * Latino lawmakers and labor unions are rallying behind Mark-Viverito—with one lawmaker saying “this, with Melissa, is our Obama moment”—as the City Council preps to select a speaker next week, NY1 reports: * Loser pol: Rival put a Caribbean hex on me(NYP) * Garodnick Not Backing Down In City Council Speaker Race (NY1)
Was It A Mistake for Team Mark-Viverito to Publish the 30?
Queens Boss Crowley Knows Who To Target to Turn 4 Councilmembers
Chairmanships, job, member items, lulus, sex, CASH
The 30 Target List
Melissa Parties Like it is January 9, 2014
Biggest Losses Queens GOP Boss Crowley his Mini Me Parkside's Evan Stavisky
QUOTE OF THE DAY: “It reminds me
a little bit of George Bush on the aircraft carrier. This has a ways to
go still." - Rep. Joe Crowley, the Queens Democratic chair, commenting
on reports that Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito will be the next
Council speaker, via the Daily News. Rep. Joe Crowley, the Queens Democratic chair, said it is premature and that Councilman Dan Garodnick
still has a chance, the Daily News writes:* Melissa Mark-Viverito Says She's "Made History," As Joe Crowley Says Not So Fast(NYDN)
Checks and Balances Palma:"we're going to have a fractured body & we're not going to have a real check and balance to the administration" * Said the other man in the speaker race, Councilman Dan Garodnick, per Capital NY:
"We look forward to having this conversation with our colleagues over
the next three weeks which is a very long time in politics. I continue to make the case to my colleagues that we need an independent City Council that functions where members are united and able to work together." * City Hall Pro: Garodnick fights on(Capital) * Garodnick forces fight on, for an ‘independent’ speaker(Capital)
The Parkside Monopoly
"The New Boss is Bill de Blasio" Corrupt Lobbyists Hank Sheinkopf
De
Blasio is one quick move has beaten the city's political bosses who
have existed for decades on life support. Bloomberg just bought their
support with his millions. The new mayor turned the very weak Brooklyn
boss Seddio who had just lost a DA race (and others) against his fellow
weak bosses who have been keep alive by lack of opposition, reform and a
press who passes smoke and mirrors for news. It is very Orwellian to
read today's papers and blogs and not read a word how de Blasio who has
yet to be sworn in has become the most powerful mayor in the history of
NYC. Not because he has a political operation like Boss Tweed or
Carmine de Sapio, de Blasio is powerful because after running on fumes
for decades opposition and dissent left town. De Blasio has not only
become the new boss he has also taken over the legislative branch of
city government. Very deep question of real check balances and
consolidation of power are ignored by all, including the media and GOP.
In fact only GOP Queens' councilman Eric Ulrich is proudly supporting de Blasio pick for speaker. *A City Councilwoman Not Afraid to Take On Inequality(NYT) * In Melissa Mark-Viverito, New York
City Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio’s pick for City Council speaker and
candidate currently with majority support, de Blasio may have found a
legislative partner who is just as outspoken against inequality as he
is
.@HelenRosenthal professing her support for @MMViverito for @NYCCouncil Speaker. * Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio denies back-room deals in maneuver to make Melissa Mark-Viverito City Council speaker(NYDN) Vacca has received three death threat letters calling for him to drop out of the City Council speaker’s race* Queens County Democratic Leader Takes On Mayor-Elect Over Speaker's Race (NY1) Sal Albanese
@markjgreen @Azi @davidwchen looks like Crowley has high moral ground pushing for separation of powers. You can't make this up * * Broken political friendships among
multiple politicians have preceded Melissa Mark-Viverito being backed by
Bill de Blasio for the New York City Council speaker position, the New York Times’ Jim Dwyer writes: * De Blasio’s Speaker(City Journal)
Mark-Viverito Advances Inconsistencies
The Lobbyist Consultant Firm the Advance Group after the Mark-Viverito End Her Relationship With Them After the Daily News Exposed They She May Be Breaking the City's Ethics Law
Daily News Charges Against Mark-Viverto
More on the Advance Group Under Investigation
.
Brooklyn Boss Progressive Mayor Deal
Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito has declared victory in the race, but opponent Dan Garodnick said he feels good about his standing with three weeks before the vote
Mark-Viverito Declares Victory Speaker’s Race
Mark-Viverito Makes Her Case(WSJ)
Capital New York has more on the doling out of plum committee assignments in the wake of the deal. “It’s like a fire sale out there,” one source told the outlet. “They’re promising everything. … They went from progressive deals to back-room deals in record time.” * de Blasio’s direct appeal to Brooklyn Democratic party boss Frank Seddio, whose switch helped turn the tide toward Mark-Viverito -- and sources saying that borough’s councilmembers stand ready to enjoy some lulus in exchange for their willingness to back her in the Jan. 8. vote. But Manhattan Councilman Dan Garodnick, who had emerged as a consensus candidate, wasn’t ready to admit defeat… * "They went from progressive deals to back-room deals in record time." (Capital)
De Blasio Pressing City Council Members to Install a Liberal Ally as Speaker(NYT)
@davidwchenIn statement, @MMViverito declares that she has lined up 31 votes - with names and quotes - to become next @NYCCouncil speaker* Melissa Mark-Viverito Declares Victory in Speaker’s Race(NYO) * Melissa Mark-Viverito Declares Victory In Council Speaker's Race(NYDN) * De Blasio ally claims to be NYC council speaker(WSJ) * Mark-Viverito claims victory in NYC speaker race(Newsday) * Melissa Mark-Viverito Says She Has Enough Votes To Secure Speaker's Race (NY1) * Mark-Viverito Declares Victory In Speaker Race; Greenfield, Deutsch Pledge ...(Yeshiva World News)
King Maker Brooklyn Boss Seddio
NYC Political Machine At War
Unity Deal Last Less Than 24 Hour
The Insider: Brooklyn Dems back Mark-Viverito for speaker(CrainsNY) "De Blasio reached out to him and said, 'You're a Brooklyn guy, I'm a Brooklyn guy, let's make a deal" * The fact that 3/4 of the Brooklyn deligation was already going with MMV had something to do with Seddio Flip.* Mark-Viverito Appears to Have the Votes After Brooklyn Break(NYO) In 85 during speaker fight Koch stayed out. Dinkins as a Dem never had opportunity. Then u had 2 Republicans. So@BilldeBlasio did it big.
Brooklyn Council Bloc Backs Melissa Mark-Viverito After Intervention By Bill de Blasio(NYDN) * Seddio Betrays Crowley and Heastie; De Blasio Goes To War With County Chairs Over Mark-Viverito (City and State) * Bill de Blasio Pushes Melissa Mark-Viverito In Speaker's Race, As County Leaders Resist * Bill de Blasio Pushes Melissa Mark-Viverito In Speaker's Race, As County Leaders Resist(NYDN) * ‘This Is Going to Be All-Out War’: Progressives and County Leaders Collide Over Speaker’s Race(NYO) * Speaker Race Warms Up(WSJ) * De Blasio ruffles Dem leaders in backing Mark-Viverito for City Council(NYP) * De Blasio Making Calls in Support of Mark-Viverito for Speaker(DNAINFO) *Sources: De Blasio Calling Council Members To Express Support Of Mark ...(NY1) * Amid speaker frenzy, de Blasio skips a Mark-Viverito event(Capital) * Council Queens Democratic Boss Says @MMViverito is a Front-Runner @eldiariony *Brooklyn's backing puts Mark-Viverito on verge of speakership(CrainsNY) * Garodnick stays in the speaker’s race(Capital) * Melissa Mark-Viverito close to being next city council speaker: sources(NYP) * De Blasio Seeks a Centrist Pivot in Melissa
Mark-Viverito(City Council Watch)* “Seddio ultimately decided
that playing ball with (Queens Democratic Chair Joe) Crowley and (Bronx
Democratic Chair Carl) Heastie might leave Brooklyn on the outside
looking in when it came to jobs, committee assignments, and political
clout.” * Brooklyn Delegation Meets To Solidify Support for Melissa Mark-Viverito (NYO) The move, however, left Mr. Crowley livid and believing that Mr. Seddio had “back-stabbed” him* And the New York Times weighed in on the speaker’s race deal, noting that back when he was a councilman, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio
lost his own bid for the post after failing to secure the backing of
the county chairs. This time around, he foiled the leaders by peeling
away Brooklyn’s Frank Seddio. “Eight years after losing
a race for speaker of the City Council, Mayor-elect Bill de Blasio is
determined to win one,” they wrote.
Weprin & Willams Out
City Councilman Mark Weprin Backing Dan Garodnick For Council Speaker
Councilman Mark Weprin Backing Dan Garodnick For#NYCCouncil Speaker | New York Daily News
Williams: Please to announce that I am pulling out and supporting my colleague@MMViverito for speaker.
@eric_ulrich siding with progressives - quite the coalition for @MMViverito
Manhattan's Dan Garodnick Not Backing Down In NY City Council Speaker's Race (NYDN)
De Blasio Refuses to Explain Involvement in Speaker’s Race(NYO)
Palma Backs Garodnick as Speaker Field Narrows to Two(NYO)
Inez Dickens Not Dropping Out of Speaker’s Race
Speaker Candidate Death Threat
Bronx pol gets death threat over Council speaker race(NYP) A Bronx councilman received several mysterious letters calling for
him to drop out of the hotly contested City Council speaker’s race — or
be murdered, police sources said Thursday. James Vacca (D-Bronx) who represents the 13th District, which covers
Throggs Neck, Pelham Bay and City Island, was sent three missives to his
district office on East Tremont Avenue, the sources said.
De Blasio Wins Bigger By Failing to Make Mark-Viverito Speaker
The Faking It Speaker
In the movie Sally told Harry she could fake an orgasm any time she wants. In the dysfunctional reality of NYC politics de Blasio can gain more by faking his support for Melissa Mark-Viverito and making a secret deal with the political bosses and others to win with another candidate. Consultant lobbyists Berling Rosen worked for both de Blasio and Councilman Dan Garodnick who the bosses moved to last night as their candidate for speaker after the new mayor started openly campaigning for Mark-Viverito. Part of the new mayor’s deal would be for the political bosses to help him in Albany even against Cuomo's opposition to a tax increase on the 1% to pay for his pet project, pre-k . Saturday True News wrote, “Losing the Council Speaker Race Would be The Last Hurrah of the Political Bosses.”
If
the new mayor allows the bosses to pick the next speaker, he will own
them. De Blasio would also have the loyalty of the progressive for
having gone to the mat for one of them. Any campaign manager organizer
would understand their is value losing the speakers race. De Blasio
would avoid the hits that Bloomberg took by the activists that the
council speaker was his puppet. The new mayor would also be able to
pick which change agenda he wants passed in the council, rather than
force to accept a runaway left wing agenda. The permanent government
would also be very grateful to the new mayor for not creating a left
wing council. Sally Albright: “Most women at one time or another have
faked it. It’s just that all men are sure it never happened to them and
all women at one time or other have done it so you do the math.” One
thing is clear the press is so gullible on any crap you put in front of
them. De Blasio is going to have fun in the next 4 years distracting
them on his move to Gracie Mansion. De Blasio didn't make it to the Christmas party thrown by the Democratic Club of El Barrio which he was supposed to headline (as I previewed Monday) and which would have put him out front with Mark-Viverito on her home turf.
True News Wags the Speakers Race
Both the New Mayor and Bosses Have Made Their Move Since True News Published "The Bosses Last Hurrah" last Weekend It
is Not the Corruption Prosecutors’ That May End the Political Boss NYC
Era, Tammany Boss Losing Power Because They are Losing Election.
NY's Dysfunctional Election Mess Produces A Young Rat Pack Which Will Decide the Powers Of the Council Speaker
Power Brokers Fight for Control of New York Machine vs Unions
____________________________________________________
.
____________________________________________________
Petition Fraud Charges In Speakers Race
Speaker front-runner mixed up in ‘election fraud’(NYP)
The front-runner for City Council speaker is mixed up in alleged
election fraud. The son of East Harlem district leader John Ruiz — who
ran with Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito for district leaders of the
68th Assembly District — says his dad forged signatures on both of
their election petitions. The BOE disqualified 1,055 of Mark-Viverito’s
1,861 signatures. A spokesperson for Mark-Viverito called Johnathan
Ruiz’s claims “totally false.”“This person has never been involved with
Melissa’s campaign,” the spokesperson said in a statement.* This Bronx councilman is a 25-year-old gay college dropout who grew up in the projects:(NY Mag)
More on the Speakers Race
Speaker Race Updates
Rep. Joe Crowley, head of the Queens Democratic party, is reportedly warming to the idea of backing Melissa Mark-Viverito for NYC Council speaker. * During closed door meetings on Sunday, City Councilwoman Melissa Mark Viverito impressed Progressive Caucus members and was the most adept at answering their questions, Capital New York writes: * On Staten Island, speaker candidates woo a small but significant G.O.P. caucus(Capital) * The Staten Island Advance and Capital New York have more on last night’s City Council speaker forum, including Republican Councilman Vinny Ignizio arguing that the minority caucus played “a key role” in past speaker races, and that they “intend on similarly playing a key role in the next election of the speaker.” * And here’s video, via NYTrue.com, of Staten Island’s three incoming members–Councilwoman Debi Rose, Councilman-elect Steve Matteo and Mr. Ignizio–discussing the speaker’s race * Minority Members Say Diversity ‘Quota’ Has Not Been Met for Speaker’s Race(NYO) * Backroom Deals Update : Despite Denials, De Blasio Team Met With Weprin and Mark-Viverito About Speakership * TWILIGHT OF THE BOSSES? With New York City’s county bosses facing a potential challenge from the Progressive Caucus over the election of the Council Speaker, Seth Barron games out which candidate may have the best shot at winning:
__________________________________________________________________________________
The Speakers Race
It Is Not the Great White or Woman Hope, It is the Great Permanent Government Hope for Speaker
_____________________________________
City Council Speaker's Race
Daily News and NYP Disagree If the Council Speaker Vote Will Be Secret
The Same-Sex Question
Even the NYP Says the Team Progressive is the Most Powerful Force in the City
The New York Post was unenthused with
Mr. de Blasio’s claim that “powerful forces” are mobilizing against his
lefty agenda, pointing to the Progressive Caucus’s mobilization in the
speaker’s race.
Council progressive caucus seeks to pick next Speaker(NYP Ed)Meanwhile, Crain’s New York Business reports that the Council’s Progressive Caucus — which is about to grow in size come Jan. 1 — has enlisted a top union official to negotiate on its behalf in the battle to select a new speaker, the city’s second-most-powerful job. The official tapped to represent the caucus during negotiations for speaker is Alison Hirsh, political director of the powerful building-workers union, 32BJ SEIU. Hirsh is also a former chief of staff to serial sexual harasser Vito Lopez. In addition to sitting at the table with the county bosses who will decide the new speaker, she will round up votes for the caucus’s preferred candidate once it settles on one. Just who that candidate will be hasn’t yet been decided. “The official tapped to represent the caucus during negotiations for speaker is Alison Hirsh, political director of the powerful building-workers union, 32BJ SEIU. Hirsh is also a former chief of staff to serial sexual harasser Vito Lopez.” “Under a Mayor de Blasio, this is not so much a conflict of interest as a confluence of interests... a larger and stronger progressive caucus within the council effectively means unions will be calling many of the shots.”
20 Progressives Councilmembers Say They Are United
Party Leaders Extinction
The populist groundswell that swept Bill de Blasio to victory in the mayoral election is reshaping the City Council as well, with a cadre of fiercely liberal council members demanding a voice in choosing that body’s next speaker. Kenneth Sherrill, a professor emeritus of political science at Hunter College, said the rise of the progressive caucus could portend the emergence of a new two-party system in New York City – not Democrats and Republicans, but centrist Democrats and more liberal Democrats. Brad Lander, a Democrat from Brooklyn and the co-chairman of the progressive caucus, said that the 20 caucus members — some of them already serving on the Council, and some who will be serving for the first time — made the commitment to stick together at a caucus retreat at the Bronx Zoo. The caucus’s effort to control a bloc of votes in the race for speaker is a departure from the past, when the speakership was effectively decided by county Democratic Party chairmen. Now the progressive caucus is seeking to ally with one or more of the county delegations to put together enough votes to elect a speaker.* Jumaane Williams Speaker Bid Slams Into Social Issues(NYO)
The Partnership's Kathy Wylde Lost NYC for the 1%
Sticking with the Party Leaders, Parkside Too Long
The early
favorite seems to be Melissa Mark-Viverito (D-Man.), who’s backed by the
health-care-workers union. Hirsh, of course, is playing a dual role here. On the one hand, she
negotiates on behalf of the council’s progressive caucus. On the other
hand, she’s still a union lobbyist who will be seeking to persuade the
same caucus (and other members of the council) to do Big Labor’s
bidding. Under a Mayor de Blasio, this is not so much a conflict of
interest as a confluence of interests. On Saturday, de Blasio complained it will not be “easy” to enact his
progressive agenda because “powerful forces” are mobilizing against him.
But it looks to us as though the most powerful interests have already
mobilized — and they are all playing for the progressive team.
More on the Speakers Race
Can the MirRam Group Pull the Bronx Into Supporting Melissa Mark-Viverito for Speaker?
LUIS
A. MIRANDA, JR., ROBERTO RAMIREZ, ESQ and EDUARDO CASTELL consultant
group MirRam worked for Melissa Mark-Viverito in her election campaign
and are working to make her speaker. Other councilmembers they worked
for are: Ferreras, Julissa, Arroyo, Maria, Espaillat, Adriano
_____________________________________
Media Fails the Speakers Race
Media Gives Us Happy Talk Speakers Debate While Lobbyists, Party Leaders, Progressives and Unions Cut Deals In Secret
The Media Fantasy Speaker Powerbroker
Cover-Up
The media has decided to cover the debate that has nothing to do with picking the next council speak and ignore the power brokers special interests who are really picking the council leader. The media is shoveling the illusion or fantasy that their is public participation in the selection of the council speaker, when the the reality is that position has always been controlled by power brokers. Many believe that the speakers position is the glue that holds together an hidden group of thieves working with special interests that run the city. The lead power broker in the recent past has been the Queens democratic Boss. Queens Boss Crowley who lives in Virginia wants to put his puppet Weprin in as next speaker to keep his control on city government that he had under Quinn. With Quinn Crowley not only had a pool of jobs at City Hall. Along with his Mini Me Parkside's Evan Stavisky Crowley controlled the important committee chairmanship and lobbying contracts. By controlling the speaker job they have the power to control the next mayor using the council budget powers.
Campaign 2013 Media Failure
The issues discussed at the docile speaker candidate forms have nothing
to do with the back room deals and the lobbyists jockeying to pick the
next City Council Speaker. The flood of money in politics from Citizens
United is creating a "clash of the titans" between the County Political
Bosses and Big Business, on one side, and Lobbyists and Special
Interest Money on the other. With campaign finance law failing to keep
up with the changes in money in politics, the voters are being kept in
the dark about the true way that the speaker is selected.*
More On Power Brokers Picking the Next Speaker
* City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito let go of 10 staffers as her transition continues, though the number of layoffs is far fewer than those issued by her predecessors, Capital New York writes:
The City Council and It Money
Does not Include Corrupt Earning
Melissa Mark-Viverito Lobbyist Problems
It is Not Just Advance
City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito got help landing job from top lobby firm that reps unions and real estate doperevels(NYDN) Documents released Wednesday show that the councilwoman set up a fundraising committee called Viverito NYC on Nov. 5 and designated Vito Pitta of the lobbying firm Pitta Bishop Del Giorno & Giblin as its "liaison." About one-fifth of the contributions, $21,400, came from Pitta's clients, mostly municipal unions who pay him to press their causes before city government. On the other side of the ledger, Mark-Viverito’s committee spent $80,000 on her campaign for speaker — including “consultant” fees of $17,000 to Pitta’s firm, according to the campaign finance documents released by the state Board of Elections.
Bishop Pitta Michael Cohen and Melvin Lowe
Ms. Mark-Viverito was escorted around Brooklyn's Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club recently by Michael Cohen, a Bishop Pitta consultant, according a source in attendance. Mr. Cohen has retained an attorney in relation to the indictment of Democratic political consultant Melvin Lowe but says he's not in the comaplaint.
Mark-Viverto May Have Violated Ethic Law
EXCLUSIVE: City Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules(NYDN) Mark-Viverito,
an East Harlem councilwoman, accepted unpaid assistance from the
Advance Group, a prominent lobbying firm working to further her
candidacy (Daily News 11/27/2013)
Politicker Reports Than Advance Group Was A Crucial Player In the Seddio Deal
An operative with the controversial
Advance Group, Jonathan Yedin, who has been working in Brooklyn
Democratic Party politics for more than a decade and belongs to Mr.
Seddio’s political club. Though Ms. Mark-Viverito eventually stopped
taking free advice from the Advance Group, Mr. Yedin remained a crucial
player in the brokering of the deal, sources said. Inside Melissa Mark-Viverito’s Road to Victory(NYO)
CrainsNY on the Advance Groups Double Dipping
If the Daily News Were Serious About Ending Member It They Should Have Demanded the Candidates Pledge to End the Slush Funds Before A New Speaker Was Picked
Now after the campaign for a new speaker is over in which all the candidates promised more member items, lulus and committee chairmenships to get elected the Daily News Asks de Blasio for reforms. After attacking the mayor's pick for speaker the paper now calls on him to use his mayoral powers to abolish the Council practice of dividing up some $400 million annually in so-called member items. . Talk about bad timing. .Flush the slush, Bill(NYDN) de Blasio can start by using his mayoral powers to abolish the Council practice of dividing up some $400 million annually in so-called member items. He has the authority. “I have strongly stated very publicly that I am in support of member items, and I will continue to defend that,” says Mark-Viverito. The Daily News writes that de Blasio should use his power to end the so-called member items that have allowed the City Council speaker in the past to reward allies and punish those with different stances. The Daily News say mayor can get rid of member items by rewording the City Charter. Chapter 13 of the City Charter requires sealed competitive bidding for virtually every purchase or grant awarded by the city. But the Procurement Policy Board, an obscure agency if ever there was one, has decreed that the competitive bidding rules “shall not apply to contract awards made from line item appropriations and/or discretionary funds to community-based not-for-profit organizations or other public service organizations identified by elected city officials other than the mayor and the controller.” Remove that phrase from the rules, and bye-bye slush funds.* Melissa Mark-Viverito Says She Probably Won’t Run for Mayor(NYO)
Mark-Viverito Member Item Fund Frozen and Nobody Knows Why?
Member Items For Mark-Viverito Ally Org Frozen(NYO) One organization, Community Voices Heard, has found its 2014 allocation of discretionary cash unexpectedly frozen. The Gotham Gazette found during the Council Speaker race that the $67,500 earmarked for CVH was frozen despite receiving similar allocations the year before. A spokesman for Mark-Viverito declined to comment on why the speaker’s office under Quinn froze the recent allocation to CVH, or the likelihood of the new speaker restoring the group's money.
If the Daily News Were Serious About Ending Member It They Should Have Demanded the Candidates Pledge to End the Slush Funds Before A New Speaker Was Picked
Now after the campaign for a new speaker is over in which all the candidates promised more member items, lulus and committee chairmenships to get elected the Daily News Asks de Blasio for reforms. After attacking the mayor's pick for speaker the paper now calls on him to use his mayoral powers to abolish the Council practice of dividing up some $400 million annually in so-called member items. . Talk about bad timing. .Flush the slush, Bill(NYDN) de Blasio can start by using his mayoral powers to abolish the Council practice of dividing up some $400 million annually in so-called member items. He has the authority. “I have strongly stated very publicly that I am in support of member items, and I will continue to defend that,” says Mark-Viverito. The Daily News writes that de Blasio should use his power to end the so-called member items that have allowed the City Council speaker in the past to reward allies and punish those with different stances. The Daily News say mayor can get rid of member items by rewording the City Charter. Chapter 13 of the City Charter requires sealed competitive bidding for virtually every purchase or grant awarded by the city. But the Procurement Policy Board, an obscure agency if ever there was one, has decreed that the competitive bidding rules “shall not apply to contract awards made from line item appropriations and/or discretionary funds to community-based not-for-profit organizations or other public service organizations identified by elected city officials other than the mayor and the controller.” Remove that phrase from the rules, and bye-bye slush funds.* Melissa Mark-Viverito Says She Probably Won’t Run for Mayor(NYO)
Mark-Viverito Member Item Fund Frozen and Nobody Knows Why?
Member Items For Mark-Viverito Ally Org Frozen(NYO) One organization, Community Voices Heard, has found its 2014 allocation of discretionary cash unexpectedly frozen. The Gotham Gazette found during the Council Speaker race that the $67,500 earmarked for CVH was frozen despite receiving similar allocations the year before. A spokesman for Mark-Viverito declined to comment on why the speaker’s office under Quinn froze the recent allocation to CVH, or the likelihood of the new speaker restoring the group's money.
Losers Miss the Gravy Campaign Tricks
Mark-Viverito opponents hope to avoid carnage(Capital) Rivals won’t won’t be left with much once the spoils are doled out* The Rise of the Super Friends: BFFs Bring Liberal Love Fest to City Hall(NYO) * * New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito raised more than $100,000 after her election, and spent nearly $80,000 on consultants and donations to other political groups in her bid to become Speaker, Crain’s reports * Several lobbyists who helped Mark-Viverito in her successful bid to become Council Speaker are now aiding her in deciding committee assignments and who the Council should hire, Crain’s writes: * NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito skirted local campaign finance limits by opening a 2017 account with the state board of elections and using it to fund her speaker race.
Mark-Viverito Failed to Disclose $92G
Speaker Mark-Viverito Visits the Godfather Saturday Morning
Al Sharpton and Speaker Mark-Viverito Blast Media: 'They Just Went Crazy on Melissa'(NYO)* Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito Dodges Questions About Her Tax Returns(NYDN)
Crain’s New York Business reports that many business leaders are wary of Ms. Mark-Viverito’s reign. ”The concern is whether there will be that balance,” said Manhattan Chamber of Commerce President Nancy Ploeger. ”Everyone I talk to is really scared,” added an unnamed business leader.
More on the Council Speakers Race
NYT Article Predicts A Major Fight Today
Dan Janison I'm in Albany, but hearing about restricted access at the NYC Council chamber. "Blue tickets" required? If true violates open meetings law.
NYP: The Big Fold Mark-Viverito to Be Elected Unanimously
Daily News Looks At A Progressive Candidate For Speaker and Calls Her A Hypocrite
Hypocrite for speaker(NYDN Ed) Mark-Viverito's words don't match her actions. No one was more supportive than Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito
of Mayor de Blasio’s Tale of Two Cities campaign — which castigated the
rich for taking an ever-larger slice of the city’s economy and railed
against unaffordable housing costs and the award of tax subsidies to
those who don’t need them. Violating the standards she demands of others, Mark-Viverito is legally
exploiting city tax breaks and real-estate financing incentives while
living the life of a wealthy woman. The breaks she is getting differ
only in degree from those afforded to the mega-developers she finds so
offensive. The money could be far better used to help a family for whom housing is truly unaffordable.*Garodnick After threats, real estate warms toGarodnick(Capital) "You can hardly say after [Midtown East] that he's real-estate
friendly," said another real estate executive, in an interview this
week.Mark-Viverito Charter Schools 180 Mark-Viverito was for charters before she was against them (NYP)Melissa Mark-Viverito was for charter schools in her East Harlem district — until she hungered to become the next City Council speaker, critics charge. Viverito last week signed on to…* Mark-Viverito Unreported Rent Income UNSPOKEN: Council speaker hopeful Mark-Viverito leasing out space in Harlem building — WITHOUT reporting rental income in latest ethics gaffe(NYDN) * Here, via John Kenny of NYTrue.com, is the councilwoman speaking about her speaker dreams -- and being the center of attention in the contest:* How does Scott Stringer's endorsement of Melissa Mark-Viverito in the speaker's race affect Dan Garodnick's hope of an 11th-hour win?* Soccer plan at the mercy of Mark-Viverito | Capital New York *30 Meet Again Today Mark-Viverito Coalition Meets to Solidify Bloc Before Vote(NYO) * Mayor De Blasio Goes To Bat For Melissa Mark-Viverito - But The Bronx Won't Play Ball(NYDN)
Tuesday Council Speaker Update
Daily News Mark-Viverito Must Rlease Her Income Taxes The Daily News writes that with the New York City Council appearing poised to appoint Melissa Mark-Viverito as speaker, she must release her income tax filings to put minds at rest about stories that revealed she didn’t disclose rental income:* Nearly all of the 30 City Council members supporting Mark-Viverito’s bid met for an hour at Brooklyn Borough Hall Monday afternoon, according to the NYO. "Mark-Viverito, who made an appearance at the meeting, boasts a bloc five votes larger than the 26 she needs to be crowned the second-most-powerful elected leader in this city. The challenge, for her supporters, is to stave off a concerted challenge from Councilman Dan Garodnick and the two county organizations in the Bronx and Queens that are still aggressively pushing his candidacy." In a seemingly unusual development for a 51-voter race, two major newspapers have basically endorsed Dan Garodnick for City Council speaker, at least by disqualifying front-runner Melissa Mark Viverito. “To elevate her to that position would be to trash ethical standards,” the Daily News wrote, for example. Meanwhile, Bronx Councilwoman Annabel Palma, a Garodnick supporter, let loose on the Mark-Viverito forces, telling Capital New York, “This whole process has been handled through manipulation and threats.” “This whole process of … the unions having such a heavy hand on who gets a speaker is totally disrespectful,” she added.* Mark-Viverito Feted on Upper West Side Ahead of Speaker Vote(NYO) m* On the eve of the vote for City Council speaker, New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio dodged questions comparing his advocacy for Mark-Viverito to Michael Bloomberg’s alliance with former Council speaker Christine Quinn, City & State writes: * Queens Lawmakers Still Won't Back Melissa Mark-Viverito For City Council Speaker(NYDN) * On Eve of Speaker Vote, de Blasio Evasive On Mark-Viverito and Quinn Comparison(City and State) * Garodnick Wages 11th-Hour Persuasion Campaign(NYO) * Speaker-race dissenters ponder caucus (CrainsNY)
NYT Endorses Garodnick for Speaker
The Next Council Speaker(NYT Ed) Focuses on issues of process and reform, not cult of personality
The
reputation and legislative record of Councilman Daniel Garodnick makes
him the better choice.* On Wednesday, New York City Council members are
expected to choose a
speaker to lead them and, when necessary, unite them as a counterweight
and an alternative voice to the mayor’s. Or that’s how it’s supposed to
work.* It’s troubling enough having a speaker who is handpicked by the
mayor,
as Mr. de Blasio liked to point out when he used to ridicule Christine
Quinn as a tool of Michael Bloomberg. But there are also the questions raised in recent news reports about Ms. Mark-Viverito.
The Daily News reported
that she failed to report any rental income from a building she owns in
East Harlem, a disturbing lapse if she has tenants there, as voting
records suggest. The Post noted
that she recently signed onto a lawsuit seeking to nullify
“co-locations” of charter schools in school buildings, including one —
Dream Charter School in her district — that she boasted of helping to
finance. Ms. Mark-Viverito’s supporters insist that she will stand up to Mr. de
Blasio. They accuse her main rival for the post, Daniel Garodnick, of
representing the old system, in which Democratic leaders picked the
speaker and doled out committee chairmanships, patronage jobs and member
pork. It’s true that party bosses in Queens and the Bronx,
outmaneuvered by Mr. de Blasio, want Mr. Garodnick to win. But Mr. Garodnick has an independent streak
of his own and has distinguished himself in the fight to preserve
middle-class housing and other issues. The next speaker will be judged
by her or his independence and ability
to reform Council rules to introduce transparency and accountability.
Council members should consider the reputation and legislative record
offered by Mr. Garodnick, who seems the better choice.NY Daily News also Says No to Mark-Viverito Hiding income is unbecoming for a Council speaker The 1% For Council Speaker Pretending to Be Representing the 99%
THE 1 PERCENT SPEAKER FOR THE 99 PERCENT: City & State columnist Seth Barron looks into populist Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito's privileged upbringing and her status as one of the wealthiest members of the City Council:* Contenders for Council Speaker Boast Extensive Outside Income(NYO) * Melissa Mark-Viverito and Dan Garodnick are the last two standing in a bitter backroom clash for City Council speaker. But the loser of the race won’t walk away needing cash.
Both Ms. Mark-Viverito and Mr. Garodnick boast extensive outside income unrelated to their plum City Council posts, according to city conflict of interest reports. Mr. Garodnick, for instance, quietly maintains an extensive stock portfolio investing in companies that have drawn their share of controversy, including several pharmaceutical and energy giants. Ms. Mark-Viverito, meanwhile, retains lucrative ownership stakes in housing and land in her native Puerto Rico and received tax breaks on her East Harlem home.
Reporter Not Doing Their Jobs on the Secret Deals Council Speakers Race
When Occupy Wall Street was the political fad, Mark-Viverito wore a T-shirt that said “99%” to signal that she was in that broad strata of the American economy. In fact, as revealed by Daily News reporter Greg Smith, Mark-Viverito is a member of the hated 1%. When MMV father died in 1997, he bequeathed millions to her mother, Mark-Viverito and two brothers. Around that time, she was applying for and winning ownership of a three-unit townhouse under a program meant for persons of limited income and assets. She reported her salary as a union researcher, which was low enough to qualify.
“Council-speaker battles are done behind the scenes,” said political strategist. “It’s never a done deal until the final vote”
She
opened her campaign by accepting free consulting services from a
lobbyist who would seek her favor if she becomes speaker. More recently,
she told an outright lie about de Blasio’s deep
involvement in making Mark-Viverito speaker. Monday, she gathered the 30
Council members who back her bid at City Hall Restaurant downtown. A
reporter from NY1 asked Mark-Viverito on camera if there were “any
representative from the mayor-elect there?” Mark-Viverito hemmed and
hawed and evaded, sputtering out: “There was a
whole bunch of people present in the room. I think that there was labor
leaders, allies, there may have been a representative, yes.” Actually,
de Blasio was there personally. Mark-Viverito lacks the faithfulness to
principle, ethics and truth that the City Council speaker must have.* Curses! And the Melissa Mark Viverto
Media "Hit Jobs" Just Keep On Coming! * New Public Advocate @TishJames endorsed @MMViverito. 2 citywide electeds behind her.* Mark Green
Speaker Update : a) big if MMV
becomes 1st city-wide Latino official; b) bad if Mayor/1199 handpick
leader of separate branch. Now what? *Ulrich responds to speaker pick critics(Queens Chronicle)
MMV May Not Have the Votes Locked Up de Blasio Pushing Hard
Bronx Democratic Party Is Making A Huge Mistake In Not Endorsing Melissa Mark-Viverito As Next Speaker(Welcome to the Bronx)* Speaker hopeful Mark-Viverito called vindictive by critics(NYP)
When board members of the nonprofit Casabe Housing Development Fund did
not support Melissa Mark-Viverito, now front-runner for the City
Council
speakership, they faced a lashing out of left field. * De Blasio pushing hard for Mark-Viverito(NYP)“The
mayor is requesting to meet with The Bronx [council members],”
Cabrera told The Post. “We haven’t decided if we’re going to or not.
It’s going to come down to the wire. “I’m just baffled. Why is the mayor
getting involved so much in this thing? . . . Where’s the dignity and
the pride?” * If MMV Speaker,completes rise of Brooklyn.Mayor, PA, & Speaker
backed by united boro delegation. Queens on outside.Crowley lost,
Bronx,nada.*
Gerson Borrero #latino activists talking about protesting unfair coverage of @MMViverito by @nypost may be beat to the picket by outraged Brooklyn Jews.* Inez Dinkins sez it is "intimidating" to receive lobbying phone call from mayor? Welcome to politics * Lance Bass Endorses Melissa Mark-Viverito for Speaker(NYO) Monday Update While Mr. de Blasio is continuing to lobby Mr. Garodnick’s supporters to
back Ms. Mark-Viverito. “The mayor is requesting to meet with The Bronx
[council members],” Bronx Councilman Fernando Cabrera told the New York Post. “We haven’t decided if we’re going to or not. It’s going to come down to the wire.”* .@BilldeBlasio says @MMViverito is "a person of tremendous integrity" and will resolve her financial disclosure issues.
More on the Advance Group Gerson Borrero
More on the Council Speakers Race
Mark-Viverito On the Government Tit
Speaker Candidate Benefits From Government Loan Program
Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito, top speaker candidate, built up $1.5M in properties while paying no interest on city loan(NYDN) Mark-Viverito
benefited from a no-interest loan program through city Department of
Housing Preservation and Development before she accumulated a wealth of
properties in Puerto Rico and New York. Mark-Viverito has been benefiting from a homebuyer
assistance program she was eligible for starting in 1998, even though
today her net worth exceeds $1.5 million, according to record * Councilwoman Bruised Feelings in Zoning Fight (NYT)
Zoning Fight Puts on Display Polarizing Style of New York Council
Speaker Candidate. Melissa Mark-Viverito rammed through an unexpected,
last-minute zoning change supported by her
staunch ally, the 1199 S.E.I.U. health care workers union.* Council speaker hopeful Melissa Mark-Viverito pokes fun at rival's claim she put curse on home(NYDN)Mark-Viverito Millionaire PR Flack Ethan Geto Catnip to the Press
Real Estates Guy Geto Put A Curse on the Middle Class
She received considerable financial contributions from the nonprofit for whom she had fought. For their part, executives of Jewish Home were unaware of the rezoning process, said Ethan Geto, a spokesman — even though some hearings were held in their building. When they realized that their plans would not conform with the new guidelines, they began working with Ms. Mark-Viverito, 1199 and others, Mr. Geto said. Participants in the talks recall that 1199 S.E.I.U. United Healthcare Workers East, which represented about 600 employees at the nursing home, became a potent force in pushing for the project. Mr. Geto said Ms. Mark-Viverito struck him as a principled defender of the community, with a knack for consensus. Often, it seemed as if Ms. Mark-Viverito and 1199 — whose members sometimes showed up en masse to meetings wearing their signature purple clothing — were working in sync, they said. Before 2007, very few, if any, trustees or people affiliated with Jewish Home donated to her City Council campaign. But after she injected herself in the dispute, she received more than $8,300 from people associated with Jewish Home — more than 10 percent of her $81,000 fund-raising total for the 2009 election. She also reported just one bundler of donations, a Jewish Home trustee, according to Campaign Finance Board records. * Latino lawmakers and labor unions are rallying behind Mark-Viverito—with one lawmaker saying “this, with Melissa, is our Obama moment”—as the City Council preps to select a speaker next week, NY1 reports: * Loser pol: Rival put a Caribbean hex on me(NYP) * Garodnick Not Backing Down In City Council Speaker Race (NY1)
Was It A Mistake for Team Mark-Viverito to Publish the 30?
Queens Boss Crowley Knows Who To Target to Turn 4 Councilmembers
Chairmanships, job, member items, lulus, sex, CASH
The 30 Target List
Melissa Parties Like it is January 9, 2014
Biggest Losses Queens GOP Boss Crowley his Mini Me Parkside's Evan Stavisky
Crowley
is like Sonny Liston in 1965 getting knock out by a young Cassius Clay
in one punch. The fact is Crowley never put together a deal to elect a
council speaker, the late Queens boss Thomas Manton did for Quinn and
Miller. Crowley's power came from being able to keep his borough
together 4 councilmembers from his borough broke from him and help elect
the new speaker. Parkside's Evan Stavisky was always a loser being
saved over and over by his partnership with Crowley. Parkside who lost 5
of the 6 council races for the Crowley in 2009 when on to make millions
from the Albany senate democrats in 2010 and 2012. And million more
from the PAC Jobs4NY this year losing race after race.*
#NYCSPEAKER How it was done 8 years ago: From the Bronx to Queens, Deals Defined Quinn's Council Leadership (WNYC)
Queens Boss Crowley Speakership Fight Not Over
Queens Boss Crowley Speakership Fight Not Over
The Parkside Monopoly
Though
the election for Council speaker is three weeks away, allies of
front-runner Mark-Viverito have already begun planning her victory
party, the Daily News has learned. The East Harlem councilwoman is vying
to become the first Hispanic speaker, leading one Democratic leader to
describe her as 'our President Obama.'* An ally and maybe a thorn(Capital)
"The New Boss is Bill de Blasio" Corrupt Lobbyists Hank Sheinkopf
New York City’s mayor-elect installs a progressive ally atop the City Council.
NYP Not Happy With the New Speaker
Melissa Mark-Viverito: A millionaire hypocrite who will ruin NYC(Peyser,NYP) Melissa Mark-Viverito is the Queen of Taxpayer-Paid Subsidies. She is also Mayor de Blasio’s BFF and kindred spirit, a tax-and-spend hard leftist and bona-fide millionaire who protested with the goons at Occupy Wall Street in 2011, treated herself to a cut-rate house purchased with the help of taxpayers, and lobbied for the gentle treatment of jailed Cuban spies. COUNCIL SPEAKER VOTE: HEALING MOMENT OR POLITICAL THEATER? After weeks of vote-wrangling and deal-making surrounding the race to head the New York City Council, it came down to an anticlimactic end, comments Nick Powell: (City and State) * CRASH COURSE IN POLITICS ON DAY ONE: The freshman members of the New York City Council had to make tough and momentous decisions on their first official day in office, reports Kristen Meriwether:(City and State) *
Does your@NYCCouncil member moonlight?
ngton Bridge scandal, Politicker writes:
Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito
"I
will do my part to resolve any rifts this process may have caused."*
.@DanGarodnick now speaking. In emailed statement, promised to help heal
rifts Speaker race may have created.* Several of the council members
stress the historic nature of today's vote, electing the council's first
Latina leader.* Several members like @JimmyVanBramer speak of humble beginnings in supporting @MMViverito
who is described as champion of the underdog. * Mark Treyger gives
himself a shout out as "first Russian-speaking council member" in voting
for @MMViverito #nextspeaker * Melissa Mark-Viverito Elected City Council Speaker* De Blasio gets his speaker; a @BillBramhall flashback * .@MarkWeprin: "We shouldn't be afraid of dissent. We shouldn't be afraid of debate of discussion. There's nothing wrong with that." * Mark-Viverito Is Elected City Council Speaker (NYT).@MMViverito offically #nextspeaker voted in unanimously*.@JulissaFerreras says @MMViverito will make sure prosperity is shared. #nextspeaker RT @chestersoria: Barron calls @MMViverito's nomination an opportunity, says upcoming budget must do what the new @NYCCouncil says it's...
@Dromm25 seconds (or thirds) @MMViverito's nomination, calling her pragmatic; praises her work to stop deportations of immigrants in DoC.* @DanGarodnick looks forward to working with new speaker...* : East Harlem Democrat Melissa Mark-Viverito Clinches #NYCCouncil Speakership | NY Daily News* Melissa Mark-Viverito Elected Next City Council Speaker: * Speaker @MMViverito cites first disagreement with mayor de Blasio: "I'm a strong supporter of member items."* .@MMViverito says she plans to add other members to rules committee, deal with @DanGarodnick's concerns.*
Borrowing from his father, Cuomo cites "the family of New York" — which@BilldeBlasio cited in his inaugural address.* De Blasio Glosses Over Policy Divide With Cuomo After State of the State Speech(NYO) * Melissa Mark-Viverito was unanimously
elected the new Speaker of the New York City Council, making her the
first woman of color and the first Hispanic to hold the post, the Times reports:* (at least this time I didn't recommend ppl twist arms for votes) Council Speaker 101 (WNYC) * Capital New York looked at the final hours of Melissa Mark-Viverito‘s victory in the speaker’s race yesterday. One tidbit: “Bronx Democrat Andy King
told his colleagues that the powerhouse health care workers union that
employs his wife, 1199SEIU, threatened her livelihood and possible
future run for office if he did not back Mark-Viverito.”* Ms. Mark-Viverito may have won, but she’s still taking hits in the media. In the New York Post today,
the son of a man killed in a 1975 bombing, by a Puerto Rican separatist
group, called her election “disgraceful” because she reportedly
supported the parole bid of one of the convicted bombers 35 years later. * Also, Post columnist Andrea Peyser predicted
Ms. Mark Viverito will “ruin” New York City. “She’s in. We’re toast,”
wrote Ms. Peyser, highlighting Ms. Mark-Viverito’s wealth and various
negative media reports. “In short, she’s bad news for hardworking,
taxpaying and patriotic working stiffs who increasingly exist on life
support in this city.”* The last hours of the Mark-Viverito campaign(Capital) * NYC Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has no apologies for tax forms’ contents, timing(NYDN)
de Blasio Defers: Chairmenships, Member Items, Lulus
De Blasio defers to speaker on spoils(Capital)
‘The conditions are always different. I am certain she wants to work with everyone’
Mayoral Ally Elected Speaker, Furthering City’s Liberal Shift(NYT) "But
in a sign of widespread reluctance to cross Mr. de Blasio, none have
aired their concerns publicly, saying they are worried about the
consequences of offending the mayor. And some groups have already
reached out to the new leadership: Steven Spinola, the president of the
Real Estate Board of New York, has been exchanging phone messages with
Ms. Mark-Viverito in recent days." * Mark-Viverito Elected Speaker of New York City Council(WSJ)
Staten Island's Debi Rose, a Mark-Viverito supporter, named to City Council Rules Committee: The commit...
More on the Council Speakers Race
Melissa Mark-Viverito: A millionaire hypocrite who will ruin NYC(Peyser,NYP) Melissa Mark-Viverito is the Queen of Taxpayer-Paid Subsidies. She is also Mayor de Blasio’s BFF and kindred spirit, a tax-and-spend hard leftist and bona-fide millionaire who protested with the goons at Occupy Wall Street in 2011, treated herself to a cut-rate house purchased with the help of taxpayers, and lobbied for the gentle treatment of jailed Cuban spies. COUNCIL SPEAKER VOTE: HEALING MOMENT OR POLITICAL THEATER? After weeks of vote-wrangling and deal-making surrounding the race to head the New York City Council, it came down to an anticlimactic end, comments Nick Powell: (City and State) * CRASH COURSE IN POLITICS ON DAY ONE: The freshman members of the New York City Council had to make tough and momentous decisions on their first official day in office, reports Kristen Meriwether:(City and State) *
Does your
ngton Bridge scandal, Politicker writes:
.
Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito
Borrowing from his father, Cuomo cites "the family of New York" — which
de Blasio Defers: Chairmenships, Member Items, Lulus
De Blasio defers to speaker on spoils(Capital)
‘The conditions are always different. I am certain she wants to work with everyone’
Staten Island's Debi Rose, a Mark-Viverito supporter, named to City Council Rules Committee: The commit...
More on the Council Speakers Race
Mark-Viverito Advances Inconsistencies
The Lobbyist Consultant Firm the Advance Group after the Mark-Viverito End Her Relationship With Them After the Daily News Exposed They She May Be Breaking the City's Ethics Law
Daily News Charges Against Mark-Viverto
EXCLUSIVE: City Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules(NYDN) Mark-Viverito,
an East Harlem councilwoman, accepted unpaid assistance from the
Advance Group, a prominent lobbying firm working to further her
candidacy (Daily News 11/27/2013)
Mark-Viverito Drops Advance
Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid(NYO)
Ms. Mark-Viverito insisted today that this was not the case but out of
an “abundance of caution,” the relationship would end. Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid - Blogs(TU)
Politicker Reports Than Advance Group Was A Crucial Player In the Seddio Deal
An operative with the controversial
Advance Group, Jonathan Yedin, who has been working in Brooklyn
Democratic Party politics for more than a decade and belongs to Mr.
Seddio’s political club. Though Ms. Mark-Viverito eventually stopped
taking free advice from the Advance Group, Mr. Yedin remained a crucial
player in the brokering of the deal, sources said. Inside Melissa Mark-Viverito’s Road to Victory(NYO) * Melissa Mark-Viverito Lobbyist Firm Never Quit, Continued Lobbying Despite InvestigationsMore on the Advance Group Under Investigation
.
Brooklyn Boss Progressive Mayor Deal
Council Speaker candidate Melissa Mark-Viverito has declared victory in the race, but opponent Dan Garodnick said he feels good about his standing with three weeks before the vote
Mark-Viverito Declares Victory Speaker’s Race
Mark-Viverito Makes Her Case(WSJ)
Capital New York has more on the doling out of plum committee assignments in the wake of the deal. “It’s like a fire sale out there,” one source told the outlet. “They’re promising everything. … They went from progressive deals to back-room deals in record time.” * de Blasio’s direct appeal to Brooklyn Democratic party boss Frank Seddio, whose switch helped turn the tide toward Mark-Viverito -- and sources saying that borough’s councilmembers stand ready to enjoy some lulus in exchange for their willingness to back her in the Jan. 8. vote. But Manhattan Councilman Dan Garodnick, who had emerged as a consensus candidate, wasn’t ready to admit defeat… * "They went from progressive deals to back-room deals in record time." (Capital)
De Blasio Pressing City Council Members to Install a Liberal Ally as Speaker(NYT)
King Maker Brooklyn Boss Seddio
NYC Political Machine At War
Unity Deal Last Less Than 24 Hour
The Insider: Brooklyn Dems back Mark-Viverito for speaker(CrainsNY) "De Blasio reached out to him and said, 'You're a Brooklyn guy, I'm a Brooklyn guy, let's make a deal" * The fact that 3/4 of the Brooklyn deligation was already going with MMV had something to do with Seddio Flip.* Mark-Viverito Appears to Have the Votes After Brooklyn Break(NYO) In 85 during speaker fight Koch stayed out. Dinkins as a Dem never had opportunity. Then u had 2 Republicans. So
City Councilman Mark Weprin Backing Dan Garodnick For Council Speaker
Councilman Mark Weprin Backing Dan Garodnick For
Williams: Please to announce that I am pulling out and supporting my colleague
Manhattan's Dan Garodnick Not Backing Down In NY City Council Speaker's Race (NYDN)
De Blasio Refuses to Explain Involvement in Speaker’s Race(NYO)
Palma Backs Garodnick as Speaker Field Narrows to Two(NYO)
Inez Dickens Not Dropping Out of Speaker’s Race
Speaker Candidate Death Threat
Council Speaker Race Chess Moves
Garodnick Compromise Candidate acceptable to both the party establishment and some members of the progressive caucus
Big 3 County Leaders Tell Councilmembers They Have Votes To Make Garodnick Speaker (City and State) (UPDATED x4) Multiple sources have told City & State that the three
Democratic county leaders, Rep. Joe Crowley of Queens, Assemblyman Carl
Heastie of the Bronx, and Frank Seddio of Brooklyn have coalesced around
Councilman Dan Garodnick for City Council speaker.
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Big risk for BDB to push Members for MMV? If loses, stumble out of gate. If wins, looks like he owns her...hurts him & diminishes Council
Mark Green
De Blasio Wins Bigger By Failing to Make Mark-Viverito Speaker
In the movie Sally told Harry she could fake an orgasm any time she wants. In the dysfunctional reality of NYC politics de Blasio can gain more by faking his support for Melissa Mark-Viverito and making a secret deal with the political bosses and others to win with another candidate. Consultant lobbyists Berling Rosen worked for both de Blasio and Councilman Dan Garodnick who the bosses moved to last night as their candidate for speaker after the new mayor started openly campaigning for Mark-Viverito. Part of the new mayor’s deal would be for the political bosses to help him in Albany even against Cuomo's opposition to a tax increase on the 1% to pay for his pet project, pre-k . Saturday True News wrote, “Losing the Council Speaker Race Would be The Last Hurrah of the Political Bosses.”
True News Wags the Speakers Race
NY's Dysfunctional Election Mess Produces A Young Rat Pack Which Will Decide the Powers Of the Council Speaker
Who Controls the Council?
Liberal 'Rat Pack' for New York City CouncilLiberal 'Rat Pack' for Council(WSJ) Young, Liberal, Newly Elected Politicians Aim to Shake Up the Institution Mr. Reynoso and Ms. Cumbo, of Crown Heights,
are part of a wave of young, liberal politicians elected in November
who want to shake up the City Council and inject a dose of idealism into
an institution known for a barter-and-trade mentality. Ms. Cumbo, 38,
calls them the "Rat Pack," a group that also includes Ritchie Torres,
25, of the South Bronx; Carlos Menchaca, 33, of Sunset Park, Brooklyn;
and Corey Johnson, 31, of Chelsea in Manhattan. All
Democrats, they are first-time council members, part of a liberal bloc
known as the Progressive Caucus, and supporters of Mayor-elect Bill de
Blasio. They are also friends, a valuable asset in city politics. "They
are practicing a different, more grassroots type of politics," said
Doug Muzzio, a public affairs professor at Baruch College. "In some
ways, this group is unprecedented."* The Wall Street Journal profiled
the group of young, progressive council members elected this year,
pointing to, among other things, the record six members of the incoming
City Council who will be openly gay: “The so-called Rat Pack largely met
this year through mutual political contacts as they campaigned, and
they now spend regular time together.”
How the Lobbyists Helped the New Rat Pact
Advance
worked for Laurie Cumbo and got help from Advance run PACs NYCLASS and
United for the Future(UFT). Parkside run PAC Jobs4NY(REBNY) also helped
Cumbo. Berlin Rosen work for Corey Johnson. Advance Worked for his
Opponent Yetta Krukland, but Advance run PAC (U4F) helped Johnson. Red
Horse ran Ritchie Torres campaign but Torres got help from Advance run
PAC (U4F) and Parkside run PAC Jobs4NY(REBNY). Red Horse ran Carlos
Menchaca campaign.
More on the Advance Group Under Investigation
More Council Speaker
As the clock ticks toward a January vote for a new City Council speaker,
"Sources tell NY1 that de Blasio and his top political aide are calling
City Council members to express their support for one of the
candidates: Melissa Mark-Viverito," Grace Rauh reports.
"She was the first member of the Council to endorse de Blasio's bid for
mayor. She has been a front-runner in the speaker's race but many
observers believed she would only be able to pull off a win with de
Blasio's backing." (The two are set to attend the Democratic Club of El Barrio's big Christmas celebration Tuesday night.)
Game Change: de Blasio Pushing Mark-Viverito
More on the Council Speakers RaceHow the Lobbyists Helped the New Rat Pact
More on the Advance Group Under Investigation
More Council Speaker
Game Change: de Blasio Pushing Mark-Viverito
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Grace Rauh
@gracerauh Sources say de Blasio and aide Emma Wolfe are calling council members telling them they want Melissa Mark-Viverito to be speaker. * .@MarkWeprin says #speakersrace isn't over despite @BilldeBlasio weighing in for @MMViverito* In what could be a major change in the speaker’s race, Bill de Blasio and a top aide, Emma Wolfe, are reportedly calling council members and urging them to back Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito for the gig. Ms. Mark-Viverito herself is said to be following up on these calls with a personal pitch.Meanwhile, Capital New York profiled Ms. Wolfe. Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras, commenting on Ms. Wolfe’s crisis-management work in her own race, declared, “Emma doesn’t make lemonade out of lemons. She made a mojito in my case. Wow. In total crisis she was able to keep me focused.”* Speaker Hopefuls Have Mixed Legislative Track Records(NYO)
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@gracerauh reportng BDB-Wolfe telling Members they want Speaker Melissa. Is it reform to violate Chks-Balces & make Council "twig of gov't"?
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Power Brokers Fight for Control of New York Machine vs Unions
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Teflon CM Ferreras
Corruption
In the None Profit Group Libre Sent Monserrate to Jail, The Executive
Director of Libre, Ferreras Was Never Touch By the Investigators
Media: A Speaker Candidate With No Past?
Former councilman Monserrate is in jail because he used his member item money to help his campaign. The none
profit group which Monserrate used was Libre, which was overseen by his
chief of staff Julissa Ferreras, received hundreds of thousands of
dollars in discretionary funds from the councilman. The group Ferreras
ran Libre never produce time sheets, expense receipts, canceled checks
or board meeting minutes to document its expenses for the two fiscal
years, 2006 and 2007, examined in the audits. Monserrate admitted to
carrying out a fraudulent scheme in which $109,000 in government funds
was used to benefit his unsuccessful run for the state Senate in 2006.While
he was a member of the City Council, Monserrate had directed the money
to a group in his Queens district, the Latino Initiative for Better
Resources and Empowerment, or LIBRE. Mr. Monserrate, who in 2008 was
running for State Senate, referred at that time questions about the
accounting to his chief of staff, Julissa Ferreras, who was Libre’s
chairwoman during the period examined by the audits. “She’s the person
to have the conversation with,” he said. “I wasn’t the director. I
don’t know what paperwork was there, what books were there.” Ms.
Ferreras, who is running in 2008 to fill the seat Mr. Monserrate will be
vacating on the City Council, said at that time in a brief telephone
interview with the NYT that the records should be in Libre’s offices. “I
personally don’t keep the records,” she said.
Julissa Ferreras gypped disabled employee (NY1)
Question Daily News Must Asked Council Speaker Candidates
The Daily News Should Ask Each of the Council Speaker Candidates If They Will Use Their Power to Confirm Board of Election Commissioner to Demand Reforms of That Corruption Institution
The Council Has the Power to Clean Up the BOE
Quinn and a gang of 4 GOP councilmember used the power to confirm BOE commissioners to throw out commissioner in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx. The result is that GOP party leaders patronage appoints to the BOE are being replaced by people from the councilmembers and their friends. Why is the media not demand that the next council speaker clean out the BOE and restore Democracy to New York City? * Bloomberg rips NYC's scanner voting machines over privacy(NYDN)
NYT Weak Partial Solutions to Corruption Problems At the BOE
Low-Stress Voting(NYT Ed) New York and other states with outdated election schedules should provide a two-week voting period instead of cramming it all into one day. The Times urges New York to pass legislation authorizing early in-person voting, citing a Brennan Center for Justice survey that found that early voting solves a myriad of Election Day problems such as long lines and broken machines:
Media Make the Speaker End BOE Corruption
Does the Daily News Think A Candidate Running for Council Speaker Will Pledge to End Member Items or Lulus for the People He or She is Seeking Votes From?
Waste of Time
The Daily News makes the case for a package of New York City Council legislative reforms that would even out member items allocations, but advocates for taking it a step further and eliminating member items altogether. The Daily News does say that de Blasio who during the campaign said he would end member items does have a backdoor way to end them.
The key is the mayor-controlled Procurement Policy Board, which sets guidelines on city spending. As mayor, de Blasio will fill three of the five seats. Under the City Charter, contracts must be awarded by competitive sealed bidding, though the board may allow exceptions. And that’s exactly it did, carving out a loophole for Council slush in 1991. Once the board closes the loophole, bye-bye slush fund.
Leader of the Progressive City Council Gave Zero Dollars to Charity . . . Only Generous With the Tax Payers Money
Mark-Viverito gave zero to charity: tax records(NYP)
Update Ferreras Not
Update to yesterday's Ferreras speaker report: In face of buzz around her candidacy, she says she is NOT a candidateQuestion Daily News Must Asked Council Speaker Candidates
The Daily News Should Ask Each of the Council Speaker Candidates If They Will Use Their Power to Confirm Board of Election Commissioner to Demand Reforms of That Corruption Institution
Quinn and a gang of 4 GOP councilmember used the power to confirm BOE commissioners to throw out commissioner in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx. The result is that GOP party leaders patronage appoints to the BOE are being replaced by people from the councilmembers and their friends. Why is the media not demand that the next council speaker clean out the BOE and restore Democracy to New York City? * Bloomberg rips NYC's scanner voting machines over privacy(NYDN)
NYT Weak Partial Solutions to Corruption Problems At the BOE
Low-Stress Voting(NYT Ed) New York and other states with outdated election schedules should provide a two-week voting period instead of cramming it all into one day. The Times urges New York to pass legislation authorizing early in-person voting, citing a Brennan Center for Justice survey that found that early voting solves a myriad of Election Day problems such as long lines and broken machines:
Media Make the Speaker End BOE Corruption
Does the Daily News Think A Candidate Running for Council Speaker Will Pledge to End Member Items or Lulus for the People He or She is Seeking Votes From?
Waste of Time
The Daily News makes the case for a package of New York City Council legislative reforms that would even out member items allocations, but advocates for taking it a step further and eliminating member items altogether. The Daily News does say that de Blasio who during the campaign said he would end member items does have a backdoor way to end them.
The key is the mayor-controlled Procurement Policy Board, which sets guidelines on city spending. As mayor, de Blasio will fill three of the five seats. Under the City Charter, contracts must be awarded by competitive sealed bidding, though the board may allow exceptions. And that’s exactly it did, carving out a loophole for Council slush in 1991. Once the board closes the loophole, bye-bye slush fund.
Leader of the Progressive City Council Gave Zero Dollars to Charity . . . Only Generous With the Tax Payers Money
Mark-Viverito gave zero to charity: tax records(NYP)
Update Ferreras Not
Ross Barkan .
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Petition Fraud Charges In Speakers Race
More on the Speakers Race
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Speakers Race
Speaker Race Goes Out of Public View(YNN)
Dan Garodnick and James Vacca have gotten a lot of dough from the taxi industry pre-Speakership run. (via@SallyGold)
THE SPEAKER POWER STRUGGLE: Can New York City’s labor unions fill the power vacuum left by a supposedly weakened county leadership in pushing candidates for City Council speaker? (City and State) City & State writes that the Council speaker’s race “has reached the point where every rumor and piece of gossip regarding who are the ‘leading’ candidates should be viewed with suspicion. With so many interest groups pushing their preferred candidate and no reliable metric to gauge the race, it is easy to get taken in by whisper campaigns and planted stories.” Speaking on Road to City Hall last night, former Council Speaker Peter Vallone, Sr. made an anti-bloc voting pitch in the race. “A Council member must never give his or her vote away to anyone else. I don’t care who that is,” he said, citing county leaders and “people who call themselves progressives” in particular.
Dan Garodnick and James Vacca have gotten a lot of dough from the taxi industry pre-Speakership run. (via
Forget Public Forum or Campaign Pledges Of Transparency the Real Deal Making to Make the Next Council Speaker is Going On in Secret
A Special Interests Speaker Again
Party Bosses, Partnership, Progressives and Unions Making Deals With Council Members to Screw the Public to Elected A Speaker to Protect Their Interests
Call the ethics cops (NYDN Ed) Running for speaker in a race without rules. Melissa Mark-Viverito is not alone in skirting ethical edge in race for speaker. Would-be Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has stopped accepting freebie consulting services from a lobbyist whose clients would come begging to her as boss of the municipal legislature.
Well, duh. Mark-Viverito had to distance herself from influence-trader Scott Levenson as she seeks to rise from councilmember representing East Harlem and parts of the Bronx to the city’s second most powerful post. Her coziness with Levenson put Mark-Viverito on the wrong side of ethics rules, demands investigation by the Conflicts of Interest Board and should rule her out of consideration for speaker. Meanwhile, Mark-Viverito and competitors are playing money games in the race for the speakership. There’s no public election for this job. Guided by Democratic county leaders, the Council will vote one of its members into the position. It’s an insiders’ play — one not fully covered by the city’s campaign finance rules. Mark-Viverito has opened a campaign account under state regulations. She is apparently accepting contributions and apparently paying different consultants to advance her cause. Who’s giving her money and who’s getting her money will not be disclosed until after the speaker’s contest is settled. At the same time, hopefuls Dan Gardonick of Manhattan and Mark Weprin of Queens are dipping into campaign accounts to give tens of thousands of dollars to fellow councilmembers and party organizations.
Expand Participatory Budgeting
In the Daily News, New York City Councilman-elect Ritchie Torres and Alexa Kasdan of the Urban Justice Center call for the new administration in the City Council to expand participatory budgeting:
More on the Speakers Race
PParty Bosses, Partnership, Progressives and Unions Making Deals With Council Members to Screw the Public to Elected A Speaker to Protect Their Interests
Call the ethics cops (NYDN Ed) Running for speaker in a race without rules. Melissa Mark-Viverito is not alone in skirting ethical edge in race for speaker. Would-be Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito has stopped accepting freebie consulting services from a lobbyist whose clients would come begging to her as boss of the municipal legislature.
Expand Participatory Budgeting
In the Daily News, New York City Councilman-elect Ritchie Torres and Alexa Kasdan of the Urban Justice Center call for the new administration in the City Council to expand participatory budgeting:
More on the Speakers Race
Speaker Race Updates
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The Speakers Race
It Is Not the Great White or Woman Hope, It is the Great Permanent Government Hope for Speaker
Special Interests Not Looking for A White Man But A Puppet
City
and State's Alexis Grenell missed the point that Jobs4NY real estate
backer spent $10 million to pick the next speaker and that the special
interests are looking for a to block de Blasio progressive programs. If
the permanent government find a white or minority woman councilmember
they feel they could control, they will pick her in a NY second. They
used Speaker Quinn a women for the last 8 years to protect their
interests. The same holds true to the businesses PACs partners the
county leaders who are looking for jobs an money from the next speaker.
Two of five party leaders are minority, none are women. The real fight
for speaker is between the progressives forces and the business
interests, Party leaders and the GOP councilmembers. The progress will
give the city's party leaders their first real challenge for control of
the speakership ever by using the real problem of the need for more
women and minority power in city government. In the past council
speakers were chosen in secret deals by party leaers this years race
for speaker will be played out in the newspapers. The Tokenization of
Tish James is only the first shot of a battle the battle for the control
of New York.
The Tokenization Of Tish James(City and State)
Thanks to the election of Letitia James as the Democratic nominee for public advocate, the career prospects of white men
are on the rise. And it’s just in the nick of time. With nearly every
citywide office and all statewide offices currently in their possession,
white males need all the help they can get. So it makes perfect sense
that James’ victory now clears the way for a continuation of the status
quo. Having paid lip service to women and minorities, Democratic county leaders can now back a white male Speaker
in good conscience. This will surely come as a relief to the
trailblazing candidate herself, who teared up on election night, no
doubt at the thought of all the little boys who can now embrace their
white male privilege.
Weprin Campaigns for Speaker By Pushing Social Issues
Mark S. Weprin
Modern tech can be used as a powerful tool for a schoolyard bully. Zero tolerance to bullying is crucial http://bit.ly/19bHwAS @QueensTrib
City Council speaker contender Dan
Garodnick received a letter from developers and the building trades
industry pressuring him to back a Midtown East rezoning plan pushed by
the Bloomberg administration, Crain's writes: _____________________________________
City Council Speaker's Race
Daily News and NYP Disagree If the Council Speaker Vote Will Be Secret
Secret ballot will choose speaker at caucus(NYDN) * SECRET BALLOTS FOR SPEAKER — Post’s Erin Durkin:
The Council’s Progressive Caucus will vote as a bloc for the next
speaker, but the caucus can’t decide if it wants to vote through secret
or open ballots. If some of the caucus doesn’t vote for Melissa
Mark-Viverito, “1199 would chop their heads off,” an unnamed source
said.*
Over in the speaker’s race, some members are reportedly pushing for a secret ballot to avoid antagonizing the labor backers of Melissa Mark-Viverito. “They don’t want the unions to know,” a source told the Daily News. “1199 would chop their heads off.” * Speaker Candidates Joust for Progressive Mantle at Brooklyn Forum (NYO) * And, via NYTrue.com, here is video of another speaker contender, Jimmy Vacca, speaking very animatedly at Monday’s Bronx forum:* “The progressive bloc is going to negotiate with a set of priorities in mind, like rules reform, committee chairpersons and yes, preferences for speaker. But the bloc fully expects to work with county leaders in figuring out all of those issues in a productive, cooperative way,” a source familiar with the progressives’ negotiations told Capital New York.
Over in the speaker’s race, some members are reportedly pushing for a secret ballot to avoid antagonizing the labor backers of Melissa Mark-Viverito. “They don’t want the unions to know,” a source told the Daily News. “1199 would chop their heads off.” * Speaker Candidates Joust for Progressive Mantle at Brooklyn Forum (NYO) * And, via NYTrue.com, here is video of another speaker contender, Jimmy Vacca, speaking very animatedly at Monday’s Bronx forum:* “The progressive bloc is going to negotiate with a set of priorities in mind, like rules reform, committee chairpersons and yes, preferences for speaker. But the bloc fully expects to work with county leaders in figuring out all of those issues in a productive, cooperative way,” a source familiar with the progressives’ negotiations told Capital New York.
The Same-Sex Question
SPEAKER SCRAMBLE — Gay-marriage questions for a speaker contender — News’ Celeste Katz: Councilman Jumaane Williams declined to answer reporters’ questions
about his stances on abortion and same-sex marriage, saying only: “I
don’t think any of those matters in the job I’m trying to get. To me,
it’s important what you do and the votes you take.” Melissa Mark
Viverito told reporters she “welcomes the opposition,” adding, “I’m the
progressive candidate.” * Brooklyn's Jumaane Williams Joins The Scramble For NY City Council Speakership(NYDN) * The other contenders — Capital’s Sally Goldenberg: “James Vacca's pitch for Council speaker, essentially, is that he'll be the strongest check on de Blasio.”
Even the NYP Says the Team Progressive is the Most Powerful Force in the City
Council progressive caucus seeks to pick next Speaker(NYP Ed)Meanwhile, Crain’s New York Business reports that the Council’s Progressive Caucus — which is about to grow in size come Jan. 1 — has enlisted a top union official to negotiate on its behalf in the battle to select a new speaker, the city’s second-most-powerful job. The official tapped to represent the caucus during negotiations for speaker is Alison Hirsh, political director of the powerful building-workers union, 32BJ SEIU. Hirsh is also a former chief of staff to serial sexual harasser Vito Lopez. In addition to sitting at the table with the county bosses who will decide the new speaker, she will round up votes for the caucus’s preferred candidate once it settles on one. Just who that candidate will be hasn’t yet been decided. “The official tapped to represent the caucus during negotiations for speaker is Alison Hirsh, political director of the powerful building-workers union, 32BJ SEIU. Hirsh is also a former chief of staff to serial sexual harasser Vito Lopez.” “Under a Mayor de Blasio, this is not so much a conflict of interest as a confluence of interests... a larger and stronger progressive caucus within the council effectively means unions will be calling many of the shots.”
20 Progressives Councilmembers Say They Are United
Party Leaders Extinction
The populist groundswell that swept Bill de Blasio to victory in the mayoral election is reshaping the City Council as well, with a cadre of fiercely liberal council members demanding a voice in choosing that body’s next speaker. Kenneth Sherrill, a professor emeritus of political science at Hunter College, said the rise of the progressive caucus could portend the emergence of a new two-party system in New York City – not Democrats and Republicans, but centrist Democrats and more liberal Democrats. Brad Lander, a Democrat from Brooklyn and the co-chairman of the progressive caucus, said that the 20 caucus members — some of them already serving on the Council, and some who will be serving for the first time — made the commitment to stick together at a caucus retreat at the Bronx Zoo. The caucus’s effort to control a bloc of votes in the race for speaker is a departure from the past, when the speakership was effectively decided by county Democratic Party chairmen. Now the progressive caucus is seeking to ally with one or more of the county delegations to put together enough votes to elect a speaker.* Jumaane Williams Speaker Bid Slams Into Social Issues(NYO)
The Partnership's Kathy Wylde Lost NYC for the 1%
Sticking with the Party Leaders, Parkside Too Long
More on the Speakers Race
Can the MirRam Group Pull the Bronx Into Supporting Melissa Mark-Viverito for Speaker?
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Media Fails the Speakers Race
Media Gives Us Happy Talk Speakers Debate While Lobbyists, Party Leaders, Progressives and Unions Cut Deals In Secret
The Media Fantasy Speaker Powerbroker
Cover-Up
The media has decided to cover the debate that has nothing to do with picking the next council speak and ignore the power brokers special interests who are really picking the council leader. The media is shoveling the illusion or fantasy that their is public participation in the selection of the council speaker, when the the reality is that position has always been controlled by power brokers. Many believe that the speakers position is the glue that holds together an hidden group of thieves working with special interests that run the city. The lead power broker in the recent past has been the Queens democratic Boss. Queens Boss Crowley who lives in Virginia wants to put his puppet Weprin in as next speaker to keep his control on city government that he had under Quinn. With Quinn Crowley not only had a pool of jobs at City Hall. Along with his Mini Me Parkside's Evan Stavisky Crowley controlled the important committee chairmanship and lobbying contracts. By controlling the speaker job they have the power to control the next mayor using the council budget powers.
Campaign 2013 Media Failure
The $$$ Fix Election for Speaker
If You Want to Understand How PACs and the 8 Consultant Lobbyist Have Destroyed Democracy in New York Watch This Video
More On Power Brokers Picking the Next Speaker
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Broken Party Leaders Whose Fault ? .
Surprising Strength of Union Candidate Mark-Viverito
Real Estate and Party Leader Permanent Government Caught Flat Footed
A Team of Progressives, WFP Like in the Mayoral Campaign Fill the Void
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Sunday's True News
de Blasio Pushing Melissa Mark-Viverito for Speaker
De Blasio pushes East Harlem Councilwoman as next speaker(NYP) Bill de Blasio is aggressively pushing East Harlem Councilwoman
Melissa Mark-Viverito as the council’s next speaker, two Democratic
insiders revealed. “Through back channels, his staff meets with council members,” one
operative said. “They just lay out the situation: He’d like her to be
the speaker. He thinks she’d be best.” True News Last Week
As the NYP, Daily New and NYT Lost Power the Working Families Party Takes Over
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Council Speaker's Race
Where Speaker Candidates Stand On Member Items
Speaker's Slush Funds
City Council Speaker Candidates Divided Over Member Item Cash At Forum(NYDN)
Councilman Jimmy Vacca (D-Bronx), who opposes the change, argued it would weaken the Council by making it less unified. “I don’t want to do anything that weakens the New York City Council,” he said. “We have to look at making it more democratic and definitely more transparent but we also have to make sure that we remain strong, a united voice that’s prepared to fight.” Councilwomen Inez Dickens of Manhattan and Annabel Palma of the Bronx also oppose the change. I support the rules reforms and I don’t think it necessarily weakens the City Council. In fact I think sometimes the best way to gain power is to give it away,” said Councilman Mark Weprin (D-Queens) – one of thirty members who has backed a package of rules changes that includes the funding shakeup. Councilmembers Dan Garodnick and Melissa Mark-Viverito of Manhattan also took that position.
For the First Time Their is A Real Fight to Influence the Press, Public and Councilmembers in the Speakers Race
Progressives + Unions + WFP Vs Party Leaders + Partnership +
Permanent Government
The NYP and Social Media Is Attacking the Very Real Candidacy of Mark-Viverito
The Political Class Takeover
Sal Albanese
Will the Progressives, Advance Group and the Bronx Democratic Machine Elect the the New Speaker?
Friday wrap-up examines consultants in the speaker race, and more(CrainsNY) An intriguing question in the behind-the-scenes contest to become the
next City Council speaker is to what degree candidates' consultants will
play a role. One leading candidate, Melissa Mark-Viverito,
has several assisting her, while others have gone consultant-free. Ms.
Mark-Viverito, who opened a new campaign committee called "Viverito NY"
on Election Day this month, is getting help from the Advance Group,
Bishop Pitta Del Giorno and the Mirram Group, according to sources. The
first two have deep labor connections, while the latter has ties in the
Hispanic community and in upper Manhattan and the Bronx. The Advance
Group also brings some baggage from an election season that saw it help produce mailers for socially conservative super PAC, seemingly do work against some of its own clients, and take payments from an apparently fictitious political consulting firm.
Some of those moves did not endear the firm to progressives that Mr.
Mark-Viverito is trying to court. Meanwhile, Ms. Mark-Viverito was
escorted around Brooklyn's Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club recently by
Michael Cohen, a Bishop Pitta consultant, according a source in
attendance. Mr. Cohen has retained an attorney in relation to the
indictment of Democratic political consultant Melvin Lowe but says he's not in the complaint.
._____________________________________
City Council Speaker's Race
ANTI-PROGRESSIVE PROGRESSIVE — Councilwoman Rosie Mendez on would-be speaker Jumaane Williams: “As an out lesbian, it's problematic for me that the person who would
be representing this body is anti-gay marriage, anti- a woman's right to
choose. … Those are two really fundamental progressive issues."
Actually, that's NY City Council Speaker Candidates Differ On Participatory Budgeting(NYDN)
NYC Council Speaker Hopefuls, Storified(NYDN)
Assemblyman Keith Wright, the leader of Manhattan’s Democratic Party who is not widely regarded as a real force in the speaker’s race, criticized attempts to weaken county leaders. “If they are trying to weaken us, then I guess I don’t understand why people are calling to meet with us each and every day,” he argued.
Speaking of the speaker’s race, here’s a scene from last night’s forum via NYTrue.com:
Speaker Candidates Hedge On Ending Lulus, Offer Glimpses Of Their Strategies(NYDB)
While Gatemouth wrote that another speaker candidate, Jumaane Williams, should declare his support same-sex marriage, or “even if Williams insists upon sticking up for his principles (and I must assume that is what he is doing, because it would be far easier not to), he should understand he cannot duck and run from the press.”
None of the candidates for City Council speaker would commit to ending extra payments for members known as “lulus” at a forum Wednesday night.
The City Council Watch blog further critiqued
Ms. Mark-Viverito for “long-standing ties to a radical
homeless-advocacy group that had its Council funding pulled for teaching
its followers how to break into buildings in order to establish
squatter’s rights.”While Gatemouth wrote that another speaker candidate, Jumaane Williams, should declare his support same-sex marriage, or “even if Williams insists upon sticking up for his principles (and I must assume that is what he is doing, because it would be far easier not to), he should understand he cannot duck and run from the press.”
None of the candidates for City Council speaker would commit to ending extra payments for members known as “lulus” at a forum Wednesday night.
Daily News and NYP Disagree If the Council Speaker Vote Will Be Secret
Secret ballot will choose speaker at caucus(NYDN) * SECRET BALLOTS FOR SPEAKER — Post’s Erin Durkin:
speaker, but the caucus can’t decide if it wants to vote through secret
or open ballots. If some of the caucus doesn’t vote for Melissa
Mark-Viverito, “1199 would chop their heads off,” an unnamed source
said.*
Over in the speaker’s race, some members are reportedly pushing for a secret ballot to avoid antagonizing the labor backers of Melissa Mark-Viverito. “They don’t want the unions to know,” a source told the Daily News. “1199 would chop their heads off.”
* Speaker Candidates Joust for Progressive Mantle at Brooklyn Forum (NYO) * And, via NYTrue.com, here is video of another speaker contender, Jimmy Vacca, speaking very animatedly at Monday’s Bronx forum:* “The progressive bloc is going to negotiate with a set of priorities in
mind, like rules reform, committee chairpersons and yes, preferences for
speaker. But the bloc fully expects to work with county leaders in
figuring out all of those issues in a productive, cooperative way,” a
source familiar with the progressives’ negotiations told Capital New York.* None of Council Speaker candidates will commit to abolishing lulus. All say it has "to be discussed within the body."
Over in the speaker’s race, some members are reportedly pushing for a secret ballot to avoid antagonizing the labor backers of Melissa Mark-Viverito. “They don’t want the unions to know,” a source told the Daily News. “1199 would chop their heads off.”
The Same-Sex Question to Williams
SPEAKER SCRAMBLE — Gay-marriage questions for a speaker contender — News’ Celeste Katz: Councilman Jumaane Williams declined to answer reporters’ questions
about his stances on abortion and same-sex marriage, saying only: “I
don’t think any of those matters in the job I’m trying to get. To me,
it’s important what you do and the votes you take.” Melissa Mark
Viverito told reporters she “welcomes the opposition,” adding, “I’m the
progressive candidate.” * Brooklyn's Jumaane Williams Joins The Scramble For NY City Council Speakership(NYDN) * The other contenders — Capital’s Sally Goldenberg: “James Vacca's pitch for Council speaker, essentially, is that he'll be the strongest check on de Blasio.”* NY1 Online:City Councilmembers-Elect Talk Speaker’s Race (NY1 * New York City Councilman Jumaane Williams blasted Barney’s and Macy’s for not testifying at a Council
hearing on “shop-and-frisk” racial profiling in their stores, while Rev.
Al Sharpton defended rapper Jay-Z’s involvement with Barney’s, the Post
writes:
___________________________________ Don't Stop Member Items Pork Party
Councilmembers Want to Control Member Item Pork Themselves Cutting Out Speaker
Not Reform
Money Grab
City Council moving to take away speaker’s ‘pork’ power(NYP) Member items funds would be distributed by a more equitable formula that takes into account factors such as population, funding needs or geographic size. In the most recent fiscal year, $50 million was distributed to the 51 council districts through so-called “member items.” Some say there is much more hidden member item pork throughout the budget. “If you weaken the office of the speaker or the power of the speaker, you will enable the mayor and the executive office to pick off individual members of the council to get certain legislative proposals or policies enacted,” said Ulrich, echoing his GOP colleague.
SPEAKER’S RACE — De Blasio Backing Viverito — Post’s Michael Gartland: “De Blasio is lobbying council members through Working Families Party surrogates…Councilman Michael McMahon: ‘if Inez [Dickens] stays in…There will be a split in the black and Latino caucus.’” http://goo.gl/keSCFH
_____________________________________
Speaker Race
Will the Progressives, Advance Group and the Bronx Democratic Machine Elect the the New Speaker?
Friday wrap-up examines consultants in the speaker race, and more(CrainsNY) An intriguing question in the behind-the-scenes contest to become the
next City Council speaker is to what degree candidates' consultants will
play a role. One leading candidate, Melissa Mark-Viverito,
has several assisting her, while others have gone consultant-free. Ms.
Mark-Viverito, who opened a new campaign committee called "Viverito NY"
on Election Day this month, is getting help from the Advance Group,
Bishop Pitta Del Giorno and the Mirram Group, according to sources. The
first two have deep labor connections, while the latter has ties in the
Hispanic community and in upper Manhattan and the Bronx. The Advance
Group also brings some baggage from an election season that saw it help produce mailers for socially conservative super PAC, seemingly do work against some of its own clients, and take payments from an apparently fictitious political consulting firm.
Some of those moves did not endear the firm to progressives that Mr.
Mark-Viverito is trying to court. Meanwhile, Ms. Mark-Viverito was
escorted around Brooklyn's Thomas Jefferson Democratic Club recently by
Michael Cohen, a Bishop Pitta consultant, according a source in
attendance. Mr. Cohen has retained an attorney in relation to the
indictment of Democratic political consultant Melvin Lowe but says he's not in the complaint.
..
.
Pay to Vote Speaker Campaign Score Card
Mark Weprin Paid Consultant Lobbyists Hudson TG $12,000 even though he had no race. He paid mission control $45,000 for mailings
Daniel Garodnick Paid Consultant Lobbyists Berlin Rosen $50,000 Even though he had no race, Garodnick also paid Bedford Grove LLC
___________________________________
Dirt Fly In Speakers Race
Queens Boss Crowley Who Is Trying to Elect Weprin Hit With A Virginia Housing Cover Up
Will the de Blasio Express Deliver a New Council Speaker?(Gay City News) “In many parts of the city, councilmembers aren’t allowed to think for
themselves,” observed Ken Sherrill, a Hunter College political scientist
and longtime student of New York municipal government.But a key conceit in the current political narrative is that 2013 is
different. A new mood among the public. A new direction. A new mayor. De
Blasio himself would seem philosophically aligned with charting a new
course in choosing the Council speaker.
.
Progressive Council Candidates Group
Costa Constantinides, Council Member Margaret Chin, Council Member Daniel Dromm, Council Member Julissa Ferreras, Ben Kallos, Council Member Brad Lander, Mark Levine, Council Member Stephen Levin, Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, Council Member Donovan Richards, Council Member Debi Rose, Ritchie Torres, Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, Council Member Jumaane D. Williams More on the Speaker Race (True News)
Even the NYP Says the Team Progressive is the Most Powerful Force in the City
Council progressive caucus seeks to pick next Speaker(NYP Ed)Meanwhile, Crain’s New York Business reports that the Council’s Progressive Caucus — which is about to grow in size come Jan. 1 — has enlisted a top union official to negotiate on its behalf in the battle to select a new speaker, the city’s second-most-powerful job. The official tapped to represent the caucus during negotiations for speaker is Alison Hirsh, political director of the powerful building-workers union, 32BJ SEIU. Hirsh is also a former chief of staff to serial sexual harasser Vito Lopez. In addition to sitting at the table with the county bosses who will decide the new speaker, she will round up votes for the caucus’s preferred candidate once it settles on one. Just who that candidate will be hasn’t yet been decided. “The official tapped to represent the caucus during negotiations for speaker is Alison Hirsh, political director of the powerful building-workers union, 32BJ SEIU. Hirsh is also a former chief of staff to serial sexual harasser Vito Lopez.” “Under a Mayor de Blasio, this is not so much a conflict of interest as a confluence of interests... a larger and stronger progressive caucus within the council effectively means unions will be calling many of the shots.”
20 Progressives Councilmembers Say They Are United
Party Leaders Extinction
The populist groundswell that swept Bill de Blasio to victory in the mayoral election is reshaping the City Council as well, with a cadre of fiercely liberal council members demanding a voice in choosing that body’s next speaker. Kenneth Sherrill, a professor emeritus of political science at Hunter College, said the rise of the progressive caucus could portend the emergence of a new two-party system in New York City – not Democrats and Republicans, but centrist Democrats and more liberal Democrats. Brad Lander, a Democrat from Brooklyn and the co-chairman of the progressive caucus, said that the 20 caucus members — some of them already serving on the Council, and some who will be serving for the first time — made the commitment to stick together at a caucus retreat at the Bronx Zoo. The caucus’s effort to control a bloc of votes in the race for speaker is a departure from the past, when the speakership was effectively decided by county Democratic Party chairmen. Now the progressive caucus is seeking to ally with one or more of the county delegations to put together enough votes to elect a speaker.* Jumaane Williams Speaker Bid Slams Into Social Issues(NYO)
Can the MirRam Group Pull the Bronx Into Supporting Melissa Mark-Viverito for Speaker?
NYC Another Test of Progressive Governing
.
The Partnership's Kathy Wylde Lost NYC for the 1%
Sticking with the Party Leaders, Parkside Too Long
The Next Council Speaker Could End BOE Corruption
Does the Daily News Think A Candidate Running for Council Speaker Will Pledge to End Member Items or Lulus for the People He or She is Seeking Votes From?
Waste of Time
The Daily News makes the case for a package of New York City Council legislative reforms that would even out member items allocations, but advocates for taking it a step further and eliminating member items altogether. The Daily News does say that de Blasio who during the campaign said he would end member items does have a backdoor way to end them.
The key is the mayor-controlled Procurement Policy Board, which sets guidelines on city spending. As mayor, de Blasio will fill three of the five seats. Under the City Charter, contracts must be awarded by competitive sealed bidding, though the board may allow exceptions. And that’s exactly it did, carving out a loophole for Council slush in 1991. Once the board closes the loophole, bye-bye slush fund.
Question Daily News Must Asked Council Speaker Candidates
The Daily News Should Ask Each of the Council Speaker Candidates If They Will Use Their Power to Confirm Board of Election Commissioner to Demand Reforms of That Corruption Institution
Quinn and a gang of 4 GOP councilmember used the power to confirm BOE commissioners to throw out commissioner in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx. The result is that GOP party leaders patronage appoints to the BOE are being replaced by people from the councilmembers and their friends. Why is the media not demand that the next council speaker clean out the BOE and restore Democracy to New York City? * Bloomberg rips NYC's scanner voting machines over privacy(NYDN)
NYT Weak Partial Solutions to Corruption Problems At the BOE
Low-Stress Voting(NYT Ed) New York and other states with outdated election schedules should provide a two-week voting period instead of cramming it all into one day. The Times urges New York to pass legislation authorizing early in-person voting, citing a Brennan Center for Justice survey that found that early voting solves a myriad of Election Day problems such as long lines and broken machines
More on Corruption at the BOE More
__________________________________
Speakers Race Closed Doors
Jumaane Williams Only Speaker Candidate to Knock Bill Bratton (NYO)
Diminishing the power of the Speaker could weaken the entire NYC Council in relation to the mayor (City and State) * El Diario makes the case for New York City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito as the best choice for Council speaker, praising her advocacy on critical community issues, her dedication to participatory budgeting, and strength of character * Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito discussed her speaker candidacy on Road to City Hall last night. “I’m a very pragmatic person. I’m very opinionated and strong-willed. But that doesn’t mean that you’re unreasonable. I think that being in this position, you have to be also very clear and precise … When you talk to me, I’m talking straight,” she said.
The Speakers Race Was Always Behind Closed Doors
Speaker Race Moving to Behind Closed Doors(NY1)
The Advance Group Being Drop by A Speaker Mark-Viverito, But the Reporter Did Not Ask the Speaker Candidate If Any Laws Were Broken?
Melissa Mark-Viverito Drops Advance Group for Speaker Bid(NYO)Politicker's Incomplete Journalism About the Firing Of the Advance Group by the Leading Speaker's CandidateMany of the City's Lobbyists Consultants are Breaking the Ethics Law By Giving A Gift to An Elected Officials
New York City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito may have violated city ethics rules by accepting unpaid assistance from the Advance Group, a lobbing firm, to further her candidacy for Council speaker," the Daily News reports * The Daily News urges the New York City Council to disqualify Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito from consideration for Council speaker for “blatantly” violating ethics rules by soliciting unpaid assistance from a lobbyist WHEN WILL A REPORTER GO TO THE CONFLICT OF INTERESTS BOARD AND ASK IF THERE IS AN INVESTIGATION GOING ON?
Journalism Lobbyists Disconnect
"Various laws passed by the Legislature were “custom tailored” at the behest of a single influential lobbyist"
Politicker Did Not Ask Mark-Viverito If She Was Paying Other Lobbyists Consultants?
CrainsNY also reported Mark-Viverito is getting help by two other consultant lobbyists firms, Bishop Pitta Del Giorno and the Mirram Group. There are no inkind reports of Mark-Viverito getting help from Advance or any consultant on the CFB report.
The NYT Said Advance Was Being Investigated by the CFB But Did Not Say it Was Involved In Running Mark-Viverito Campaign to Become Speaker
From the NYT "As Crain’s New York noted in a spate of fine reporting, the Advance
Group helped the city’s teachers’ union spend vast sums on Council
races, even as the Advance Group ran individual Council campaigns.
Advance used the same office and same press officer for both efforts,
though in a halfhearted nod to the potential conflict, it changed its
name for the teachers’ union work, to Strategic Consultants. “We took pains to have firewalls internal to the firm,” said Mr.
Levenson, who acknowledged that he faced an investigation. “I can say
unequivocally, independent expenditures were done independently and not
coordinated.”
The Media's Anti-Gay Media Cover-Up
Another Question Politicker did not Ask About Advance's Gay Cover Up or How Often Do You Do Favors For Other Consultants
From the Daily News 11/21/2013
“We did a favor for a political operative that we have a longstanding relationship with by sending his mailer to a printer,” an Advance Group spokeswoman said. “It was a mistake that we regret and is completely inconsistent with our history.”
True News Asks Politicker
What do you think Advance meant when Levension said he was doing a favor for a fellow consultant in a Daily News article on 11/21 by mailing out the anti-gay mailers? Who was that consultant that Advance Did the Favor for? Do consultants do favors for one another is that legal?
True News Reported That the Consultant Do Favors For One Another Creating A Campaign Monopoly They Control
So Much for Transparency
The Council is Keeping It Secret From the Public, If They Are Having A Secret Vote for Speaker?
Speaker Hopefuls Don't Know Exactly How They'll Choose a Speaker (NYO)More on the Speakers Race
Can the MirRam Group Pull the Bronx Into Supporting Melissa Mark-Viverito for Speaker?
_____________________________________
The Fight for Council Speaker Has Begun
THE RUMOR MILL: Whether you were an elected official or otherwise in attendance at this year's Somos El Futuro conference in San Juan, there's a good chance that a handful of the conversations you took part in revolved around the behind-the-scenes campaign for speaker of the New York City Council:(City and State)
Scoop: Enter the consultants: Advance Group Helping Melissa Mark-Viverito in Speaker's Race http://politicker.com/?p=72781 via
Some questioning whether her ties to the “anti-American” Morales would hurt her\
CM
_____________________________________
The Fight for Council Speaker
CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER CANDIDATES MAKE THEIR CASE: At
a public forum in Queens, the prospective candidates for City Council
speaker attempted to carve out their own space in the race, while
distinguishing themselves from City Council Speaker Christine Quinn: http://bit.ly/1fGhOab * New York City Council Speaker Hopefuls Make Their Pitches In First Public Forum
Melissa Mark-Viverito declared herself “the progressive candidate” in the race. When asked about intervening on home foreclosures, Viverito said the city should consider “using eminent domain in a reverse way” to seize “properties from the bank, as a way of making those homes affordable for people that want to say in their community.”
The Fight for Council Speaker
Melissa Mark-Viverito declared herself “the progressive candidate” in the race. When asked about intervening on home foreclosures, Viverito said the city should consider “using eminent domain in a reverse way” to seize “properties from the bank, as a way of making those homes affordable for people that want to say in their community.”
And the Daily News editorialized against Melissa Mark-Viverito, writing that she “should have the smarts to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance, however insincerely.” (Meanwhile, Council Speaker Christine Quinn said how proud she was to recite the pledge before meetings.)
THE RUMOR MILL: Whether you were an elected official or otherwise in attendance at this year's Somos El Futuro conference in San Juan, there's a good chance that a handful of the conversations you took part in revolved around the behind-the-scenes campaign for speaker of the New York City Council:(City and State)
Scoop: Enter the consultants: Advance Group Helping Melissa Mark-Viverito in Speaker's Race http://politicker.com/?p=72781 via
-
Between lobbyists involvement with Mayor elect, Speakers race, IOU's & influe
Becoming the next speaker of the City Council can be a bit more complicated, one can court the county leaders or even the newly-minted progressive caucus, a group of 20 or so lawmakers trying to flex its muscles for the first time. Backed by the liberal Working Families Party and labor unions, the group has even recruited its own negotiator for the process, the political director of the building service workers union, Local 32 BJ. Weprin has donated from his own campaign account $10,000 to the Democratic county committees in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. He also gave $10,000 to the Working Families Party. He gave $42,000 to candidates for City Council. Dan Garodnick did the same thing across the city. He donated more than $57,000 to those with a say in this year's speaker race, like Councilman-elect Paul Vallone. Melissa Mark-Viverito did not contribute to any Council candidate this year.
_____________________________________
NYC No Vets
For the First Time In NYC History Its Government Will Contain no Military Veterans
Candidates Try Different Tactics In Council Speaker Race (NY1)
Becoming the next speaker of the City Council can be a bit more complicated, one can court the county leaders or even the newly-minted progressive caucus, a group of 20 or so lawmakers trying to flex its muscles for the first time. Backed by the liberal Working Families Party and labor unions, the group has even recruited its own negotiator for the process, the political director of the building service workers union, Local 32 BJ. Weprin has donated from his own campaign account $10,000 to the Democratic county committees in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. He also gave $10,000 to the Working Families Party. He gave $42,000 to candidates for City Council. Dan Garodnick did the same thing across the city. He donated more than $57,000 to those with a say in this year's speaker race, like Councilman-elect Paul Vallone. Melissa Mark-Viverito did not contribute to any Council candidate this year.
Daniel Garodnick
Berlin Rosen $50,000
Bedford Grove LLC
Andy King 2013 $500
Arroyo 2013 $500
Friends of Antonio Reynoso $2,750
Friends of Costa Constantinide $2,750
Re-elect Darlene Mealy $2,750
RE-ELECT DONOVAN RICHARDS 2013 $2,750
Rosie Mendez 2013 $2,750
Friends of Daniel Dromm $500
Gibson for City Council $2,750
Jumaane Williams for the 45th $1,000
Levin 2013 $5,600
New Yorkers for de Blasio $4,950
Friends of Torres $2,750
People for Ydanis $1,750
Vote Vallone 2013 $2,750
The Debi Rose Campaign Committ $2,000
People for Diaz $500
Crowley Leadership Fund $1,000
Democratic Org of Queens City $3,000
Kings County Democratic Commit $2,000
Working Families Party $1,000
Stringer 2013 $4,950
Sara M. Gonzalez 2013 $500
Inez Dickens
NYCLASS
Mark Weprin
Hudson TG
CD 12 Andy King $2700
CD 11 Cohen for Council $1,000 Brandford
CD 40 Com to Reelect Mathieu Eugene $1,000
CD 14 Cabrera for City Council $1,000 Brandford
CD 37 Espinal for City Council $2750 Advance
CD 43 Gentile for the Future $1,000 Advance
CD 16 Gibson for City Council $2750 Brandford
CD 22 Friends of Costa Constantinide $1,000
CD 33 Levin 2013 $5,600 Berlin Rosen
CD 46 Maisel for Council $1,000
CD 31 Re-elect Donovan Richards 2013 $2,750 Berllin Rosen
CD 41 Re-elect Mealy $2750
CD 49 The Debi Rose Campaign Committ $1000
CD 17 Vote Vallone 2013 $2750 Mercury
People for Diaz $5000
Democratic Org of Queens Count $10,000
Kings County Democratic Commit $10,000
New Yorkers for De Blasio $4,950
Bronx Democratic County Comm. $10,000
Working Families Party $10,000
lost
CD 38 Gonzalez 2013Hudson
2750
2750
2750
James Vacca
Red Horse, Hudson TG
_____________________________________
The Fight for Council Speaker
CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER CANDIDATES MAKE THEIR CASE: At
a public forum in Queens, the prospective candidates for City Council
speaker attempted to carve out their own space in the race, while
distinguishing themselves from City Council Speaker Christine Quinn: http://bit.ly/1fGhOab * New York City Council Speaker Hopefuls Make Their Pitches In First Public Forum
Melissa Mark-Viverito declared herself “the progressive candidate” in the race. When asked about intervening on home foreclosures, Viverito said the city should consider “using eminent domain in a reverse way” to seize “properties from the bank, as a way of making those homes affordable for people that want to say in their community.”
The Fight for Council Speaker
Melissa Mark-Viverito declared herself “the progressive candidate” in the race. When asked about intervening on home foreclosures, Viverito said the city should consider “using eminent domain in a reverse way” to seize “properties from the bank, as a way of making those homes affordable for people that want to say in their community.”
And the Daily News editorialized against Melissa Mark-Viverito, writing that she “should have the smarts to stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance, however insincerely.” (Meanwhile, Council Speaker Christine Quinn said how proud she was to recite the pledge before meetings.)
THE RUMOR MILL: Whether you were an elected official or otherwise in attendance at this year's Somos El Futuro conference in San Juan, there's a good chance that a handful of the conversations you took part in revolved around the behind-the-scenes campaign for speaker of the New York City Council:(City and State)
Scoop: Enter the consultants: Advance Group Helping Melissa Mark-Viverito in Speaker's Race http://politicker.com/?p=72781 via
-
Between lobbyists involvement with Mayor elect, Speakers race, IOU's & influe
Becoming the next speaker of the City Council can be a bit more complicated, one can court the county leaders or even the newly-minted progressive caucus, a group of 20 or so lawmakers trying to flex its muscles for the first time. Backed by the liberal Working Families Party and labor unions, the group has even recruited its own negotiator for the process, the political director of the building service workers union, Local 32 BJ. Weprin has donated from his own campaign account $10,000 to the Democratic county committees in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx. He also gave $10,000 to the Working Families Party. He gave $42,000 to candidates for City Council. Dan Garodnick did the same thing across the city. He donated more than $57,000 to those with a say in this year's speaker race, like Councilman-elect Paul Vallone. Melissa Mark-Viverito did not contribute to any Council candidate this year.
Speakers Race Last Hurrah?
Will There Be A County Leaders Coalition to Stop WFP or de Blasio from Picking the News Council Speaker?
SPEAKER’S RACE — Capital’s Sally Goldenberg: SEIU 1199 is throwing a party for Mark-Viverito and Tish at Somos this week. … ”Some political insiders expect the event to be, as one put it, ‘a big coming-out party for her’ as a speaker candidate. … Among her likely challengers for speaker are Dan Garodnick of Manhattan and Mark Weprin of Queens.” * SPEAKER’S FORUM on Nov. 20 — Politicker’s Jill Colvin: Six candidates RSVPed for a forum hosted by Citizens Union and Baruch College: Dan Garodnick, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Mark Weprin, Jumaane Williams, Jimmy Vacca and Jimmy Van Bramer. * County Leaders Meeting Today in Puerto Rico —News’ Juan Gonzalez: "No one in the current Council is closer to de Blasio than Mark-Viverito. [She has] strong backing [from] Rep. Nydia Velazquez and… State Senator Adriano Espaillat. … They insist that now that 30% of the city’s population is Hispanic, Mark-Viverito is the best hope for a Latina holding a major citywide office.” * Interesting that
_____________________________________
Speaker Race.
.
Pay to Vote Speaker Campaign Score Card
Mark Weprin Paid Consultant Lobbyists Hudson TG $12,000 even though he had no race. He paid mission control $45,000 for mailings
Daniel Garodnick Paid Consultant Lobbyists Berlin Rosen $50,000 Even though he had no race, Garodnick also paid Bedford Grove LLC
.
Progressive Council Candidates Group
Costa Constantinides, Council Member Margaret Chin, Council Member Daniel Dromm, Council Member Julissa Ferreras, Ben Kallos, Council Member Brad Lander, Mark Levine, Council Member Stephen Levin, Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, Council Member Melissa Mark-Viverito, Council Member Donovan Richards, Council Member Debi Rose, Ritchie Torres, Council Member Jimmy Van Bramer, Council Member Jumaane D. Williams.
More on the Speaker Race
_____________________________________
Speakers Race
At
New York City Councilwoman Melissa
Mark-Viverito will launch her campaign for Council speaker at the Somos
Fall Conference in Puerto Rico, which insiders describe as her
coming-out party, Capital New York writes:
The race to replace Chris Quinn is heating up(NYO)
City council will have 14 Jewish members next term, up from 10 http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new-york-news/jewish-representation-city-council-grows … Orthodox number will double
________________________________________
Council Speakers Race
SPEAKER’S RACE — De Blasio Backing Viverito — Post’s Michael Gartland: “De Blasio is lobbying council members through Working Families Party surrogates…Councilman Michael McMahon: ‘if Inez [Dickens] stays in…There will be a split in the black and Latino caucus.’” http://goo.gl/keSCFH
Candidate for Speaker Hires Paterson Aide With Domestic Violence History
Curb the Power of the Next City Council Speaker
4 members have "plan that would significantly check the power of the next speaker." via @bcolbyHamilton http://www.dnainfo.com/new-york/20130 * According to DNAinfo.com New York, behind the scenes,
influential City Council members “are reaching out to the rest of the
membership in hopes of coming up with a plan that would significantly
check the power of the next speaker,” to decentralize power in the
chamber. The first priority is to allow legislation to emerge without
the speaker’s approval.* Race for City Council Speaker Intensifies After Primary: A number of council members have been suggested as... http://dlvr.it/40GrX6 Multiple members have been mentioned as candidates – in addition to Mr.
Weprin, Mr. Garodnick, and Ms. Palma, they include James Vacca of the
Bronx, Inez E. Dickens and Melissa Mark-Viverito of Manhattan, and
Jumaane D. Williams of Brooklyn. * @JumaaneWilliams to @katetaylornyt on abortion & gay marriage: "My personal beliefs are less important than what I've done legislatively." * More speaker race speculation, including @JimmyVanBramer @RosieMendez and Jimmy Vacca's makeover (CrainsNY) * Update: Jimmy Van Bramer confirms speaker run. Spkr "may need to be part of the Progressive Caucus" & Queens Dem (CrainsNY)
_______________________________________
What is the Daily News Smoking
Does the Daily News Really Believe That Council Speaker Candidates in Backroom Meeting Along With Queens Boss Crowley are Promising to End Lulus If They Vote to Elect Them Speaker
_______________________________________________________
City Council Corruption
The race to replace Chris Quinn is heating up(NYO)
City council will have 14 Jewish members next term, up from 10 http://www.thejewishweek.com/news/new-york-news/jewish-representation-city-council-grows … Orthodox number will double
________________________________________
Council Speakers Race
SPEAKER’S RACE — De Blasio Backing Viverito — Post’s Michael Gartland: “De Blasio is lobbying council members through Working Families Party surrogates…Councilman Michael McMahon: ‘if Inez [Dickens] stays in…There will be a split in the black and Latino caucus.’” http://goo.gl/keSCFH
Candidate for Speaker Hires Paterson Aide With Domestic Violence History
City Councilwoman Inez Dickens campaign brings on former Gov. Paterson aide with domestic violence history: sources (NYDN) Sources
say David Johnson, whose second-degree harassment case almost took down
the Paterson administration, is now coordinating logistics for Dickens
and is her point person in her Harlem district.
.
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New Council Speaker Ask Boss Crowley
Almost Every Councilmember is Running for Speaker
Apparently every single City Council member now wants to be speaker, including Vinnie Gentile, Jimmy Van Bramer, Rosie Mendez and Jumaane Williams, in addition to the previously-known names: Mark Weprin, Dan Garodnick, Inez Dickens, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Annabel Palma and Jimmy Vacca.
Race for City Council Speaker Intensifies After Primary(NYT)\Clockwise, from top left: Jumaane D. Williams, Daniel R. Garodnick, Melissa Mark-Viverito and James Vacca have all been mentioned as candidates for City Council speaker.* NY1 Online: REBNY President Defends Jobs For New York Attacks
.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
New Council Speaker Ask Boss Crowley
Almost Every Councilmember is Running for Speaker
Apparently every single City Council member now wants to be speaker, including Vinnie Gentile, Jimmy Van Bramer, Rosie Mendez and Jumaane Williams, in addition to the previously-known names: Mark Weprin, Dan Garodnick, Inez Dickens, Melissa Mark-Viverito, Annabel Palma and Jimmy Vacca.
Race for City Council Speaker Intensifies After Primary(NYT)\Clockwise, from top left: Jumaane D. Williams, Daniel R. Garodnick, Melissa Mark-Viverito and James Vacca have all been mentioned as candidates for City Council speaker.* NY1 Online: REBNY President Defends Jobs For New York Attacks
Curb the Power of the Next City Council Speaker
_______________________________________
What is the Daily News Smoking
Does the Daily News Really Believe That Council Speaker Candidates in Backroom Meeting Along With Queens Boss Crowley are Promising to End Lulus If They Vote to Elect Them Speaker
From those wonderful editorial writers that made Quinn Mayor
Say bye-bye to lulus (NYDN Ed)
Most
City Council candidates have committed to end a corrupting practice.
The City Council convenes in January with a fresh crop of members and a
two-thirds majority that has called for eliminating bonus pay for being
good little boys and girls.
_______________________________________________________
City Council Corruption
We’ll be watching (NYDN)
Cleaning up the City Council: An imperative for the new crop of city legislators, including the next speaker
"[City Councilwoman Inez] Dickens refused to explain why her campaign paid rent to a tenant who paid rent to her." [Michael Gartland]
"[City Councilwoman Inez] Dickens refused to explain why her campaign paid rent to a tenant who paid rent to her." [Michael Gartland]
Primary wins shape contest for council speaker(NY World) Progressive Caucus gains add new player to traditionally county-dominated process
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Council Speaker Race
Wide-Open Race for Council Chief(WSJ)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Council Speaker Race
Letitia James's Victory in Public Advocate Primary Could Affect Contest* Winner in City Council contest — for most contributions to fellow members * .@MarkWeprin made max-out primary donations to Tish James and Paul Vallone, max donation to de Blasio in late Sept... @NYCSPEAKERRACE City and State Winners of the Week Mark Weprin, Dan Garodnick and Jimmy Vacca – Had Daniel Squadron
prevailed in the runoff for New York City public advocate this week, the
conventional wisdom was that Garodnick, Vacca and Weprin would have
been out of luck in the race for Council Speaker; white men winning all
three of the citywide elected offices, it would have looked terrible in a
majority-minority city for the only other top job to go to yet another
white dude. Fortunately for this trio, Tish James’ runoff win virtually
assures that she will become the first woman of color elected citywide
in New York City. As a result they didn’t just escape elimination, they
moved to the front of the class as viable contenders in the estimation
of many pundits—for what that’s worth.* COUNCIL WATCH: FIRST ABOVE EQUALS:
City & State columnist Seth Barron analyzes the contest to be the
next Speaker of the New York City Council, including the influential
role of Democratic county leaders in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx:
NY Pols Consultants Lobbyists Price Fixers On Wall Street, Pension Scandal?
Deep Throat: Follow the Lobbyists $$$
Letters from New York City and state politicians bashing nutritional supplement company Herbalife are raising questions about if the officials played a role in a hedge fund manager’s campaign to drive down the company’s stock price, the Daily News writes: They are the kinds of letters often written by elected officials. But these letters by City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras and State Sen. Adriano Espaillat are raising questions whether the officials played a role in a campaign to drive down the stock price of a nutritional supplement company.* Espaillat (D-Manhattan) said there was evidence that Herbalife is "an illegal pyramid scheme." Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan) and Ferreras (D-Queens) cited allegations the company is an "abusive pyramid scheme." The letters were sent at the same time that hedge funder William Ackman was organizing Hispanic officials around the country to pressure regulators to investigate the company. Local political operative Luis Miranda and two local non-profits, the Hispanic Federation and Make the Road New York, were all hired as part of the Ackman campaign to encourage local pols to look into Herbalife’s practices, the Times reported.* Gerson Borrero @GersonBorrero
NY Pols Consultants Lobbyists Price Fixers On Wall Street, Pension Scandal?
Deep Throat: Follow the Lobbyists $$$
Letters from New York City and state politicians bashing nutritional supplement company Herbalife are raising questions about if the officials played a role in a hedge fund manager’s campaign to drive down the company’s stock price, the Daily News writes: They are the kinds of letters often written by elected officials. But these letters by City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito, Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras and State Sen. Adriano Espaillat are raising questions whether the officials played a role in a campaign to drive down the stock price of a nutritional supplement company.* Espaillat (D-Manhattan) said there was evidence that Herbalife is "an illegal pyramid scheme." Mark-Viverito (D-Manhattan) and Ferreras (D-Queens) cited allegations the company is an "abusive pyramid scheme." The letters were sent at the same time that hedge funder William Ackman was organizing Hispanic officials around the country to pressure regulators to investigate the company. Local political operative Luis Miranda and two local non-profits, the Hispanic Federation and Make the Road New York, were all hired as part of the Ackman campaign to encourage local pols to look into Herbalife’s practices, the Times reported.* Gerson Borrero
Trinity Padilla is the other .@PRparadeNYC Board Member to resign after my commentary last night .@NY1noticias * After Big Bet, Hedge Fund Pulls the Levers of Power (NYT) Staking $1 Billion That Herbalife Will Fail, Then Lobbying to Bring It Down
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