New York State is not a representative democracy. After the 1980 census, Democratic and Republican leaders agreed that the State Senate districts would be drawn up to ensure a Republican majority and State Assembly districts would be drawn up to ensure a Democratic majority. That system is still in place, but it is beginning to fray since the state has become so overwhelmingly Democratic that there is almost no way to gerrymander things enough to get a Republican majority in the Senate. To make up for this, politically endangered Republican Senators are given large “member item” budgets — that other members don’t get — to buy votes with. Buying votes here means funding various worthy projects: libraries, jazz festivals, and a new arty bus stop are the three things my Rochester-area Republican State Senators are always bragging about (“liberal” projects make constituents happy because the constitutents are liberal).
The Speaker of the Assembly and the Majority Leader of the Senate are all-powerful. They determine committee assignments, which determine salaries, as well as perks like parking spots and office size. There are stories of legislators returning to their office after voting against their leader’s wishes and finding that the locks have been changed and that the power has been cut. A lower percentage of bills are debated on the floor in New York State than in any other state. A lot of this is detailed in the Brennan Report and in a book called “Three Men In A Room” (the three men being the governor, the Speaker of the Assembly, and the Majority Leader of the Senate). I once called my Assemblywoman to ask her to vote against the bond issue for the Atlantic Yards project in Brooklyn and was told that no one in the office had heard of the issue. I later read that, somehow, it didn’t require a vote from the Assembly or Senate, that Shelly Silver (Speaker), Joe Bruno (then Senate Majority Leader), and George Pataki (then governor) passed it without input from the actual legislative bodies.
What happened with the New York State Senate coup, as near as I can tell, is that billionaire Tom Golisano decided he wanted to be the fourth man in the room:
Mr. Golisano, a billionaire business executive, had spent heavily to help Mr. Smith and other Democrats win control of the Senate in the November election, and was angry to hear they were now planning to raise taxes on the wealthy. He expected an audience befitting a major financial patron.
Instead, he said, Mr. Smith played with his BlackBerry and seemed to barely listen.
“I said, ‘I’m talking to the wall here,’ ” Mr. Golisano recalled in an interview on Tuesday.
That meeting led to the dramatic collapse Monday of the Democrats’ grip on the Senate majority as a frustrated Mr. Golisano secretly planned with Republicans to persuade two Democrats to join them in ousting Mr. Smith.
The whole Times article I excerpted from is worth a read. It mentions the possible role of swinger/Brooks Brother rioteer Roger Stone in the caper. And it explains that the two Democratic Senators who who left the party did so for financial reasons.
The big issue on the horizon here is redistricting in 2012. Under anything but the most ridiculous gerrymander, Democrats will win a large majority of seats in the State Senate under the new redistricting. Of course, they are likely to gerrymander themselves to make it even larger if they can, but personally I am hoping for the districts to be drawn by a nonpartisan panel. There’s a chance Democrats will agree to that — since they’d have large majorities under it anyway — but very little chance that Republicans would.
kid bitzer
on behalf of all residents of chicagoland, continually insulted for the corruption of our government, may i just say:
thank you.
thank you, albany, for making us look good.
Ash Can
And people crack on Chicago politics. Oy.
ETA: And I see kid bitzer was here first with this. Great minds, etc. ;)
c u n d gulag
I’ve just moved back to upstate NY, having been in NC the past 9+ years.
I’d forgotten how screwed up our legislative branch was here, and politics in general. Not only do we shame Chicago, we shame many Banana Republics…
PeakVT
Sounds like another state is ripe for a constitutional convention.
mayim
Wait a minute…
Didn’t Golisano make a big stink a few weeks ago about moving out of NYS because taxes were going to be so high? (Quick Google confirms this memory……)
If he’s not paying NYS taxes why is he getting so much say in NYS politics?
Ugh. Albany. I know it happens in every state but still……
The Grand Panjandrum
And from what I read about those two clowns that left the Democrats it is good riddance. One abuses women and the other is a thief. Jesus. Democrats in New York should be patient and let those two bastards go. IIRC those districts are majority Dem districts and ripe for getting the seats back anyway.
NobodySpecial
Maybe we should bring back 1950’s taxation on billionaires like Golisano just for being an asshole.
geg6
Wow. And I thought PA politics was bad. Just wow.
The Saff
The whole trainwreck that is Albany is fascinating and horrifying at the same time. I thought Michigan’s legislature was bad but it’s nothing compared to New York’s.
someguy
The corruption can be dealt with later. The important thing now is using the upcoming redistricting to crush the Republican cockroaches and ensuring there’s no way they can come anywhere near an effective minority, much less a majority. Don’t forget – there’s an opportunity for redistricting congressional districts too. Give ’em a congressional district comprised of the rural areas between Albany, Binghamton, Syracuse and Buffalo, and make sure the cities go blue. It makes me so angry when the Republicans are finally back on their heels, that rogue Dems would leave the fold and let them back into the fight.
I guess you’d need principled Democrats to really take the fight to the Republicans… not sure where you’re going to get those in NY.
Blurm
The problem is that a great many of the Democratic reps are complete idiots.
harlana pepper
Damn, Dean on Washington Journal is shooting down repube talking points on health care reform like an automatic weapon. Why isn’t this guy in the administration? Holy crap, we need him. Oh, never mind. I forgot. He makes too much sense. Oh, and he’s crazy and mean. If Dean is mean, good god, what are republicans these days?
aimai
Thanks for a fascinating post doug j. I’ll definitely read the entire article as soon as I get a chance. Local politics in any state is a mess–I wish I knew what we could do about it. I’m a yellow dog democrat but the democrats don’t do any better than the republicans. The chief reason is that public service only pays if you corrupt or, as a repeat player, you let yourself be corrupted relative to the newbies and the one shot players who are the voters.
aimai
BruceFromOhio
@someguy:
DINGDINGDINGDINGDING!
The Bruno/Silver/Pataki regime change has left some ugly vacuums to fill.
ChrisS
As a lifelong resident of upstate NY, this little coup by Golisano, a bitter little man with a Napolean complex, is infuriating.
It just disgusts me. The GOP has run the state senate for 40 years and have left the state a confusing mess of blue laws, “authorities”, quasi-government agencies, and a massive debt.
All the while they’ve witnessed a continual mass migration of corporations and industry out of the state and in most cases out of the country. It’s a shame because I love living in upstate, but man, other states are looking attractive. This place would be bankrupt if not for NYC. It’s run like a southern fiefdom and most every policy is backwards.
Only in upstate are we building new highways and investing in malls.
cleek
Golisano, bah. he was a tiresome wanna-be pol 15 years ago when i lived in Rochester. hard to believe he’s still stomping around.
Geeno
A referendum is put on the ballot every 20 years to determine if there will be a constitutional convention. It lost in ’97 and doesn’t come back ’til ’17. The main argument against the convention at the time – even in ads – was, essentially, “Look how badly we’ve screwed up this government, just imagine what we’ll do if you let us rewrite the constitution!”
SGEW
This is why I mostly focus on federal level policy, and hardly ever pay attention to my state’s politics outside of the five boroughs. In all my years I’ve yet to hear anything constructive, intelligent, or even slightly helpful come out of that upstate madhouse. In the last two decades I’ve probably heard more hopeful prognostications about the I/P conflict than I have about fixing Albany.
I know, I know, I’m part of the problem. But, honestly, can you blame me?
NonyNony
@Geeno:
I have to admit that given what I’ve seen of NY politics, that’s a compelling argument. Would the same politicians in Albany be responsible for rewriting the constitution at the convention? I might avoid a constitutional convention in that case too …
Dan B
Doug, as a fellow Rochester resident, I can say I totally appreciate what Golisano has done for Western NY as an employer, philanthropist and sports enthusiast.
He can, however, go fuck himself for his role in this debacle.
DougJ
Believe it or not, buried in the article is a mention of some rules reform the Republicans will supposedly pass — specifically, reining in the member items stuff.
DougJ
Well, I think that there would be too much media scrutiny for them to get away with much at a convention. The NYC media would actually cover it.
I subscribe to the theory that Albany is so dysfunctional because no one in NYC pays attention to it. And upstate is too weak/fragmented to apply much pressure.
Geeno
@NonyNony:
The terms of the convention aren’t specified in the ballot item, so it’s not known at the time of the vote just exactly WHO will be writing the new constitution. They played it up as if it would be the entrenched pols, but that wasn’t necessarily so.
SGEW
It is my fault! Mea culpa, indulgeo mihi!
(weeps for own failure; pledges to pay more attention)
Louise
What Dan B said.
I moved to western NY three years ago. I’m only now beginning to understand the snakepit that is Albany.* It certainly explains why the licensure law for my profession is such a clusterfuck.
*Although, isn’t most of “Albany”‘s business going on in NYC?
My home town is Chicago and, as several commenters have already pointed out, this state makes them look good.
Steaming Pile
Ay carumba. The way I see it, the main difference between New York and California is that in New York, all the money is concentrated in one semi-autonomous City that is largely insulated from Albany’s stupidity. Thus, there is no housing bubble to burst, no nagging immigration problem, and no actual money or jobs to lose Upstate. We can function perfectly well for quite a long time with an utterly dysfunctional “government” in Albany because there isn’t any china left for the bulls to knock over. It’s already lying in pieces on the floor.
DMcK
NYC may very well start paying attention now; this farce is getting a LOT of coverage, and the players involved are responsible for completely screwing the pooch vis a vis the MTA budget crisis. And we already resent being used as a piggybank for these assholes’ pet pork projects in Westchester and Long Island. Mayoral campaigning is getting underway too, so this should hopefully get interesting.
mrmike
I worked in the LOB many years ago. It’s comforting in a way to know that things haven’t changed much.
sparky
i’d say it was the fault of everyone downstate (defined as Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester and Rockland + NYC). for many years until its finances fell off a cliff Nassau was the most corrupt county in the US in a corporatist way. people around NYC understand the concept of skim since so many of them make a living that way and don’t care as long as they aren’t disturbed.
two related but arcane issues: most people around NYC still think it is the center of the universe, ala 1928 or 1986 or 1999. it ain’t. the other, more subtle problem is a legal one: the city is wholly a creature of the state, and as such the state can tell the city to jump or drop dead. i doubt many new yorkers realize the state could abolish the city if it wanted to. not that it would, of course, but NOTHING can happen in the city of any consequence without a note from Albany.
oh, and i forgot about the unholy offspring of Rocky and Moses: the public authority.
parksideq
Here’s how I know New York is messed up: NYC Mayor Bloomberg has more power and influence, both locally and nationally, than NY State Gov. Paterson. That is all.
bago
I just feel the need to share the following quote:
For details visit roy edroso‘s place.
PaulW
wait a minute. You’re saying that no matter what, the Republicans are *required* to hold control of the State Senate no matter what?
What happens when there’s no elected Republicans for that Senate? The way things are going with Republicans becoming an endangered species north of the Mason-Dixon line, that’s a distinct possibility!
I’m surprised no one’s filed a lawsuit over that ‘deal’ claiming it violates the one-person one-vote rule. I would, if I lived in a state where the political parties made such a crooked deal.
Jay C
@Steaming Pile:
Huh? Why? Because Upstate has already cratered? Reverted to its “natural” status of an Adirondacks Somalia? You’re quite right about the Upstate/Downstate
schizophreniadichotomy in New York, but I thinks it’s a bit premature to write off everything north of the Tappan Zee just yet.The Legislature, though….. meh.
Surabaya Stew
I used to like Golisano for attempting to take on the corrupt system when he ran for governor several times back in the 90’s. Sounds like he’s getting antsy to improve things before he passes, but creating chaos can’t be the right way to go about it.
DougJ
No, the districts are just drawn so that they’re very likely to. With so few Republicans left in the state they’ll eventually lose control.
burnspbesq
@Jay C:
Upstate cratered 40 years ago, and it’s not coming back any time soon. Make the drive from Albany to Syracuse on Route 5 instead of the Thruway, and you go through town after town after town where, to quote Springsteen, “these jobs are goin,’ boys, and they ain’t comin’ back.”
I lived in Schenectady from 1961-64 (first through third grades), when it was a thriving industrial town with two huge employers, GE and American Locomotive. When I went back in 1976 as a college sophomore, Alco was gone and GE was scaled way back. Now, GE is essentially gone, the college is the largest private employer in the county, and it’s just painful to see. I hope Mike’s Dogs is still on Erie Blvd., but I kinda doubt it.
steve
Excuse me, but
Golisano was backing mostly Republican State Senators in the 2008 election. They lost. So he bought some corrupt Dems, and now has bought the Senate against the wishes of the voters. Once again, reform Republican style.
Rum Romanism Rebellion
“Mayoral campaigning is getting underway too, so this should hopefully get interesting.”
I’ll believe that when I see it. Bloomberg is tucked in bed with the Senate Republicans. He’ll buy this election just like he bought the 2001 and ’05 races. In New York, the fix is always in.
mds
Are you kidding? His name ended up on everything, especially at Strong Hospital (warning: be careful of the commemorative plaques on the toilets). I’m surprised it wasn’t the Golisano-Strong Museum by the time I left seven years ago. Alas, given politics-as-usual in Albany, I was briefly attracted to his first independent run for governor, but I should have realized even then to be wary of anyone who makes the “run government like a business” argument. And now he’s bought the return of lobbyist-friendlier government, and the death of public financing for elections. His dedication to democracy and electoral reform is admirable. Too bad he didn’t finish that move to Florida to avoid paying more progressive taxes.
New arty bus stop? Never mind that, DougJ, what’s been happening with Rochester’s Downtown Disaster of a transit terminal / playhouse / crab shack / kitchen sink, or whatever the heck it was going to be?
DougJ
No, it was mostly Democrats.
DougJ
Yes and no. The actual unemployment rate isn’t that high.
Rum Romanism Rebellion
One aspect of this mess that I find grimly amusing is that Malcolm Smith, the former Democratic majority leader who was the target of this putsch, is himself a bit of a DINO. He endorsed Pataki for re-election in ’02 and is a protege of former Congressman Floyd Flake, who raised DINOism to an art form.
The other irony is that Espada and Montsaratte (did I spell his name right?) are Latino legislators who stabbed their fellow Democrats in the back at precisely the moment when Republican/neocon talking heads from Newt Gingrich to Boss Limbaugh are ruthlessly attacking the first Latina nominee for SCOTUS. How do these two dipshits look themselves in the mirror?
I know, stupid question.
Geoff Wittig
Tom Golisano made a fortune by creating a company that competently handles payroll tasks for other small companies. He got really rich, and like many plutocrats decided that his business acumen meant he had to be a great political leader. He wasted nearly $100 million on three vanity runs at NY’s governorship, on a platform of “reform” that mostly involved gutting State services for the poor and slashing taxes on the wealthy. (Go figure). He spent millions funding various charities and hospitals (putting his name on them, of course: see “Golisano Children’s Hospital” in Rochester), and buying the Buffalo Sabers franchise to keep it from fleeing the state. But don’t be deceived; it’s all about buying favorable press coverage. And it works like a charm; Golisano is routinely kissed and fellated by newspapers and television stations around Upstate New York for being such a generous swell guy.
After repeated electoral losses, Golisano got smarter. He created and funded an astroturf “reform” group called Responsible New York, claiming it was an independent effort to bring “accountability and responsibility” to NY politics. However, the core message of the organization is classic Republican/Conservative: shrinking government, reducing taxes, reducing bureaucracy, yadda yadda yadda. It’s his personal sock-puppet organization.
Tom Golisano is a natural fit for the corrupt Republicans in the NY State Senate. His only goal is to reduce his personal tax burden and get even richer. Don’t be fooled by the fawning coverage of his antics in the traditional media; Golisano is a selfish plutocrat in the slimey tradition of Ken Lay, without the charm.
Dan B
@burnspbesq:
oh hell yes Mike’s is still open. I make sure to stop by just about every trip home to see the family in Schenectady. Still one of my favorite dogs anywhere, not to mention the best cheap breakfast around.
Anne Laurie
What’s the opposite of nostalgia? When I was growing up in NYC 40 years ago, it was widely assumed that Albany was hopelessly corrupt because the only thing the various upstate cities could agree upon was that NYC = Teh Enemy. You could get the ‘appleknockers, cow-fvckers, and Lung Kylun developers’ to agree to cut their own throats, or their kids’, as long as they believed it would somehow make us NYCers unhappy for at least 15 minutes. And of course, this meant that NYC politics was quite as corrupt, because the state reps were more interested in helping to screw the city (getting their share of the boodle) than in keeping the city council honest. Now I remember why I wanted to move out of The City by the time I was six years old…
Batocchio
For all that, it’s probably better than Sacramento.