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Espada's Son Given $120K
Patronage Plum In Senate
By Henry J. Stern
August 12, 2009
There’s a classic joke about an elderly Jew who every day reads an Arab newspaper.
A curious neighbor asks him why he reads the Arab paper, when there are many Jewish newspapers available that are much closer to his point of view.
He answers, “I used to read the Jewish paper, but the news was all so terrible: Anti-Semitism everywhere, Israel threatened by its neighbors, Bernie Madoff arrested, Jewish charities swindled out of millions of dollars.
“Now I read the Arab paper. What does it tell me? ‘The Jews control the world. They have all the money. They run the stock market. They own Hollywood. Other countries follow their orders.’
“Which paper do you think makes me feel better in the morning?”
We retell that story because we think about it at New York Civic when we write about politics in general and Albany in particular. Why are we not proud of our state government and grateful for the ways it has served us? Why are we not stirred by the honesty, selflessness and fine moral character of most of our public officials?
The answer lies in the unfortunate fact that such praise would be both undeserved and untruthful. Regardless of the individual virtues many legislators possess, the aggregate of their efforts is inadequate. There are some decent sheep on the farm, who bleat the right notes but to no avail. It is the wolves who rule the sheepfold, with the gentle sheep as their enablers, if not their prey.
Two stories that appeared in the Post yesterday and today -- authored by Fred Dicker and Brendan Scott, respectively -- tell the story of the State Senate and the price the Democrats paid for control of it. Because the articles capture the essence of the facts and the forces which guide the senators, we publish them in full, rather than just linking to them, our usual practice.
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THE SON ALSO RISES:
120G POST FOR SENATE TRAITOR’S KID
ALBANY – Aug. 11 - Turncoat Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. of The Bronx is reaping even more spoils for his return to the Democratic fold: a specially created $120,000-a-year Senate job for his son.
A spokesman for the Senate majority leader defended the Senate's hiring of Pedro G. Espada for the newly created post of "deputy director of intergovernmental relations," insisting it was not a case of political nepotism. The younger Espada, 35, has "considerable experience working in both the public and private sector," said spokesman Austin Shafran. "[Espada] is qualified for the job."
Other Senate Democrats weren't so kind, with one saying, "This is just the latest in the disgusting payoffs for Espada and nepotism at its worst."
Pedro G. Espada, a former city councilman and assemblyman, whose hiring by the Senate was first reported online by New York magazine, initially appeared in line to serve as the more highly paid "deputy" to Indira Noel, the Senate's $118,000-a-year director of intergovernmental relations.
Last night, a Senate spokesman said the government-relations department was being "reorganized" and that John Flateau, another Senate staffer, would be Pedro G. Espada's boss.
His son's new gig is the latest benefit for the elder Espada in the wake of his key role in the "coup" that began June 8 and disrupted the Senate for more than a month.
He and another Senate Democrat, Hiram Monserrate of Queens, initially switched to the Republican side, putting the Legislature's upper house under GOP control.
But five weeks later, Espada switched back to the Democrats and was rewarded with the title of "majority leader," which carries a lucrative extra "lulu" or stipend, as well as expanded office space and new staffers.
Sen. Espada -- who is under investigation by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Bronx District Attorney Robert Johnson for his questionable use of state money earmarked for his Bronx-based social-services agencies, possible state Election Law violations, and the location of his legal residency -- has emerged as a major embarrassment to Senate Democrats since the coup ended.
But Senate Democratic Conference leader John Sampson (D-Brooklyn) and Senate Temporary President Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) have told their allies that they had "no choice" but to make a deal with Sen. Espada in order to return the Senate to Democratic control.
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Today (Wednesday) the Post ran a follow-up article on the appointment of young Pedro.
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COUP POL’S SON IS ‘LAZY AND NOT SO SMART,’
SAYS SENATE DEMOCRAT
ALBANY –Aug. 12 - A prominent Senate Democrat blasted the son of turncoat Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr (who is now the Senate Majority Leader). as "lazy and not so smart" yesterday as the Senate majority leader denied any quid pro quo got his namesake on the Senate payroll.
Pedro G. Espada, a former city councilman and state assemblyman, received a $120,000-a-year appointment as "deputy director of intergovernmental relations" barely a month after his father's return restored Democratic control in the Senate chamber.
"He's lazy and not so smart, so I don't know why we need him in some kind of policy role in the state Senate," the Senate Democrat said.
The Democrat said the elder Espada initially sought to hire his son as his own chief of staff.
"He was told, 'You can't do that. You can't hire a family member,' " the source said. "So that's how he became a central staffer. I guess this is how he came up with the compromise."
Espada (D-Bronx), meanwhile, denied the hire was repayment for his July 9 return to the Democratic Conference, a move that ended a historic monthlong legislative stalemate.
"This is not the result of a quid pro quo or a contingency to my ending the Senate stalemate," Espada said in a statement. "If my son did not qualify for this position, he would not have gotten the job."
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OUR OBSERVATIONS:
This appointment deserves more comment than we want to make right now. In a way, it speaks for itself, nepotism as a reward for political extortion. Yet focusing on the Espadas alone is not the answer to the problem. Each of the 32 Democrats is complicit in this handover, since any two of them could have prevented it. The Republicans are no better. During their 43 consecutive years in the majority, they tormented the Democratic minority, depriving them of basic resources.
By some measures, such as division of the spoils of victory, the Democrats are acting more equitably than the Republicans did. But that is because they know their current majority is due in part to President Obama’s strong showing in 2008. He will not be on the ballot in 2010, and if he were, might not be as popular as he once was. On the other hand, the Democrats are likely to have a more familiar statewide ticket than the Republicans. The Assembly is now permanently Democratic, but the Senate is in play. Whichever party wins the Senate in the 2010 election is likely to redistrict the state after the 23rd Decennial Census of 2010 is completed.
The first U.S. census was taken in 1790, when the total population of New York State was 340,120, including 21,324 slaves, who were, pursuant to the Constitution of the United States, counted as three-fifths of a person for the purposes of the distribution of taxes and the apportionment of the members of the House of Representatives. In 1817, the Legislature provided for the abolition of slavery in New York State by 1827. Indians not taxed were excluded from the census count.
We note that in 2009, we are still arguing and litigating over taxes due from Native Americans for off-reservation, mail and internet sales of cigarettes to non-Indians. Legislatures have voted to tax the cigarettes sold in this manner, but governors have not enforced those decisions because they are afraid to use force. Meanwhile, the courts have been injected into the continuing controversy. Time favors the Indians, as white colonial guilt increases with each generation. You can see that in the evolution of Western movies over the last half century. Popular culture tells the story.
StarQuest #582 08.12.2009 1339 wds
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