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Eliot Spitzer has shown that he can talk the talk. He really hasn't been in office long enough to prove that he can walk the walk. I'm waiting to see how Upstate fairs under him. George Pataki did everything he could to funnel as much money as he could away from upstate and send it downstate. It's time for the Governor to take care of upstate, too.
One-hundred percent agreed.....it's dirty little secret to most outsiders that the beautiful, fabulous, wonderful city that never sleeps is carried on the back of the entire rest of the state
Gov. Eliot Spitzer, born and raised in New York City, made restoring upstate a central campaign theme last year.
Six months into his term, some leaders in the region say that they have seen no real change. Moreover, the governor’s plan for the region has gotten tied up in his continued feuding with legislative leaders, stalling much of his agenda.
Quote:
In an exhaustive 56 page study, The Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's School of Law illustrated in depressing detail how truly F-ed up our State's Senate and Assembly have become.
The short version - individual rank and file legislators have no power. Senate and Assembly committees have no power and serve no purpose. Everything, and I mean everything, is decided unilaterally by the State Senate leader, Joseph Bruno, and the State Assembly leader, Sheldon Silver. And it's all done secretly. Simply put, the old Soviet Union's Politburo was more of a Democratic institution than the New York State Legislature. -The Albany Project
Here are some excerpts from that study:
Quote:
Bruno pointed out to local educators, business leaders and philanthropists that he's a key player in New York's annual budget process and the sole Capital Region member of the "three men in a room" who control state spending. The other two are Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat, and Gov. George Pataki.
While this troika has frequently been criticized in the media and by government watchdogs as an unhealthy concentration of power, Bruno said it's worked well for the Albany area.
"Think that's a coincidence?" he asked, after recounting the region's successes. "That happened because as majority leader I sit at a table and for the press people who don't like it, three men in a room works pretty well."
Read that page if you want to know how New York manages not to work at all. New York has democracy, just no representation in government. Our Senate and Assembly is pointless as they have no power to do a damned thing. Not one! They advise and consent the way the House of Lords does. Sure they might delay legislations, point out problems, beg for appropriations, but in reality they're just window dressing.
At the risk of fraying tempers, what's your sense of the governor's sincerity, positions/proposals, skills at/odds of making his proposals actually come to be, etc.?
I dunno -- he seems like a career pol using the governor's office as another stepping stone to the next office (senate when Hillary leaves one way or another . . . )
I guess time will tell . . . I have to say that the string of govs NY has had over the last couple decades (Carey/Cuomo/Pataki) has been less than inspiring . . .
This thread is about Spitzer, what exactly did Spiters crusade against Grasso accomplish?
I'm still trying to figure out what Grasso did wrong. A 30-year buildup, with interest, of deferred salary that ended up being a supadupa ton of money, at around the Enron scandal?
....oh, I forgot....at around the Enron scandal.
....the only issue with Grosso was the lack of a use-it-or-lose it policy at NYSE, where Grosso would lose the money if he didn't collect by a certain period. But that would be something the Board at NYSE would have to vote on, correct?
Hopefully Spitzer doesn't lose focus of his main goal....to revitalize the Upstate economy. If he can do that, he'd be the best NYS Governor in decades. Reforming Albany is important too.
I was watching "Mad Money" on CNBC last winter and Jim Cramer had a caller from Buffalo. Jim Cramer said something like this to the caller... "my buddy Spitzer is going to help you guys out up there"....of course referring to the economy. When I saw that, it really gave me hope that someday my city will be a prosperous, dynamic city with a future. Since then, I've begun to wonder if Kremer meant all of Upstate, not just Buffalo. I hope so....
It’s too late for young professional couples like my wife and I to wait and see what is going to happen to the State of New York. It is true that the state was over burden by the huge amount of tax money being drained for use in New York City. Soon I will be a former New York resident. My first home will be purchased down south. Does any one care? No. The last person leaving New York would you please turn off the lights?
So now that he is in office, what do we think of Spitzer now?
I for one am a bit embarrassed that 69% of my neighbors voted for this guy. He has been an abject failure since taking office. He does not listen to his constituents and his corruption on the racing franchise issue has been par for the course as far as Albany politics goes.
69% of my fellow New Yorkers voted for this low life who cheats on his wife with strumpets. Why did 69% of voters vote for this guy, his corruption was tremendous before and after the elections. See you later steamroller.
John Whitehead (head of LMDC) ''Mr. Whitehead, it's now a war between
us and you've fired the first shot.
I will be coming after you. You will pay the price. This is only the
beginning and you will pay dearly for what you have done. You will
wish you had never written that letter," Whitehead said Spitzer said.
James Teldesco (Assemblyman) - "I am a ****ing steamroller and I'll
roll over you or anybody else," the Democratic governor told
Republican Assemblyman James Tedisco in a private conversation last
week, the New York Post reported on Wednesday.
Using State Police as his Gestapo to gather information on Joseph
Bruno
The illegal alien license disgrace.
The closed door smoke filled room agreement on the racing franchise
that left the status quo in place.
Finally this disgraceful hooker scandal.
All of this has taken place within the last 435 days.
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I hope so....
He has been exposed
