ALBANY -- In the words of Ronald Reagan, "There you go again.''
Assemblyman Mark Schroeder has been tweaking Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver since before coming to the Assembly in 2005. Dismissing Democratic Party loyalties for what he says is a desire to stick up for his district, Schroeder is at it again with another "Dear Mr. Speaker'' letter.
Not unlike his sharp criticism earlier this summer when the UB2020 deal fell apart at the Capitol. Schroeder, a South Buffalo Democrat, now says it is "impossible'' for him to back Silver for another term as Assembly leader "unless you can demonstrate to me that you are genuinely serious about addressing the issues that are plaguing upstate New York.''
The Nov. 8 letter calls on Silver to come to Schroeder's district and be part of a roundtable discussion focusing "on the problems that state government is either causing, or refusing to correct, in our part of the state.''
Schroeder said the death of UB2020 this year made it "abundantly clear that those of us who live north of New York City have no say in how we are governed, and have no power to save our struggling cities.''
The Schroeder letter comes as a whispering campaign has begun among some Democrats before a new legislative term starts in January about whether Silver might face a challenge to the Speaker's job -- a post he has held since 1994.
-- Tom Precious
