Politics Now

By Tom Precious

ALBANY -- The response by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to the news that Buffalo Assemblyman Michael Kearns is quitting the Democratic conference in protest because Silver will not resign over his handling of the Vito Lopez matter has gone up a notch from this afternoon's initial "not surprising'' reaction.

Tonight comes this from Michael Whyland, Silver's spokesman: "Two members left the Democratic conference today, Vito Lopez and Mickey Kearns. One was a closet harasser, one a closet Republican. Neither one will be missed.''

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By Tom Precious

ALBANY – The Assembly will investigate moving to a new policy to have sexual harassment and other complaints against lawmakers handled by an outside, private investigator and not through internal channels, according to a Democratic Buffalo lawmaker.

Assemblywoman Crystal Peoples-Stokes said she believes the new system will be recommended later this afternoon by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver in the wake of how he and his top staff secretly handled sexual harassment claims against former Assemblyman Vito Lopez. She said a task force that Silver appointed her to three weeks ago has already been looking into the idea.

Peoples-Stokes said officials are also examining a new policy to require mandatory reporting of suspected abuse cases.

"If my staff saw me doing something wrong, they'd be required to report it,'' she said of the policy being drafted.

The lawmaker joined other Democrats emerging from a closed-door session with Silver this afternoon giving the longtime Assembly leader a vote of confidence. Silver, she said, recognized he mishandled the Lopez case.

"And he apologized for it. A lot of people when they make mistakes are not going to apologize for it,'' she said.

She said a leadership change this late in the session would create "total chaos.''

By Tom Precious

ALBANY -- Here is the statement from Assemblyman Vito Lopez on today's events: 

"In July 2012, the New York State Assembly Standing Committee on Ethics and Guidance was tasked with looking into a complaint made by two Assembly employees who worked for Assemblyman Vito Lopez. Ultimately, that Committee looked not only at the claims of those two employees, but also looked into claims made by two other former employees who had received a monetary settlement from the Assembly and Assemblyman Lopez several months earlier.

The Assembly Standing Committee denied Mr. Lopez any opportunity to question the evidence or the witnesses. Having deprived him of this fundamental right, the Standing Committee recommended that Mr. Lopez be disciplined. In response, the Speaker censured Mr. Lopez with harsh penalties: Mr. Lopez was stripped of his chairmanship of the Assembly Housing Committee, his seniority was taken from him, which had the impact of reducing his compensation and staff, and corresponding benefits of office were rescinded. Those were the penalties deemed appropriate for all of the conduct alleged by all four of the complainants.

Yet, despite an onslaught of negative press attention, Mr. Lopez was returned to the Assembly in November 2012 by the vote of the overwhelming majority of voters in his district. Thereafter, a complaint was made to JCOPE, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics. JCOPE was supposed to be looking into whether Mr. Lopez improperly influenced the Assembly to settle the first complaints and also whether the Speaker improperly authorized the settlement. JCOPE found that there was no impropriety whatsoever with regard to those matters. It cleared Mr. Lopez of any claim that he sought to influence the Assembly to settle the claims and it cleared him entirely of any claim that he ever misused funds or other resources of the Assembly.

However, the JCOPE report also rehashes the same allegations for which Mr. Lopez has already been punished – claims which the voters in his district utterly rejected when they returned him to office in November to serve them in the Assembly. Unfortunately, the JCOPE report entirely omits any reference to the evidence and witnesses presented by Mr. Lopez. And once again Mr. Lopez was denied the chance to question the witnesses.

Despite this, the electorate has rejected the claims. They wish Mr. Lopez to represent them. Salacious and sensational claims in the JCOPE report are fallacious. These claims, including that he made sexual references to a 14 year old intern and “opined that statutory rape laws should not exist”, are simply not true. Should there ever come a time when Mr. Lopez is actually afforded the fundamental rights supposedly allowed everyone, the truth will finally be told. Furthermore, the holes in the claims made by these complainants are manifest. Each claim is contradicted by the complainant’s own words; by the testimony of other witnesses; and by common sense.

Among the many examples that show that complainants’ claims are unworthy of belief are these: One complainant, a former chief of staff, claims that she was denied the opportunity to travel to a conference because she refused to share a room with Mr. Lopez. Yet while he was at the conference, she sent him texts, including: “I hope you won big at the casino last night and that you had a great time. . . Next time I hope that it will be me with you and you can teach me blackjack, but you have to teach me all the tricks because I play to win”; and “I had my lucky chip in my pocket all day today so you could win big tonight”.

Among her other communications to him, all at a time when she now claims he was making inappropriate advances to her and she sought to keep the relationship strictly professional, include her telling Mr. Lopez, “I had a really good time with you tonight”; “I really enjoy hearing you laugh and smile”; “I miss you and I can’t wait until next Sunday”; “I can’t wait until this week is over so I can see you”; and “I really love waking up and going to work just to be able to see you”.

Another complainant, a former staff member, claims she agreed to accompany Mr. Lopez to Atlantic City “for fun”, despite his allegedly having made inappropriate advances. Yet the morning of the trip, she texted him: Good morning Vito! I'm looking forward to today! I have the lucky coin ready to go! And though she now says he tried to kiss her and place his hand between her legs on the ride home, she told him the following the day after the trip: Good morning Vito! I was just thinking what a nice night we had being high rollers! One day later, she sent the following: “I'm excited and love this job, I'm going to show you that”. And there were other texts thereafter, including “I'm excited and love this job” and “I love this job”.

One has to wonder what is going on here. Assemblyman Lopez has never sent an email and over the last five years averaged fewer than 10 text messages a year to his family, friends, and workers. The report overly weighs text messaging amongst staff without giving credibility to the provocative text messages sent to Mr. Lopez by the complainants. One should wonder why a full revelation of such text messages is not part of the overall report or factored into the relationships established between him and complainants. Mr. Lopez expected staff to maintain communication with him, (preferably by phone), and also placed priority on a positive work attitude.

More than 18 letters from former staff of Assemblyman Lopez attesting to the quality of work, office professionalism, and staff performance were submitted but not made reference to in the report. There is an all out war against an ailing senior member. One must wonder why the actions in this matter were addressed without due process. Mr. Lopez looks forward to a hearing where all the facts are openly discussed and reviewed. Assemblyman Lopez continues to maintain his innocence and understands the political agenda involved in the one-sided nature of the findings.''

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By Tom Precious

ALBANY -- Looking for some countering spins on today's Vito Lopez matter? You'll get the picture here:

Michael Whyland, spokesman for Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver:

“Speaker Sheldon Silver has stated that the actions that were taken represented a good-faith belief that the Assembly was acting in the interests of the victims, and that has not changed. A full review of the facts by both JCOPE and the Special Prosecutor has found that all actions by the Assembly were lawful and there was no basis for an ethics complaint against the Speaker or his staff.

However, as the Speaker stated in August, it was a mistake not to immediately refer the initial complaints to the Assembly Committee on Ethics and Guidance, one that will not be repeated. The Speaker is deeply committed to ensuring that all our employees are treated with respect and dignity. As to Assemblyman Lopez, sanctions have been imposed and the Speaker has called for him to step down from the Assembly. Given that the JCOPE investigation has found significant violations of the Public Officers Law by Assemblyman Lopez, Speaker Silver renews his call for him to resign.” 

New York Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox:

"Whether or not there were legal wrongdoings on the part of Assemblyman Lopez or Speaker Silver is irrelevant. Vito Lopez's actions were morally and ethically reprehensible and totally unforgivable. Sexual abuse is not a partisan issue. Every member of the New York State Assembly, especially its Speaker, should be held to the highest moral and ethical standards.

Once again, Speaker Silver has lowered the bar; in this case, he even violated his own Assembly regulations. By silencing earlier victims of sexual abuse, both at the hands of Michael Boxley and Vito Lopez, Speaker Silver is directly responsible for their subsequent victims. We repeat our call for Vito Lopez to resign from the State Assembly and for Sheldon Silver to resign the Speakership."


Damien LaVera, spokesman for Attorney General Eric Schneiderman:

“We appreciate the reports by JCOPE and District Attorney Donovan. As they make clear, the Office of the Attorney General was not asked to serve as counsel to the Assembly in this matter, nor was our office asked to approve the settlement agreement. Also as noted, consistent with longstanding policy that predates our administration, office lawyers provided a limited response to an informal inquiry, as well as a model settlement agreement that did not include a confidentiality clause. We have since revised internal office policies to make clear that even informal consultations are elevated when the circumstances merit it."


NOW-NYC President Sonia Ossorio:

“Vito Lopez subjected his female employees to breathtaking and horrifying sexual harassment for years on end. Although JCOPE only began its investigation into allegations dating back to 2010, given the flagrant conduct described in the report it would seem highly likely that Lopez is a repeat harasser whose crimes pre-date the scope of the inquiry. The shocking details of psychological and physical abuse are absolutely outrageous. There are incidents that cannot be described as mere harassment, in many cases the conduct is so physically intrusive any sane person would describe it as an attack.

The isolation and violation that Vito Lopez's victims suffered was further maximized by the Assembly's abject failure to follow its own sexual harassment procedures which require a referral to the Standing Committee on Ethics and Guidance once a complaint has been filed. It's clear that the Assembly leadership did everything in its power, not to engage a proper investigation and instead diverted the victims to a secret settlement to protect Mr. Lopez. In so doing, they allowed Mr. Lopez to harass successive employees while rendering his previous victims mute as their abuser continued to harass other women.

It's clear that neither the public interest, nor the interests of justice, were served. As is obvious, the Assembly engaged in a shameful cover-up at great expense to all women who live and work in New York State. This raises serious question about what other complaints the Assembly may have mishandled. Despite the fact that no criminality was found, Mr. Lopez is clearly unfit for office and the Assembly should take a no confidence vote immediately. Anyone who does not oppose Mr. Lopez's rumored political aspirations for City Council risks alienating all people who support safety and human dignity for women.’’

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By Tom Precious

ALBANY -- Gov. Andrew Cuomo has just scheduled a 10:30am news conference at the Capitol to make an announcement. Several sources say it is about Cuomo's plan for how to expand commercial casinos on non-Indian lands in New York.

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The state will provide $10 million for removing part of the Robert Moses Parkway just south of Niagara Falls; the money will be part of the Buffalo Billion that Gov. Andrew Cuomo promised Western New York.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo gets optimistic support from Senate co-leader Dean Skelos on non-Indian casinos plan.

 By Tom Precious

ALBANY -- A plan to permit seven non-Indian casinos in New York was the major topic of discussion during about 90 minutes of closed-door talks this evening between Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and legislative leaders at the Capitol.

Senate co-leader Dean Skelos, a Long Island Republican, was the most optimistic of the legislative leaders from the Senate and Assembly, saying he does not see major obstacles that will halt a required second passage of a constitutional amendment permitting the casino expansion. If lawmakers approve a resolution that matches the one they passed last year, along with an accompanying bill laying out some specifics about where the new gambling halls might be located, voters in November would consider the plan in a statewide referendum.

"We're committed to getting second passage this year and having legislation that would accompany it,'' Skelos said after the meeting in Cuomo's office.

The top Republican in the Senate said he is fine with Cuomo's plan to let the state Gaming Commission, an agency Cuomo controls, pick the casino vendors and specific sites. "I think that's when the Legislature steps away,'' Skelos said of lawmakers picking regions of the state eligible for a casino but not the actual sites.

The Senate leader said the $600 million dispute between the state and the Seneca Nation of Indians came up during the meeting. That fight, now before a binding arbitration panel, will decide whether the state honors a geographic exclusivity deal the Senecas have for gambling rights in Western New York. If a deal can't be reached, the state, theoretically, could break the compact with the Senecas and try to locate a new, non-Indian casino in the Buffalo area. Cuomo has already threatened to try to place one in downtown Niagara Falls.

Asked if Cuomo sent any signals indicating a deal may be close with the Seneca tribe, Skelos said, "I think he's working with them and he's hoping to get a resolution and hopefully get a resolution before the binding arbitration.''

Cuomo and lawmakers agreed in March to drop the casino issue from the budget talks in order to ensure an on-time fiscal deal. Skelos said Tuesday's meeting was the first substantive talks involving the gambling expansion plan this year.

By Tom Precious

ALBANY – In today's can't-we-all-just-get-along entry:

As Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and Attorney General Eric Schneiderman were making their way down a Capitol hall this afternoon to unveil a plan for early voting procedures in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s aides hit the send button on a bill with the governor’s own ideas on the topic of election laws.

The measures floated by the governor, which included new election law enforcement powers at the state election board, was blasted to reporters' email accounts just minutes before Silver took to the microphone to tout his new voting plan.

The Assembly Democratic package, backed by Schneiderman, would let New Yorkers start voting 15 days early for general elections and eight days early for primaries. The extra costs, for poll watchers and keeping offices open into the evenings and on weekends, would be covered by the counties, not the state, Silver said.

Continue reading "Dueling Cuomo/Silver election law ideas floated" »

By Tom Precious

ALBANY – A state ethics agency has fired a new round at a legislative ethics panel, saying it will release a report on a sexual harassment case involving a Brooklyn Assembly Democrat in two weeks if the legislative committee doesn’t go public with it by then.

The Joint Commission on Public Ethics, an agency home to numerous staffers loyal to Gov. Andrew Cuomo, noted that a 90-day timetable is winding down for making public its investigative findings about the taxpayer-funded settlement of sexual harassment cases against Assemblyman Vito Lopez.

Continue reading "Ethics agency to ethics panel: release Lopez report or we will" »

By Tom Precious

ALBANY -- The state comptroller reported today that overtime costs for the Cuomo administration jumped 11 percent in 2012, which union officials have partly blamed on employee reductions in recent years at key agencies that are mandated to provide certain levels of services or public protection.

The total overtime tab reached $529 million in 2012, up $52 million from the previous year. In all, 14.5 million overtime hours were logged by state workers. Two-thirds of the total amount spent came from three agencies: the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities, the Office of Mental Health and the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision.

"We found seven agencies with more than 25 percent of employees working overtime to meet their responsibilities. New York state policy requires limiting overtime to a minimum, and I urge all agencies to ensure that this expense is reduced whenever possible,'' said Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli said in a written statement accompanying his report.

Continue reading "Overtime costs rise sharply at state agencies" »