....May 27, 8:04 PM
 
 
 
Should U.S. Senators Be Appointed Or Elected?

Kristin Gillibrand
By MICHAEL SCHENKLER

Senator Chuck Schumer defends her beyond reason, then the President talks Congressman Steve Israel into not challenging her. So goes the United States Senate career of Kirstin Gllibrand.

She continues to have it handed to her on a silver platter. I always thought you had to earn your US Senator stripes.

First, she is handed the Senate seat belonging to Hillary Clinton and once occupied by Bobby Kennedy, after a botched appointment by a blundering governor dissed Carolyn Kennedy with disinformation.

Then her past record against gun control gets opponents to line up with Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy – widowed by a gun violence incident on the LIRR – acting as cheerleader. McCarthy has threatened to challenge Gillibrand in the Democratic Primary if there are no other anti-gun takers.

From the moderate left, Manhattan Beep Scott Stringer, Suffolk Legislature Majority Leader Jon Cooper, Long Island Congressman Steve Israel and U.S. Rep Carolyn Maloney express interest.

An aggressive Israel quickly emerges as the politically shrewd, fundraising-able, likely candidate to take on Gillibrand.

With Schumer rattling his sword and apparently getting Obama to intervene, the biggest threat to Gillibrand is eliminated and a message is sent to others.

Now I know and like Maloney, Cooper and Stringer.

I don’t know Gillibrand and know little of her record other than she comes from a gun-owning family, is a great fundraiser and won an upstate normally Republican District.

Other than the real shaky inconsistent positions on gun control, she appears to lean to the right of most Dem Primary voters; I have nothing against her and am willing to give her a chance.

But my understanding of politics is you gotta earn your seat. Everyone should have a challenge -- at least once.

Sorry, Gillibrand has not stood before the people of New York State and been tested. She was appointed. Hillary Clinton and Bobby Kennedy and Chuck Schumer and all our great ones before faced a challenger and let the people decide.

Now Chuck Schumer is a fine U.S. Senator, but he has gotten a floundering Governor to bow to his wishes and now he’s using his impressive skills and national influence to pave the way for a free ride for Kristin Gillibrand.

We yell bossism even when the boss is a talented, liberal United States Senator.

We are yet neither for nor against Gillibrand. We are for forcing her to stand before the people of New York State and present her case. We are for a fair and open process encouraging New York’s best to test the waters and raise the funds to challenge her. We are for fair and open elections.

We are saddened that the President should interfere and encourage a system where a United States Senator is elected by a single person and kept in office by another.

We call upon Senator Schumer to step down from his protect-Gillibrand crusade. Our great State needs two strong, talented Senators, each of whom can stand on their own and meet the test.

Can Kristin Gillibrand?

A Little Planning Ahead
Oh no!

The guys who run things in the universe have decided that some time in 2011 – less than 2 years from now, metro New York is going to need another area code.

Got that?

The proliferation of cell/smart phones obviously has far outpaced the decrease in those almost useless house phones and whatever has been freed up from declining business use.

I remember when they relegated Queens to 718, trying to make us feel like a lesser part of the city than those Manhattan 212 elitists who kept the traditional NYC area code.

Then came the weird numbers — 646, 347 — and although there was a plan, cell phone portability made it seem that they were assigned somewhat randomly making us feel further disjointed.

Now, they are planning another number.

Assemblyman Rory I. Lancman, commented, “I don’t know if there’s room in my mental geography for another area code.”Now let’s see, what three digits will work least effectively with the existing four unrelated area codes? And how can they be assigned to make the people in this mighty city the least satisfied?

They’ll be working on the answers for the next year and pretty soon, when you get your kid a cell phone, you’ll be thankful for one button dialing because it’s not only the number you’ll have to remember but when calling anywhere in New York City, you won’t even know the area code.

MSchenkler@QueensTribune.com

Michael Schenkler can be reached via this contact form.

 
 
Sander Ouster Protested, Did Vito Lopez Threaten Him?

Henry Stern
By HENRY STERN

Last week we wrote on the plight of the MTA, discussing the merits of Elliot (Lee) Sander, the agency’s CEO. Sander is honest, competent and innovative, but we felt it might be possible for Governor Paterson to find a stronger executive who would have more influence with the agency’s funders.

Paterson had “accepted Sander’s resignation” with two week’s time for the departing CEO to clear out of the office. This is early deadline for departure; “two weeks notice” is usually given to an employee who is being dismissed, or where a successor has been selected and is ready to start. That is not the case here; anyone nominated for the position by the governor must be confirmed by the State Senate, a process which usually takes some time. Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith has already expressed strong objections to Marc Shaw, a former MTA chief and a potential nominee.

The dismissal of Sander looks much worse than it did when it was first announced. First, Paterson has not expressed any appreciation for Sander or for his two and a half years of service, a practice which is customary unless the appointee is departing in disgrace. Then the governor told reporters he wanted to “clean up and clean out” the agency. “The one thing I’ve learned in this process is that the public doesn’t trust anything the MTA says.”

This expression of gubernatorial displeasure brings to mind his remarks on January 22, when he trashed Caroline Kennedy, who had been a candidate for Hillary Clinton’s Senate seat, with false and gratuitous allegations of misconduct on taxes and nannies, and then denied to the press what he had done the day before. Whatever the merits of Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, there was absolutely no reason for Paterson to denigrate a woman who had never harmed anyone and was regarded by many as a national treasure. This was one of a series of errors which seriously damaged Paterson’s poll ratings. Last week a majority of voters said they would prefer the disgraced former Governor Spitzer to Paterson, who was chosen by Spitzer as his legacy to the people of the State of New York.

ENTER VITO LOPEZ
Sunday’s News carried an important article by Pete Donohue, the newspaper’s resident transit expert: Sander Tangled With Power Pol: “An Assemblyman tried to bully the MTA into giving his son-in-law a promotion – creating a wall of tension between Elliot (Lee) Sander and one of the state’s most powerful lawmakers.”

“Assemblyman Vito Lopez, the Brooklyn Democratic Party chairman, told Metropolitan Transportation Authority honcho Sander that he wanted Keith Summa, an engineer with the agency, to get a higher-paying gig. When Sander refused, Lopez flew into a rage, two sources familiar with the exchange told the News.

Lopez, the Brooklyn Democratic boss, has a history of intervening with government agencies on behalf of his friends and relatives.

The reputed choice by Governor Paterson of Marc Shaw as Sander’s successor has also run into strong objections.

The scapegoating of Sander is put into perspective by Nicole Gelinas in a column in the Post.

“Paterson has made it difficult, if not impossible, to get a qualified person to head the MTA, even if he wanted one. In the perverse world of Albany, taking the job under the conditions that Paterson has helped create would identify the candidate as a hack, dumb or crazy.”

We have had our differences with Sander, and we have not hesitated to point them out. He continued capital projects which we think are wasteful, but they were well under way when he came on the scene. Nonetheless, he was well above the norm of transit managers, knowledgeable, honest and devoted to the transit system. His resistance to political bosses seeking patronage will always be to his credit. As a former commissioner, I am well aware of attempts by politicians to foist their unqualified followers on agency heads, sometimes without the mayor’s knowledge.

The Lopez allegations will be investigated by the MTA Inspector General Barry Kluger. The investigation will be a test for Kluger, now largely unknown to the public. Will Kluger turn out to be a truth seeker, or will he choose, by neglect, misjudgment or failure to act, to be part of the scandal? We hope he conducts himself wisely and honorably. We were, however, disillusioned by the botched Spitzer investigations over Troopergate two years ago, first clearing him and then accusing him when the tide turned. Kluger was appointed by Spitzer, but played no part in the bungled investigations. His slate is clean and let us hope it remains so.

StarQuest@NYCivic.org

Not4Publication.com by Dom Nunziato
Michael Schenkler can be reached via this contact form.