Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Speaks Out for Marriage Equality on capitaltonight.com (5/12/2011)

On May 12th Senator Kirsten Gillibrand spoke to Liz Benjamin about the Marriage Equality bill in the New York State legislature.


Senator Gillibrand said "...this is important to me. This is important to who we are as New Yorkers. We believe in equality. And, we believe that every loving couple should have the opportunity to marry"


When asked if she plans to contact Democrats and Republicans she added "Anyone who's undecided, I plan to call in the next few days"

Interviews with Governor Cuomo Cabinet Officials - April 27th -Capital Tonite

Watch original..."

Schumer: ‘Thunderous Strike For Justice’ by Elizabeth Benjamin - Capital Tonite

Read original...

Senator Charles Schumer’s statement on Osama Bin Laden’s death.

“This is a thunderous strike for justice for the thousands of my fellow New Yorkers — and citizens from all over the world — who were murdered on 9/11. It took close to ten years, but the world’s most wanted terrorist has finally met his deserved fate. New York’s heart is still broken from the tragedy of 9/11, but this at least brings some measure of closure and consolation to the victims and their families.

“This is a massive accomplishment for the countless military and intelligence personnel who have been urgently dedicated to this task for the past decade. Because Bin Laden’s evil dogma has poisoned the minds of so many others, we cannot let up in the war on terror. This successful mission sends a definitive message to those who would test the resolve of the people of the United States of America: do not doubt our resolve; if you do us harm, we will find you, we will mete out justice, and we will prevail.”

Special Election Alert! Assemblyman Towns Lands Cuomo Post (Updated) by Liz Benjamin - Capital Tonight

Read original...

Gov. Andrew Cuomo just announced he has tapped Brooklyn Assemblyman Darryl Townsto serve as commissioner and C.E.O. of New York State Homes and Community Renewal(HCR), sparking yet another special election – this time in the Assembly.

Under Cuomo’s proposed consolidation of state housing programs the commissioner also serves as chief executive of all the major housing and community renewal agencies, including the Housing Finance and Mortgage agencies.

Towns has served in the Assembly since January 1993. He currently chairs the Assembly Standing Committee on Banks and the Black, Puerto Rican/Hispanic and Asian Legislative Caucus (a post he has held since 2007).

“I have always said that I would reach out to the best and the brightest to join my administration. Assemblyman Towns is a dedicated public servant who certainly fits the bill,” Cuomo said in a press release.

“He has served the people of New York State with integrity and pride, and I look forward to working with him in the future.”

UPDATE1: Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto informs me this appointment does not require Senate confirmation. Also, as per Vlasto, Towns’ salary will be $150,000, which is a considerable decrease from the previous compensation of $225,000.

The 54th AD is solidly Democrat-dominated, so I don’t foresee another pick-up for the GOP in this one, but there could be a squabble among the Democrats over who gets to run to succeed Towns.

Towns is also the son of Rep. Ed Towns, who has successfully turned by two primary challenges by former reality TV star Kevin Powell twice since 2008, but nevertheless remains the subject of retirement rumors.

I always thought the younger Towns might try to succeed his father in the House, but apparently he’s decided to forgo the public stage for a while in favor of a job with the Cuomo administration.

Darryl Towns is, I believe the first African American commissioner appointed by Cuomo. (The governor has tapped several black and Latino cabinet members, and also selectedDr. Nirav Shah to be his health commissioner).

Cuomo came under fire during the campaign due to the lack of diversity on the statewide Democratic ticket, which included no candidates of color, one woman (Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand) and two upstaters (Gillibrand and LG Bob Duffy).

The Rev. Al Sharpton was a critic during the Democratic convention in Rye and also duringCuomo’s transition from AG to governor.

Cuomo, who is particularly sensitive to the who race issue after his failed challenge to then-Comptroller H. Carl McCall in the 2002 gubernatorial primary, worked hard last year to rally the support of black leaders. He repeatedly promised he would have the most diverse administration in New York history.

Assembly Member Rory Lancman on capitaltonight.com (1/20/2011)

Assemblyman Lancman was interviewed by Liz Benjamin on her show, "Capital Tonight." Assemblyman Lancman continued his defense of the middle-class by arguing for shared sacrifice to get New York on a firm financial footing.

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand Speaks on Capital Tonight About Arizona Shooting Incident of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and Security - www.capitaltonight.com

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Talks with Liz Benjamin on CapitalTonight.com - (1/6/2011)

Senator Kirsten Gillibrand talks with Liz Benjamin on Capital Tonite about proposed rule changes for the newly convened US Senate including the filibuster and anonymous holds and other priority matters...

Some Of Her Best Friends by Liz Benjamin - Capital Tonight

Read original...

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand finds herself gracing some very prominent real estate this morning: The front page of the NY Times. Above the fold, no less.

The story, accompanied by a photo of the junior senator, focuses on her unlikely and rapid rise from a relatively obscure upstate congresswoman to an influential senator who played a big role in two major lame duck session victories this week: The repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” and passage of the 9/11 health care bill.

In the piece, Gillibrand says she’s long been a supporter of gay rights. Writes David Halbfinger:

(I)n an interview, she said she had realized from an early age that discrimination against gays was wrong.

Her mother – a black belt in karate who the senator said “did things differently her whole life” – worked in the arts and surrounded herself with gay friends. During the height of the AIDS crisis, Ms. Gillibrand’s sister, a playwright and actress, volunteered to help children with AIDS.

And when Ms. Gillibrand was a young associate, working long nights at the law firm Davis Polk & Wardwell, she recalled, “the straight men found time to date and get married and have kids and went home at six every night, and the only ones left were the women and gay men.”

So she wound up vacationing with gay colleagues on Fire Island and in the Hamptons, and forging lifelong friendships. “A lot of them are now having children,” she said. “And it never occurred to me that they should not have every benefit that I have.”

One of the first things Gillibrand did in the 24 hours after news broke of her selection by Gov. David Paterson to replace Hillary Clinton in the US Senate was to promise the Empire State Pride Agenda she would support the legalization of gay marriage.

This was a big switch for the former Blue Dog congresswoman, who had previously supported civil unions – much like Sen. Chuck Schumer (although he has since changed his position, too) and President Obama, who now says he’s still struggling with this subject, but his views are evolving.

Gillibrand later said she had always personally supported gay marriage, but thought the question of legalization should not be dictated by the federal government, but rather left up to individual states to decide. (New York, thanks to the state Senate, has so far failed to pass a same-sex marriage bill).

The newly-minted senator quickly latched on to the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” issue, becoming an outspoken champion for its repeal. Gay advocates were wary of Gillibrand’s zeal, wondering if her newfound activism had more to do with political expediency and a need to curry favor with the left than an ideological shift.

Richard Socarides, a former aide to President Clinton and founder of Equality Matters, a gay advocacy organization, told the Times he was initially skeptical of Gillibrand, too, but was won over by her tenacity.

“If she has decided she’s going to get something done,” he said, “don’t get in her way, because you will get run over.”

So, Gillibrand has managed to turn something that was once viewed as a character flaw and political liability – her absolute refusal to take “no” for an answer – into a big plus.

At yesterday’s Zadroga press conference, Schumer said some of his colleagues contacted him to beg for mercy, asking him to get Gillibrand off their respective cases. He recalled, “I said: NO! And the result of all that hard work we see today.”

“What a great victory for a new legislator,” Schumer continued. “Isn’t that fabulous? For any legislator, but for someone this new to do so much so soon is utterly amazing.”

NY Delegation Split On Tax Cut Vote by Liz Benjamin - Capital Tonight

Read original...

Members of the New York delegation were sharply divided on last night’s 277-148 vote to pass the tax cut deal President Obama brokered with the Republicans, with the more liberal members making good on pledges to oppose the measure.

Not surprisingly, the three lone Republicans – Chris Lee, Pete King and the newest House member, Tom Reed – voted “yes.” (They’ll soon be joined by five GOP freshmen, a number of whom have said they would have voted in the affirmative had they been given the chance).

All of the outgoing Democrats also voted “yes,” even if they lean toward the left, which I found interesting.

Here’s how the NY vote broke down:

YES: Arcuri, Bishop, Crowley, Hall, Higgins, Israel, King, Lee, Lowey, Maffei, Maloney, McMahon, Meeks, Murphy, Owens.

NO: Ackerman, Clarke, Engel, Hinchey, Nadler, Rangel, Serrano, Slaughter, Tonko, Towns, Velazquez, Weiner.

Rep. Carolyn McCarthy, a Long Island Democrat, was one of eight House members who didn’t vote.

Senator John Sampson Elected Leader by Liz Benjamin - Capital Tonight

Update: I received the following statement from a member of Senator-elect David Carlucci's staff:

"David Carlucci has not  "said flat out he would not be voting for Sampson" .That quote is inaccurate at best and misleading at worst. Senator Elect Carlucci is looking forward to having a voice in the vote on who becomes the next conference leader in January when he is officially sworn in as Senator.  David has yet to publicly support, or not support anyone. Thank you very much for clarifying his position."

Read original...

Senate Democrats have just emerged from a closed-door conference committee meeting where they consolidated their leadership, electing John Sampson as their leader for 2011 despite the fact that the question of who will control the chamber going forward remains unanswered.

UPDATE: Here’s Sampson’s statement:

“Today, it was my honor to win the support of our members as Leader of the Senate Democratic Conference for the upcoming legislative session.”

“It is with deep humility and profound purpose that I accept this responsibility to work with our members, and colleagues across the aisle to move our state forward and get the people’s business done.

“Whether it is addressing the state budget, property tax relief, government consolidation, or other issues of importance, New York faces extraordinarily difficult times. We need to put people back to work, grow our economy, and ease the burden on families and businesses.

“As we embark on the New Year, I look forward with renewed hope in the potential for our state to achieve the greatness New York has reached in its past and the greatness New York deserves for its future.”

Following the coup in June of 2009, Democrats had divided their leadership and titles among a handful of members. Malcolm Smith was President Pro Tem, Pedro Espada Jr. was majority leader, John Sampson was conference leader, Jeff Klein as deputy majority leader, and Dave Valesky was vice president pro tempore.

But, for all intents and purposes Sampson was the leader of the conference with Klein serving as his No. 2.

Over the past few weeks, we have asked several incoming Democratic senators – all of whom ran on reform platforms – if they would be supporting Sampson for leader, and some wouldn’t commit 100 percent to backing him.

In the wake of the IG’s scathing AEG report, at least one newcomer – Senator-elect David Carlucci – said flat out that he wouldn’t be voting for Sampson. A number of insiders suggested Sampson should have considered stepping aside – at least temporarily – to reduce the strength of the AEG bomb the GOP used against the Democrats during the fall campaigns, but he refused.

Cuomo: Rattner Is ‘Worst Example’ Of Pay-To-Play Fraud by Liz Benjamin - Capital Tonight

Read original...

Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo fired back at financier Steve Rattner today, telling me during a CapTon interview that the persident’s former car czar exhibited some of the “worst behavior we’ve seen” in the AG’s four-year pay-to-play pension fraud probe.

I asked Cuomo about Rattner’s claim that the dual lawsuits filed against him by the AG’s office were politically motivated. The governor-elect told me he had “no idea” what Rattner was talking about, and then got in some digs of his own.

“I think that Steve Rattner is in many ways the worst example of this fraud,” Cuomo said.

“Steve Rattner is making a lot of comments to the press today. When he came into the office he took the Fifth Amendment 68 times, Liz, 68 times he took the Fifth Amendment.

“…He refused to answer questions about his involvement in the corruption in the comptroller’s office. This is a multimillionaire who took $150 million from the state pension fund. He paid off Hank Morris, who was the quote-unquote fixer in the situation.”

“They then offered a special gift to a state employee, the brother of a state emloyee, who was in charge of making the state investments…I think this case is the worst behavior we’ve seen.”

(As you can see, Cuomo joined me by phone. The full interview, during which the AG also addressed his involvement in the state Senate recounts and his upcoming inauguration, will air at 8 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.)

Fight!!! by Mike Whittemore - Capitol Tonite...

Wow! Paladino to NYP's Dicker: "You send another goon to my daughter's house and I'll take you out!"...Paladino is NUTS..!!

Read original...

CapTon’s Kaitlyn Ross just sent this explosive video shot with her cell phone outside the Business Council’s annual meeting in Bolton Landing tonight.

As Kaitlyn reported at the top of Capital Tonight, the exchange is between Carl Paladino and NY Post State Editor Fred Dicker, who nearly came to blows and had to be separated.

The candidate for governor and journalist are shown having a confrontation over Dicker allegedly sending a photographer to follow around the 10-year-old daughter Paladino fathered outside his marriage. The Buffalo businessman called Dicker a “stalking horse” for his Democratic gubernatorial opponent, Andrew Cuomo.

Michael Caputo, Paladino’s campaign manager, tried to diffuse the situation with some levity, saying: “Fred, you’re out of line, you’re off the Christmas card list.” (That’s a reference to Caputo’s response to Joy Behar’s criticism of his candidate on “The View” earlier this week).

But then Caputo continued to lay into Dicker, accusing him of “working for Cuomo” and calling him a “terrible journalist.” Caputo also said Dicker would no longer be receiving any more communications from the Paladino campaign.

Before Paladino and Dicker were hauled off to their separate quarters, the Post Albany Bureau chief was pressing the candidate about an interview he gave to POLITICO, in which he accused Cuomo of being unfaithful to his ex-wife, Kerry Kennedy.

Extraordinary Session Becomes Political Football by Elizabeth Benjamin - Capital Tonite

Padavan's job is located in Albany, not Bayside...He should have attended the special session...I guess his re-election and campaigning are more to him than doing the people's business for which he was elected to do...How on earth could he have known what would happen during the special session, he must be a clairvoyant...

Read original...

One Democratic candidate has seized on last night’s quickie extraordinary session as campaign fodder in his quest to oust incumbent GOP Sen. Frank Padavan, who did not heed Gov. David Paterson’s proclamation calling lawmakers back to Albany last night.

Former NYC Councilman Tony Avella issued a statement earlier today slamming the Queens senator for opting to campaign in his district rather than travel to the Capitol for the gavel in-gavel out session that lasted no more than four minutes.

“Padavan’s Albany absence is a slap in the face to the hardworking taxpayers in our district,” Avella said.

“When he should have been working to resolve the budget crisis and education funding, he was too worried about his own political future.”

A reader e-mailed shortly after 7 p.m. last night (recall that the extraordinary session was called for 7 p.m.) to say he had spotted Padavan handing out campaign literature and posing for photos with constituents at a concert at Ft. Totten Park.

Avella noted that Padavan, who came close to losing his seat last year to NYC Councilman Jim Gennaro, was one of three Republicans who were absent last night.

The others were George Winner (who isn’t seeking re-election) and Sen. John Flanagan. Excused last night were Sens. Tom Morahan (ailing and not seeking re-election) and Sen. Steve Saland.

The journal clerk says all 32 Democrats were marked present last night, although a GOP source insists three majority members weren’t in the chamber for the session.

CapTon’s Kaitlyn Ross spoke to Padvan, who is in Albany today. He said he felt justified in staying away last night because he had “learned there weren’t going to be any votes and practically no session.”

“I was with about 600 constituents at a lawn concert with the Bayside Historical Society, which I helped create,” Padavan explained.

“That’s where I was. It was something I had planned for months, but I would have left in a second had we actually been doing anything.”

Padavan said Avella showed up last night, too, but left after the senator was acknowledged by the historical society. Padavan’s closing thought: “We had nice weather for the concert, but it was hot!”