Queens Dems Back Pheffer for County Clerk by Howard Koplowitz - YourNabe.com

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Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer says she will accept an appointment to Queens County clerk if a presiding judge picks her for the position. Photo by Christina Santucci

Queens Democrats have recommended state Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer (D-Rockaway Beach) for Queens County clerk to fill the post left vacant by the death of Gloria D’Amico.

“If it’s offered to me, I will take it. I’ve been in office 24 years and I would love to be offered this opportunity,” Pheffer said of the position. “I know the Queens organization can make a recommendation and they recommended me.”

The presiding judge of the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department, A. Gail Prudenti, is responsible for choosing the next Queens County clerk.

Prudenti is an appointee of former Gov. George Pataki, a Republican, who selected her as presiding judge in 2002. D’Amico had been county clerk from 1991 until her death last month.

D’Amico was the first woman to be appointed county clerk and began her political career by joining the Taminent Regular Democratic Club in Astoria and rose to Democratic district leader in 1970.

“I knew Gloria D’Amico loved her job ... so that’s the job I’m looking for now. I think it’s a people’s job, but you [also] have to deal with the public,” Pheffer said. “It’s a position I would find interesting.”

Before the county clerk position became open, it was no secret Pheffer had her eye set on running for Queens borough president — an ambition she put off after the city’s term limits law was changed and Borough President Helen Marshall decided to run for a third term.

Pheffer would not rule out running for borough president even if she were appointed county clerk.

“Politics is a funny thing,” she said. “Borough president is three years down the road. This is an opportunity that’s here now.”

If Pheffer were to get the post, Gov. Andrew Cuomo would most likely call for a special election to fill her Assembly seat.


“There’s always a lot of names” that come up for her seat, said Pheffer, who singled out her chief of staff, Joanne Simon, as her preferred successor.

“If she wants to run, I think it would be a wonderful opportunity,” Pheffer said. “If Joanne ran, I would endorse her.”

Other names being floated include Democratic District Leaders Frank Gulluscio, Lew Simon and Geraldine Chapey. All three have run unsuccessfully for City Council.

But if things do not work out for Pheffer, she said she still loves her current job.

“I’m happy being the assemblywoman,” she said.

Public Advocate De Blasio Demands Disclosure from Gov. Pataki’s 501c(4): Revere America...

De Blasio Challenges Former Governor Pataki to Publicly Debate Why Revere America’s Contributors are Hidden from the Public

Public Advocate Bill de Blasio, along with Representatives Yvette Clarke, Carolyn Maloney, Gregory Meeks, Jerrold Nadler, José E. Serrano, Nydia M. Velázquez, and Anthony Weiner, today demanded that former New York State Governor George Pataki disclose what corporations are funding his 501(c)(4) organization, Revere America. The request sent to Governor Pataki, who is the Chairman for Revere America, highlighted his past public commitments to restrictions and disclosure on unlimited spending by outside interest groups.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics, Revere America has spent $2,184,212 nationwide, including $695,054 in New York State this election cycle under Pataki’s chairmanship, all while refusing to disclose any of its contributors to the public. The Public Advocate challenged Governor Pataki to participate in a public debate about his decision to keep the source of Revere America’s funding secret.

“As Governor, George Pataki defended our democracy, now he’s undermining it,” said Public Advocate Bill de Blasio. “Revere America is funneling millions of dollars into our elections, all while hiding any corporate contributions from the public eye. If Governor Pataki refuses to reveal the sources of his funding, he should at minimum be willing to participate in a public debate so he can explain why he is keeping shareholders, consumers and the New Yorkers he used to serve in the dark.”



Demand Disclosure: Revere America from Bill de Blasio on Vimeo.

“The Supreme Court's decision in Citizens United was an astounding example of judicial activism,” said Rep. Jerrold Nadler. “The justices answered a question they were not asked and struck down a century of law prohibiting independent expenditures by corporations and unions using their general funds in favoring or opposing particular candidates. And as predicted we have seen corporations draw on general treasury funds to finance candidate advertising without any transparency, this is bad for our country and democracy. I join with my colleagues in government and demand accountability and disclosure of all contributions that have been used to support election-related advertising.”

Take action NOW...send an email to Pataki demanding disclosure


Last week, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio sent formal requests to sixteen non-profit organizations and trade associations on all sides of the political spectrum, including Revere America, requesting disclosure of any corporations that are contributing to their electioneering efforts. From September 1st to October 8th, these organizations have spent over $22 million, according to electioneering reports filed with the Federal Election Commission.

Governor Pataki’s actions as Chairman of Revere America stand in sharp contrast to his initiatives and statements as Governor. While serving as Governor he publicly stated, “You have to restrict what individuals can do with unlimited amounts of their own money or what interest groups can do in a way that now is completely unaccountable.” Additionally, following through on a campaign pledge, Pataki also introduced a campaign finance reform package that included dramatically lowering contribution limits, enhancing disclosure and cracking down on sham issue ads.

Today’s action is part of an ongoing campaign by Public Advocate de Blasio to reduce the impact of the Citizens United decision on the electoral process. It builds upon the work the Public Advocate has done over the past several months – most notably using public actions or negotiations to persuade corporations like Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase & Co. and Morgan Stanley to adopt policies against spending treasury dollars in elections.

The New York City Public Advocate is the second highest citywide elected official and serves as a trustee for the New York City Employees' Retirement System, which manages more than $30 billion in assets, one of the largest funds of its kind in the nation. Since the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United eliminated longstanding restrictions on corporate spending in elections, Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has been pressuring corporations to reform their political spending practices to reduce the impact of the decision.

Albany Charter Cash Cow: Big Banks Making a Bundle on New Construction as Schools Bear the Cost by Juan Gonzalez - NY Daily News

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Wealthy investors and major banks have been making windfall profits by using a little-known federal tax break to finance new charter-school construction.

The program, the New Markets Tax Credit, is so lucrative that a lender who uses it can almost double his money in seven years.

In Albany, which boasts the state's highest percentage of charter school enrollments, a nonprofit called the Brighter Choice Foundation has employed the New Markets Tax Credit to arrange private financing for five of the city's nine charter schools.

But many of those same schools are now straining to pay escalating rents, which are going toward the debt service that Brighter Choice incurred during construction.

The Henry Johnson Charter School, for example, saw the rent for its 31,000-square-foot building skyrocket from $170,000 in 2008 to $560,000 last year.

The Albany Community School's rent jumped from $195,000 to $350,000.

Green Tech High Charter School rents went from $443,000 to $487,000.

Meanwhile, all the Albany charter schools haven't achieved the enrollment levels their founders expected, even after recruiting hundreds of students from suburban school districts to fill their seats.

The result has been less money in per-pupil state aid to pay operating costs, including those big rent bills.

Several charters have fallen into additional debt to the Brighter Choice Foundation.

You'd think these financial problems would raise eyebrows among state regulators - or at least worry those charter school boards.

But the powerful charter lobby has so far successfully battled to prevent independent government audits of how its schools spend their state aid.

And key officers of Albany's charter school boards are themselves board members, employees or former employees of the Brighter Choice Foundation or its affiliates.

Christian Bender, for example, executive director of the foundation, is chairman or vice chairman of four of the Albany charters.

Tom Carroll, the foundation's vice chairman and one of the authors of the state's charter law when he was in the Pataki administration, was a founding board member of Albany Community Charter School and is currently chairman of two other charters, Brighter Choice School for Boys and Brighter Choice School for Girls.

Carroll also sits on the board of directors of NCB Capital Impact, a Virginia organization that used New Market Credits to pull together investors for all the Albany building loans.

A Brighter Choice official confirmed Thursday that the Virginia organization gets "a 3% originating and management fee" for all school construction deals that Brighter Choice arranges.

Under the New Markets program, a bank or private equity firm that lends money to a nonprofit to build a charter school can receive a 39% federal tax credit over seven years.

The credit can even be piggybacked on other tax breaks for historic preservation or job creation.

By combining the various credits with the interest from the loan itself, a lender can almost double his investment over the seven-year period.

No wonder JPMorgan Chase announced this week it was creating a new $325 million pool to invest in charter schools and take advantage of the New Markets Tax Credit.

So does Carroll see any problem with being simultaneously part of the landlord, tenant and lending bodies for Albany charter-school construction?

"I sit on the nonprofit NCB Capital Impact board as a volunteer," he said this week. "On that board, I have never voted on any of the deals that Brighter Choice Foundation has been a party to."

Albany is exhibit A in the web of potential conflicts that keep popping up in the charter school movement. It's one reason the state Legislature should refuse to lift the current cap on charter schools unless it also adopts stringent new government auditing rules.

If wealthy investors and banks can double their money simply by building charter schools, taxpayers deserve to know exactly who arranged those deals, who will benefit and what they will ultimately cost each school.

Melinda Katz Plays Coy, Narrowing Choice to Two Frontrunners by Nicholas Hirshon - NY Daily News

Melinda Katz plays coy, narrowing choice to two frontrunners

With six contenders repping for a 2009 City Council race in Forest Hills, the current seat-holder - the term-limited Melinda Katz - recently tipped her hand on who may rise to the top.

"Melinda has not yet endorsed a candidate in the race," her spokeswoman Molly Watkins told the Daily News last month. "She considers both of them friends."

"Both," Watkins later clarified, meant Queens Deputy Borough President Karen Koslowitz, who held the same Council seat from 1991 to 2001, and former Assemblyman Michael Cohen, who resigned in 2005.

That Katz didn't even acknowledge the other contenders is telling - in line with many Democratic insiders who view the campaign as a two-horse race.

Undeterred, the rest of the crowded field vowed to forge ahead with their campaigns.

"I'm not intimidated," said first-time candidate Heidi Harrison Chain, president of the 112th Precinct community council.

Lynn Schulman, who lost to Katz in the 2001 Council primary, bashed Koslowitz and Cohen as options to maintain the status quo.

"They represent the politics of the past," she said. "I represent the community of the future."

The contest also features a pair of former classmates from Archbishop Molloy High School in Briarwood: Bob DeLay, a former aide to Assemblyman Andrew Hevesi (D-Forest Hills), and Mel Gagarin, who worked for Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-Brooklyn, Queens).

DeLay and Gagarin, both 26, shrugged off criticism they're too young for the seat.

"People have always been told it's not their time," DeLay said.

"Age to me is just a number," said Gagarin.

Still, both candidates acknowledged that Koslowitz and Cohen are formidable opponents.

Koslowitz hasn't officially declared since conflict-of-interest rules would force her to resign as deputy borough president. But she confirmed she's a candidate, with decades of experience to boost her chances.

"I may be 66, but I was also ... once 26, and I could do whatever they can," she said, referring to DeLay and Gagarin.

Cohen said if elected he'd enact a parking permit plan so Forest Hills residents can find spaces by the Austin St.-Queens Blvd. commercial district.

First elected to the Assembly in 1998, Cohen insisted he left office in 2005 because he wanted to tend to his dying wife.

Democratic insiders confirmed his wife's illness played a role in Cohen's resignation, but added the party had pressured Cohen to leave office ever since he endorsed Republican Gov. George Pataki for reelection in 2002.

Party leaders allowed Cohen to stay until 2005 in hopes they could avoid forcing him out as his wife was dying, while picking a successor in the meantime, political sources said.

Joseph Addabbo Jr. Win May End Republican Reign in Albany by John Lauinger - NY Daily News

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New York State's political landscape could dramatically change this fall - and Queens Councilman Joseph Addabbo could be the man who does it.

Democrat Addabbo's anticipated challenge to Queens Republican Sen. Serphin Maltese is seen by his party's leaders as the linchpin race in the quest to seize complete control of Albany for the first time since the 1960s.

"There is no race more important than this one," Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans) crowed at a recent Addabbo fund-raiser. "We should all eat, sleep and dream Joe Addabbo Jr.!"

Democrats aim to erase the Republicans' razor-thin, two-seat majority by toppling veteran lawmakers in suburban Queens and Long Island - two areas that have been trending red to blue in recent years.

That puts a bull's-eye firmly on the backs of Maltese, 75, a 10-term incumbent, and fellow Senate longtimer Caesar Trunzo of Suffolk County, who has served 17 consecutive terms.

"The Democrats in some ways aren't really running against candidates. They're running against a fellow named been-around-too-long," said Democratic political consultant Hank Sheinkopf.

Though defeating entrenched incumbents is no easy task, Maltese has been a prime target since 2006, when political newcomer Albert Baldeo nearly defeated him despite the lack of Democratic Party backing.

Addabbo's expected challenge this fall would force Maltese to defend the 15th Senate District - more than 2-to-1 Democratic - against a 44-year-old, two-term councilman whose father served in Congress and has a bridge named after him in the district.

If an Addabbo victory triggers a Senate takeover for the Democrats, the party would achieve a virtual stranglehold on state politics.

"You've got the possibility of state government and representation in national government being almost entirely blue, if you will," said Baruch College political science Prof. Doug Muzio.

Addabbo, who is expected to announce his candidacy in coming weeks, said he is focusing on his ability to serve the district, not serve as a poster boy for a Democratic Senate power grab.

"Sen. Maltese was very close to Gov. Pataki, but there is no longer a Gov. Pataki," he said. "The bottom line is I know I can do a better job."

Maltese, who expects to be one of the main beneficiaries of the Senate Republican fund-raising machine, attributed his 2006 scare to weak GOP candidates at the top of the ticket.

He believes Sen. John McCain, the presumptive GOP presidential nominee, will be a major asset this time around.

"I've already met with Sen. McCain, and I expect that I will be getting assistance from him," Maltese said.

However, Maltese's greatest ally in his reelection bid may be Baldeo, who is vowing to challenge Addabbo in a primary and run a third-party candidacy in the general election, should he lose.

"That's fantastic from my point of view," Maltese said.

"I hope the two of them fight it out."

jlauinger@nydailynews.com