With the State Budget being held hostage by the dysfunctional State legislature, Governor Paterson’s draconian recommendations have kicked in and, once again, New York families and communities are the loser.

But the Republicans might have an idea, it seems. On the eve of the park closings, in a mailing from State Senator Thomas Morahan, there is a push poll asking constituents if we should privatize our parks. Read on, I’m not making this up.

The mailer contains the “2010 Legislative Questionnaire.” This is a one-sided survey as it has very limited questions with an even more limited range of answers, that range from fiscally moderate to ultra-conservative. The possible range of responses pushes respondents to right-of-center conclusions. There’s no room for a progressive answer anywhere in the questionnaire.

More to the point, question #4 asks:

Which of the following aspects of government should be privatized? (check all that apply)

Highway and roadway maintenance
Corrections
Parks and Recreation
Health care
Transportation
Education

But beware, this isn’t a legitimate survey. It’s a politician playing craps with public opinion using a pair of loaded dice. This is an attempt by New York State Republicans to push through an agenda by attempting to change public perception.

This recent push poll is not unlike others. It is a underhanded political technique where Senator Morahan is trying to sway public sentiment and opinion by bringing certain issues to the forefront. There is very little science behind this polling process. And while a large number of people are contacted, little or no effort will be made to collect or analyze their responses. I know from experience that analyzing polls is very cost prohibitive and Senator Morahan’s office does not have the time, nor the resources to analyze the data. So this survey cannot possibly provide an accurate gauge of the pulse of the 38th State Senate district. It’s no wonder that push polling has been condemned by good-government groups and even the American Association of Political Consultants. And in New Hampshire, push polling is downright illegal.

Closing our public parks is just plain wrong. The Stony Point Battlefield is critically important to the economy of the Town of Stony Point as visitors to the site often spend money at the town’s shops during their visit. The Tallman Mountain pool is the only public pool in the entire town of Orangetown. They are now gone; they may never come back.

Worse than closing the parks is entertaining the cynical idea that they should now be privatized. And trying to push public opinion to this conclusion using taxpayer money is unethical to say the least.

There’s a sad irony to all of this: Mailings from our State legislature cost taxpayers $27.3 million per year and they are nothing more than incumbency insurance, or political campaigning paid for by our tax dollars. That amount is roughly the same as the $29 million that has been cut from our State Parks, resulting in today’s closings. So shouldn’t there be a question on Senator Morahan’s survey asking if we should do away with legislative mailings?

According to Capital Tonight:

Republican Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef is poised to announce his bid for the state Senate seat expected to be vacated by ailing veteran incumbent Tom Morahan, who has been battling Leukemia and is expected not to seek re-election this fall, a Hudson Valley GOP source confirmed.

The five-term incumbent won’t mount a primary challenge against Morahan, who has insisted his illness won’t prevent him from running, but insiders – including retiring Sen. Dale Volker – have suggested their colleague’s health concerns might ultimately trump his desire to stay in office.

Capital Tonight is a new statewide political television show that is broadcast on YNN, exclusively to Time Warner Cable customers. Benjamin is a former political reporter and blogger for the New York Daily News.

Benjamin’s report echoes the content of an e-mail tip sent to Left of the Hudson on Sunday. It had been widely assumed in political circles that County Legislator Ed Day would seek the Senate Seat if Morahan chooses not to run. But the candidacy of popular Clarkstown Clerk David Carlucci might be a game changer for the GOP. Carlucci’s run may have prompted the County Republicans to find a stronger candidate than Day. Former Republican and State Parole Board officer Grant Valentine is also running as a Democrat.

State Senate Republicans have found themselves in an unusual position of being in the minority and having several open seats to defend. Several State Senators have retired or are seeking other offices and some seats that have been weakly contested in the past now have strong Democratic challengers. Statewide GOP fundraising is reported to be abysmal. Vanderhoef would bring instant name recognition and fundraising resources to the race.

Vanderhoef was quick with a denial this morning:

At a ribbon cutting ceremony for the opening of Chef’s Market in Nyack this morning, Vanderhoef was asked if he was running for the State Senate. He replied “no.” Reliable sources say that Morahan will soon announce his retirement from the senate and that Vanderhoef will declare his candidacy.

Vanderhoef has been a serial job seeker while in office. He announced in January–the very day after he was sworn in to a fifth term as Executive–that he was considering running for State Comptroller. Weeks later, Vanderhoef announced that he had begun an exploratory committee to look into a run against Kirsten Gillibrand for United States Senate. Last month, he announced he dropped the idea. While County Executive, Vanderhoef has run for Congress, Lieutenant Governor and sought the Presidency of Rockland Community College. Sources inside County government told Left of the Hudson that Vanderhoef also sought employment with Giuliani Partners while County Executive, delaying the announcement of his 2009 campaign.

The salary of a State Senator is notably less than the $152,000 Vanderhoef makes as County Executive. But as the $79,500 a year Senate seat is only part time, sources have speculated that Vanderhoef would be set up with secondary employment with a local law firm to make up the difference.

This article is crossposted at Left of the Hudson.

Our group has met several times since. Our first project was the Fire Monserrate campaign, an online movement calling on the ouster of State Senator Hiram Monserrate. We understood that expelling someone from an elected position wasn’t a task to be taken lightly. However, as Sen. Monserrate was convicted of assaulting his girlfriend, we felt circumstances dictated that the Senate had to act. Domestic violence, we agreed, has no place in society, let alone the Senate chamber.

Our online petition gathered about 2000 signatures which included many public officials and political office holders. We received countless emails of support and the media came calling to find out who we were and why we thought this was important. In some, not insignificant way, we believe we helped lead the effort which concluded in last Tuesday’s State Senate resolution to expel Monserrate from office.

While we’re pleased with this grassroots effort, we know that cleaning up the Senate doesn’t end with the expulsion of just one Senator. Our ad hoc group that met last fall has now become a full-fledged political action committee with the purpose of ousting many of our dysfunctional State Senators and replacing them with reform-minded individuals. We call our organization ReBootNY.

ReBootNY is dedicated to electing better State Senators; Senators who will change how business is done in that chamber so it benefits all New Yorkers instead of those who pay the price of admission to secret rooms of power. We have made it our mission to rebuild state government, with the Senate being our first, and most important task. We are working to elect new, honest, ethical leaders committed to reform so that elected officials can focus on their true mission; solving New York’s desperate problems and making it the best state it can be.

But 30 people can’t win this fight. We need thousands of New Yorkers to join us in our cause. I invite you to visit ReBootNY’s Web site, become our fan on Facebook, and follow us on Twitter. And last, it’s never been my style to ask for contributions, but if you are fortunate enough to have a few extra dollars in these hard times, please consider making a donation to ReBootNY. It would be money well spent to help put our state back on the right track.

Cross-posted at Nyack News and Views.

There were gay families, there were straight families, and there were both the young and the old. There were seasoned politicians and there were those who never attended a political event before. Many of us were strangers, and those of us that know each other often vehemently disagree on many topics. Despite this, we stood in solidarity and delivered a strong statement to Senator Morahan and the entire State Senate:

We will accept nothing short of marriage equality.

Senator Morahan voted against civil rights for same sex couples and we find this vote to be unacceptable. Further, we want Senator Morahan to at least explain his vote, rather than giving us that tired political line that he searched his soul before coming to his decision.

Personally, I feel the vigil was a success and it will kept this subject in the spotlight until the Senate votes the correct way. And Senator Morahan will eventually have to really deal with Marriage Equality, rather than treating it in the dismissive manner as he did last summer when he told the Journal News:

“I understand both sides,” he said. “I prefer civil union, as opposed to traditional marriage.”

That statement didn’t show me nor anyone else that Senator Morahan did some soul searching on this issue. All it says to me is that he made up is mind and we are expected to deal with it. There’s a lot of reasoning I would like to hear: I would like Senator Morahan to address “separate, but equal” institutions in terms of civil unions instead of marriage.

But we didn’t get this, all Morahan did was dance around the subject:

“Maybe I’m a traditionalist,” he said. “I know my community is divided. If you can accommodate both sides, why not do that?”

Nobody was accommodated. Morhan is not sponsoring a bill for civil unions, nor do I think he intends on doing so. Morahan is not tackling the issues of spousal rights and inheritence rights for same-sex partners. So, in the end, there was no truth to Morahan’s statement. He lied!

In the past Senator Morahan has attended many events like Gay Pride Rockland and has claimed he is for gay rights. The Senator has said that LGBTs should have the same access to housing, jobs, benefits like health care and insurance, and equal protection of the law. But now, by not backing Marriage Equality and by not speaking out for his gay constituents to his colleagues, he’s exposed his words as nothing more than a politician’s empty promise to win votes from the gay community.

If Morahan really wanted to accommodate committed same-sex couples, he would have stood up in front of the Senate as did some dozen other Senators on December 2 and he would have explained his rationale for civil unions instead of marriage. Instead, he listened to his party leaders, shrunk down in his seat and kept mum until it was his time to vote: “No,” which he did emphatically.

It’s time for Tom Morahan to come down from his ivory tower and explain to his fiefdom the reasoning behind his unfortunate vote.

Senator Morahan disregarded the civil rights of all of his constituents by voting against the Marriage Equailty Bill on December 2 and did not explain the reasoning behind his vote when given the opportunity to do so on the Senate floor.

With Morahan’s help, the bill was defeated 24-38. While many of his constituents called, wrote, and visited to give emotional, legal, and logical pleas for its passage, Senator Morahan did not even deem the issue worthy of scrutiny or debate; he voted in lockstep with his party bloc rather than considering the wishes of those that voted him into office.

It’s time for Rockland, Warwick, and Tuxedo residents to stand together and let Senator Morahan—and 37 other members of the NYS Senate—know our displeasure with this style of legislating: One that relies on a single-minded allegiance to party leadership and a stifling of debate concerning a critical civil rights issue that most New Yorkers want righted.

We are urging those from Rockland, Orange and the surrounding areas to attend. The vigil will take place outside of Sen. Morahan’s offices on New Clarkstown Road at Airport Executive Park in Nanuet (north of Route 59).

Please bring your signs, cameras, and appropriate lighting as the vigil will take place as the sun sets.

Here’s a Google Maps link to the vigil location

Please try to carpool to the vigil as we don’t want to be taxing on the local parking facilities.

This afternoon, State Senator Thomas P. Morahan (SD-38) emphatically disregarded the civil rights of his constituency by voting against the Marriage Equailty bill before the State Senate. Unfortunately, with Morahan’s help, the bill was defeated 24-38.

While many Democrats gave emotional and logical pleas for its passage, Morahan and other Republicans did not even feel they had to legitimize their reasoning, they didn’t join in the debate. The Republicans were cowards and refused to explain their votes. Perhaps they are afraid that video would be record of their bigotry and would expose them for the creeps that they are. They just voted “no.” And Morahan did so with some gusto!

They just voted “no.” And Morahan did so with gusto!

Morahan and 37 other State Senators did not bother to weigh their votes against the Constitution, nor did they didn’t legislate for their constituencies. All 30 Republicans voted no on marriage equality, as did eight Democrats: Addabbo, Aubertine, Diaz, Huntley, Carl Kruger, Monserrate, Onorato, and Stachowski.

I never thought Senator Morahan’s gay constituents wanted him to embrace the bonds that they share, but I do think that they wanted him to acknowledge what they share with their partners is at least equal to the marriage that he has been privileged to have.

Politicians like Morahan have gone to events like Gay Pride Rockland to tell you they’re for gay rights. You’ll hear the Senator say that LGBTs should have the same access to housing, jobs, benefits like health care and insurance, and equal protection of the law, but then it stops at gay marriage. The truth is, Senator Morahan was never a friend of the gay community, he was only pandering for votes as he always does.

Morahan’s basic dishonesty has made fools of many people, especially some liberal friends of mine, who believe that he is a closet liberal. I’ve been told by some of the most progressive people I know in Rockland County that he is some throwback Rockefeller Republican who’s really on our side, fighting for our values. Democratic politicians in the county like Ilan Schoenberger, Alex Gromack, and Christopher St. Lawrence have openly supported and enabled Sen. Morahan. Well, it’s time for us to email “liberal” Morahan supporters and tell them what really motivates our Senators. And it’s time call our local “Democratic” politicians and tell them their campaign and financial support of Senator Morahan must stop NOW!

Now it’s time for Rockland, Warwick, and Tuxedo residents to stand together to defeat Senator Morahan. It’s time for Tom to go!

If you went to the polls last year and voted for change, you only scratched the surface. What happens on November 3 can possibly change the course politics, not only locally, but throughout New York as well.

Democratic leaders in Albany and New York City are holding their collective breath while watching our County Executive Race. Statewide Democratic Party leaders have confided to me that the race between Thom Kleiner and C. Scott Vanderhoef for County Executive has ramifications that go way beyond the county’s boundaries. I’m sure that state’s GOP leaders would agree. After all, they’ve hired Karl Rove’s chosen consulting firm to keep the seat in Republican control.

Beyond the local issues of taxes, balanced budgets, pay-for-play, and the New Square Slaughterhouse, political strategists I have talked to believe that the possible election of a Democratic County Executive can change the makeup of Albany. Is this a grand assumption on their part? I don’t think so.

Our County and the 38th State Senate District have similar boundaries. The Senate district is Rockland County plus the Orange County towns of Tuxedo and Warwick. The fact that both our County Executive, Vanderhoef, and State Senator, Thomas P. Morahan, are both Republicans is not a coincidence. Although Rockland County is nearly 7-to-4 Democratic-to-Republican (3-2 when including Tuxedo and Warwick), unseating county-wide incumbents—especially two that have masqueraded as moderates—has been futile in the past.

But recent state history has proven the theory that the election of Democratic County Execs beget the seating of Democratic State Senators and vice-versa. Once a political party has a powerful county-wide elected official, it often follows that they elect another. This is not a knock against Ellen Jaffee, Nancy Low-Hogan, or Greg Julian, our last three county-wide Democratic candidates, but we haven’t had such a strong Democratic and progressive candidate as Thom Kleiner in decades.

And this is how the election of Thom Kleiner as County Executive will help elicit change statewide: The County Executive election will send a message to State party leaders whether the 38th State Senate District is or is not in play. State Democrats, namely the Democratic State Senate Committee (DSSC) did not put a dime into the 2006 and 2008 campaigns of Low-Hogan and Julian and other potential donors followed, so these candidates didn’t stand a chance against Morahan’s biannual half-million dollar warchest.

These races were basically conceded before they began and neither Democratic candidate could eclipse 40 percent of the vote total.

The election of Kleiner will convince the DSSC and other non-partisan statewide reform organizations to take notice. Morahan, who has recently taken a staunch anti-gay rights stance and who has been consistently against ethics and election reform in Albany, will finally meet a strong opponent in 2010. It will also convince Democratic turncoats such as County Legislator Ilan Schoenberger, Clarkstown Executive Alex Gromack, and Nyack Mayor John Sheilds, all of which supported Morahan in the past, to support the candidate that shares progressive and Democratic ideals. The Morahan fiefdom will be in jeopardy.

The Brennan Center for Justice calls New York’s State Senate the nation’s “most dysfunctional,” and it’s no wonder. Right now, the New York State Senate remains in a partisan and ethical deadlock where Morahan plays a starring role. Progressive State Senate Democrats have been working hard for reform, which includes public-funding for elections and the elimination of member items, a pay-for-play slush-fund system that political experts call “incumbency insurance.” Morahan has been one of the biggest abusers and buys off the loyalty of politicians and constituents, giving “gifts” to local institutions, towns and villages (including the village of Nyack), in the weeks before an election to help cement a November victory. In essence, it’s been legal for politicians like Morahan to use our tax money for their reelection campaigns.

State Senate reform advocates say there’s a lot of work to be done to make Albany less dysfunctional, and it all starts with getting a strong, progressive Democratic majority in the State Senate. A weak Democratic majority where the ethically-challenged Pedro Espada, Jr. and convicted batterer Hiram Monserrate rule the roost cannot bring us the change we need. Both change their party loyalties to suit their mood and they are perfectly happy in continuing to filibuster reform.

State Democratic Committee insiders and reformers agree that Rockland is a bellwether county. If we’re going to see reform on a state level, it’s critical that we have a strong Democratic majority with a progressive State Senator from the 38th Senate District.

So, when voting on November 3, remember that a vote for Kleiner is also a vote for legislative reform on a state level.

“I understand both sides,” he said. “I prefer civil union, as opposed to traditional marriage.”

Someone should explain to Senator Morahan that “separate, but equal” is unconstitutional.

“Maybe I’m a traditionalist,” he said. “I know my community is divided. If you can accommodate both sides, why not do that?”

Nobody is being accommodated here. Are we to believe that gay couples will somehow feel empowered by Morahan’s belief that what they have is not equal to what he has with his wife?

More from the Journal News:

He explained that he understands and empathizes with the arguments about “inheritance rights, spousal rights,” and believes that civil unions will accomplish those goals of equal rights for same-sex partners.

Morahan went on to tell the Journal News editorial board that his reasons for getting married were for love, not for spousal rights.

So, it’s obvious to me that Senator Morahan either doesn’t understand this whole movement for gay marriage is really about one thing: love. And his implication that the love that he shares with his wife is greater than the love that is shared by the lesbian couple in Nyack or the gay couple in Nanuet is mind boggling.

I don’t think Morahan’s gay constituents want him to embrace the bonds that they share, but I do think that they want him to acknowledge what they share is at least equal to what he has been privileged to have.

Politicians like Morahan have gone to events like Gay Pride Rockland to tell you they’re for gay rights. You’ll hear the Senator say  that LGBTs should have the same access to  housing, jobs, benefits like health care and insurance, and equal protection of the law, but then it stops at gay marriage. Why is that? Is it Morahan’s Catholic religion that keeps him from supporting gay marriage? Nobody is forcing the Catholic Church to perform gay marriages and I don’t think they’d excommunicate the Senator from the Church for voting in the side of love. No, I don’t think that’s the problem.

Is it that Morahan really believes the stereotype of gays being promiscuous and incapable of forming long-term relationships? Does he, like many of his Republican allies, believe that homosexuality is merely a perversion? No, I think that Morahan has seen enough from the gay pride events that he has attended to know that this isn’t the truth.

The fault, I believe lies in Morahan’s unwavering allegience to the Republican Party. Many people, especially some liberal friends of mine, like to believe that Morahan is a closet liberal. I’ve been told by some of the most progressive people I know in Rockland County that he is some throwback Rockefeller Republican who’s really on our side, fighting for our values. Democratic politicians in the county like Ilan Schoenberger, Alex Gromack, and Christopher St. Lawrence openly support Sen. Morahan and hardly anybody blinks. I admit, Morahan has been good with marketing and with that “member items” slush fund he uses to insure his incumbency.

Now the truth is out: Morahan was never has been the progressive or “moderate” that Rockland voters thought that he was. In fact, he has rarely stood up for anything that didn’t sound like apple pie Americana. He’s got a great formula for getting elected: sponsor some no-brainer legislation about children in need and talk it up, keep your mouth shut about everything else, smile, and everyone will think you’re just like them. This worked for a long time, but now it’s over. The upcoming gay marriage vote will expose Morahan’s real values. And all these years of kissing babies and handing out obscene checks just before election time won’t work anymore. We know what our State Senator is made of.

Thank you, Sen. Morahan for finally coming out. Now we can make more informed choices at the polls.

–

The news and diaries posted on the Rockland Progressive Dems site are the individual opinions of the members of the Rockland Progressive Democratic Caucus. They appear on this Web site to provide a progressive forum for Rockland County residents. While the Executive Committee of the caucus may edit some of these posts for clarity, length, and accuracy, it does not necessarily endorse the contents of each post. All members of the Rockland County Democratic Caucus are invited to share their viewpoints and comment on those viewpoints on this site.

In the past week, two events reminded me that just because politicians have big “D” following their names, it doesn’t make them loyal Democrats.

Of course, I have been thinking of “Democratic” State Senators Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate. Those two with their questionable pasts and disregard for the law, never did deserve to represent the Democratic Party and their districts. Now, as part of a Republican-led coalition, they’ve given a deserved black-eye to the Republican Party as well.

While I’m upset that the Democrats may have lost control of the Senate after only five months, I think the party has been somewhat detoxified. Now that the duo’s dirty laundry is headline news, neither Espada or Monserrate really stand a chance to be reelected in 2010; they’ll be lucky not to be sharing a room in a state correctional facility come next November. So, good riddance to bad garbage.

Being victimized by disloyal politicians is not so unlike finding out your significant other has been hitting the town with your rival. At first, you’re shocked by it, and then you’re angry, and then you sojourn into uncertainty without your less-than-faithful companion. Yes, the healing process is the same whether we’re talking about personal relationships or politics.

In Rockland County and in its towns, we’ve had several incidents of party disloyalty and they’ve been heartbreakers. While I think it serves no purpose fingering the politicians involved in this forum, it’s a concept that must be discussed.

A few years ago, I found that two well-known Democratic politicians had made donations to the campaign of Republican State Senator Thomas P. Morahan while another Democrat was running a valiant race against the Senator. I couldn’t stand by without saying something and I brought it to the attention of the County and Town Democratic Committees. My argument was that our Democratic Committees are political clubs organized solely for promoting Democratic values and Democratic candidates and those Democrats that actively promote Republicans should not be afforded membership in our committees.

My worries fell mostly on deaf ears, but were not unfounded. When I looked closer at the financial activities of Citizens for Morahan, I found that the Senator, with uncanny speed after receiving these donations, turned around and made nearly identical contributions to the campaigns of Sen. Joseph Bruno, Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef, and Rockland County Legislature candidate Paul Valentine.

So, in a roundabout way, these two Democrats voted against core Democratic values. They abandoned not only a party, but the values that it stands for. They unwittingly donated to a sleazy machine politician who has since been indicted for fraud, another who mismanaged our county’s finances (and is now running against our Thom Kleiner), and a vapid ultra-conservative who used his cut of these ill-gotten gains to run a tough campaign against Connie Coker. Run it up the ladder, and you’ll find that their support ended up being fed into the dark anti-Obama and anti-progressive forces at the Republican Party’s core.

I don’t believe for a minute that such party disloyalty is just poor judgment; the problem is core ethics. There are usually promises made or deals struck that we don’t know about. In the case of Morahan’s money, a lot of those campaign contributions came hot on the heels of Morahan writing obscene checks from his discretionary “member items” account to the constituencies of those Democratic politicians. Thus, the “member items” account is nothing more than a slush fund to garner political favors. I may not be able to prove that one act led to another, but if it walks like a duck and quacks like a duck….

As Democrats, can we really trust the fidelity of these politicians going forward? Probably not.

Another incident has arisen in recent weeks where a prominent local Democrat has indicated an interest in giving her support to a Republican line. In hopes that she changes her mind before she makes this imprudent leap, I’ll spare her name from this piece. However, I’m wondering what could be going through this politician’s head. Why would she involve herself in actions that could hurt her own party’s slate? Why is she acting in her own personal self-interest instead of the interests of the party and those voters that have supported the party over many years?

Right now, the Democratic Party is enjoying a tide of voters that has come our way, mostly as a result of current national sentiment. But we’re likely to see our fortunes change again. Locally, we’re best prepared for these hard times by closing our ranks and working on our local party infrastructure. We need to unburden ourselves of Democrats that exhibit such party disloyalty and attract new, loyal members to our committees.

You’ll find the local Republican Committee is not licking their wounds after such a poor showings these past two Novembers. They’re already hard at work on their comeback, trashing the Democratic Party as being “socialist” and “Marxist” and trying to find ways to usurp power in some very undemocratic ways. And unfortunately, this local Democratic politico who is being coaxed into this plot is oblivious to the harm she is doing herself, the Democratic Party and the values it stands for as she allies herself with these demented Sith Lords.

If this Democratic politician does bend to the other side, she’ll be like a folded piece of metal. Her political core will be forever compromised and she’ll become on of the party’s weakest links.

–

The news and diaries posted on the Rockland Progressive Dems site are the  individual opinions of the members of the Rockland Progressive Democratic Caucus. They appear on this Web site to provide a progressive forum for Rockland County residents. While the Executive Committee of the caucus may edit some of these posts for clarity, length, and accuracy, it does not necessarily endorse the contents of each post. All members of the Rockland County Democratic Caucus are invited to share their viewpoints and comment on those viewpoints on this site.