It is not just Sheldon Silver. As I pointed out before, this bunch of politicians were electing Sheldon Silver Assembly Majority Leader year after year after year knowing he was blocking good clean government and doing something on the side.
So now they have a chance to clean up and present New Yorkers with their idea of good government.
So what do they do, they appear to be coalescing around that well known leader Carl Heastie of the Bronx. His claim to fame is (i) only having the Moreland Commission be able to cite him for having $25,000 of undocumented campaign expenses (you would think a professional statistician would know how to keep receipts) and (ii) he is convincing other NYC politicians that the issues the Assembly deals with soon are too important to trust an honest guy from Rochester with.
What are these issues NYC Democrats care about so much? the budget of course, charter schools, rent regulation and real estate developer tax breaks. If there were any four issues that required honest clean government avoiding back room passing of envelopes with money in them, it is these four issues.
And why do I think Mr. Heastie is not on the up & up? Well, he surrounds himself with sleazy staff. The Daily News even says the use of the term sleazy is a compliment to these people, they are so down in darkness of corruption. A key advisor to Heastie is Stanley Schein. An aide to multiple party bosses who have gone to jail. A man who has been banned from court appointed positions because he abused them for his own financial gain. There is also Howard Vargas as an aide and he has used his position as an aide to court appointed real estate receivership work. Let's see, buying bankrupt real estate out of bankruptcy on the cheap could not possibly be a conflict of interest when zoning laws determine the value of city property. Both of these guys are seen as Bronx borough "fixers".
My guess is there are more NYC Democrats than upstate Democrats in the Assembly (and not enough Suburban Democrats to make a difference) and we are going to see this sleazy Heastie anointed the new leader of the Assembly.
This crab is almost enough to make me vote for a Republican State Senator to keep someone honest in this process. And the Democrat State Senators wonder why suburbanites don't trust them.
Look at the Assembly for your answer.
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