And the Winners Are...

Here in Central New York, we're familiar with massive piles of snow, which go through cycles of looking pretty, and looking pretty disgusting, like the one shown here.

It's been a while since I've handed out any Dirty Snowpile Awards, given for particularly bad acts on the part of local, state, and federal politicians.

It wasn't for a lack of trying, I assure you. During the Obama years, I attempted to hand some out, but I never managed to get them done during awards season. And, of course, the Trump years were one giant dirty snowpile, from so many perspectives; it seemed silly to single anyone out. 

Tonight, folks are gathering for the Oscars, and I can't think of a better time to get some other well-deserved recognition out there. 

> The We May Never Find the Poop Under this Snowpile award goes to US Attorney General Merrick Garland. Garland moves at a very deliberate pace, it seems, and he's hardly an emphatic speaker. We know things are moving forward on the insurrection, and hate crimes, and such, but sometimes all we know is that things are moving s-l-o-w-l-y. There have been accomplishments, of course, and we know that his goal is to leave no snowpile unturned, at this pace by the time he finds the poop under all that snow, we'll forget which dog left it there. 

> Speaking of poop, former NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo has earned the Just When You Thought Winter Was Over award. Cuomo, as you know, resigned in the face of multiple sexual harassment allegations, for which he offered the Italian defense, and blamed his alleged victims and his political opponents. But now, like snow in April and May, he's back. That's right- the Sonofa Gov is campaigning to get his reputation back, and, if that weren't enough, he's been teasing a return to politics. 

Cuomo meandered back and forth across the ethical aisle for a long time. He was one of the three amigos back in the day; the other two were convicted of crimes. There were the economic development issues, with several people very close to Cuomo charged (and convicted). There were previous allegations of sexual harassment in his  administration; and of course, there was the Moreland Commission mess. 

The bottom line? Cuomo's just one more in a long line of NY pols who've behaved badly and tried to make us think they didn't. And, like late season snow, we don't like it, we don't need it, and we're sick of it. 

> The Does this Snowpile Make My Uterus Look Big award, given collectively to Republicans for their attacks on women and our bodies. Remember their, um, erudite conversations on rape? A few of those are captured here. And, of course, there are the new anti-abortion laws, some of which defy both logic and science. And in their zeal to see Roe v. Wade overturned, they're salivating at the possible end of Griswold v. Connecticut, which afforded privacy protections to married women and their birth control decisions. Considering the Rs are the party of small government and individual freedom, they're sure spending a lot of time trying to control my lady parts.

> The My Snowpile's So Small It Fits on this T-shirt award goes to the thousands of politicians, their advisors, or whoever it is that decided we should have a government of the t-shirt, by the t-shirt and for the t-shirt. You know what I'm talking about, right? Policies and positions that fit on a t-shirt are great; anything else, we don't give a hoot about. And don't forget how those slogans get twisted and turned into opposition missiles, either.

Need some examples? Well, off the top of my head, and in keeping with what we just talked about, My Body My Choice. And these: Make America Great Again; Build Back Better; Back the Blue; Defund the Police; Race to the Top; Read My Lips - No New Taxes; Drill, Baby, Drill; the Green New Deal... There must be a political slogan factory somewhere, I swear - and there are days I want to work there.

Sadly, one of the most important things with all this 'governing by slogan' stuff is that you buy the t-shirt, literally or figuratively.

> My frustration with progressives in the Democratic Party is no secret, so it should come as no surprise that they win the With Friends Like These Who Needs Enemies award. They think nothing of snatching defeat from the jaws of victory; it's never good enough to get something you've been fighting for, if you can't get everything you've been fighting for, and - of course - nothing is more important than what they want. This year, the progressives had a response to their own president's State of the Union address, for Pete's sake. 

> This year's The Couple That Shovels Together Stays Together award goes to the Thomases, Clarence and Ginni. Her work is hers, and his is his, and never the twain shall meet, except when the twain is all twisted up in an ugly ethical hairball, even without those text messages. And don't forget, Clarence has some issues separate from his wife's texts; here's one example; here's another one. 

That's all for this year's awards; I'd love to give out more, but I've got to go out and shovel one last time.

Meanwhile, Back in Albany (v43): It's Politics, Not Me, Too

The Sonofa Gov announced his resignation today, effective in 14 days. You should read his full remarks; selected excerpts (and commentary) are below.

I’d like to address several issues today. First, I’ve always started by telling New Yorkers the facts before my opinion. So, let’s start New York tough with the truth.

The attorney general did a report on complaints made against me by certain women for my conduct. The report said I sexually harassed 11 women. That was the headline people heard and saw and reacted to. The reaction was outrage. It should have been. However, it was also false...

The most serious allegations made against me had no credible factual basis in the report. And there is a difference between alleged improper conduct and concluding sexual harassment. Now, don’t get me wrong, this is not to say that there are not 11 women who I truly offended. There are. And for that I deeply, deeply apologize...

He gave a list of things that he did that were misunderstood. He was only being nice, being friendly, using endearing terms, he thought, or joking. He said "I take full responsibility for my actions."

I have been too familiar with people. My sense of humor can be insensitive and off-putting. I do hug and kiss people casually, women and men. I have done it all my life. It’s who I’ve been since I can remember. In my mind, I’ve never crossed the line with anyone, but I didn’t realize the extent to which the line has been redrawn. There are generational and cultural shifts that I just didn’t fully appreciate, and I should have. No excuses.

He spoke about Trooper #1, but first, he patted himself on the back for bringing diversity to his State Police detail. 

Please let me provide some context. The governor’s trooper detail had about 65 troopers on it, but of the 65 only six women and nine Black troopers. I’m very proud of the diversity of my administration. It’s more diverse than any administration in history. And I’m very proud of the fact that I have more women in senior positions than any governor before me.

The lack of diversity on the state police detail was an ongoing disappointment for me. In many ways, the governor’s detail is the face of state government that people see. When I attend an event, people see the detail that’s with me. I was continuously trying to recruit more to diversify... 

And he addressed her allegations: 

This female trooper was getting married, and I made some jokes about the negative consequences of married life. I meant it to be humorous. She was offended, and she was right.

The trooper also said that in an elevator I touched her back and when I was walking past her in a doorway, I touched her stomach. Now I don’t recall doing it, but if she said I did it, I believe her... It was totally thoughtless in the literal sense of the word, but it was also insensitive. It was embarrassing to her, and it was disrespectful.

There was finger-pointing: 

Now, obviously, in a highly political matter like this, there are many agendas and there are many motivations at play. If anyone thought otherwise, they would be naïve, and New Yorkers are not naïve... 

Part of being New York tough is being New York smart. New York smart tells us that this situation and moment are not about the facts...  This is about politics... There is an intelligent discussion to be had on gender-based actions on generational and cultural behavioral differences on setting higher standards and finding reasonable resolutions. But the political environment is too hot and it is too reactionary for that now, and it is unfortunate.

And the 'this is bigger than me' part: 

... when I took my oath as governor... I became a fighter, but I became a fighter for you, and it is your best interests that I must serve. This situation by its current trajectory will generate months of political and legal controversy. That is what is going to happen. That is how the political wind is blowing. It will consume government. It will cost taxpayers millions of dollars. It will brutalize people... This is one of the most challenging times for government in a generation. Government really needs to function today. Government needs to perform. It is a matter of life and death — government operations, and wasting energy on distractions is the last thing that state government should be doing. And I cannot be the cause of that.

 And there was New York Tough:

New York Tough means New York loving, and I love New York, and I love you. And everything I have ever done has been motivated by that love. And I would never want to be unhelpful in any way. And I think that given the circumstances, the best way I can help now is if I step aside and let government get back to governing. And, therefore, that’s what I’ll do because I work for you, and doing the right thing is doing the right thing for you. Because as we say, “It’s not about me. It’s about we.”

 And compliments to his staff:

To my team... I want to say this: Thank you. Thank you. And be proud. We made New York state the progressive capital of the nation. No other state government accomplished more to help people. And that is what it’s all about...

Today so much of the politics is just noise, just static, and that’s why people tune it out. What matters is actually improving people’s lives, and that’s what you did. You made this state a better state for the generations that follow, and that is undeniable, inarguable, and true, even in these ugly, crazy times.

He mentioned his daughters: 

I want them to know from the bottom of my heart that I never did and I never would intentionally disrespect a woman or treat any woman differently than I would want them treated. And that is the God’s honest truth. Your dad made mistakes, and he apologized, and he learned from it. And that’s what life is all about.

And finally, there was the "honor of my lifetime" part to wrap things up. 

... Out of many one. Unity, community, love. That is our founding premise, and our enduring promise. And that is the salvation of this nation that it so desperately needs to hear. Thank you for the honor of serving you. It has been the honor of my lifetime. God bless you.

Apologetic? Nope - not really. More defiant than anything, blaming everyone else for what's happening to him. He's done that throughout his career, on ethics, campaign finance reform, and more. My Moreland Commission and Meanwhile Back in Albany posts are enlightening in that regard. 

Satisfactory? Nope. He's still in denial about his actions, suggesting that the goalposts had moved. But they haven't. His understanding of where those goalposts were was - and is - sorely lacking, but that's on him, not on his accusers. He was the boss, he was the one in power, and he knows it. The goalposts are exactly where they always were - and he knows it. 

Sincere? As much as he can be, I guess. But I found his comments about how much money would be spent during an impeachment to be disingenuous. "The Executive Chamber" has a $2.5M contract with a law firm, after all - and that's coming from our pockets, not his. And, of course, there's the countless hours of hand-wringing, testifying, strategizing, retaliating and who knows what else that he and his staff have been doing, instead of doing the people's work. 

And he touches only on the sexual harassment allegations - never mentions the book deal, and having his staff, ahem, "volunteer' to help on that - that's illegal, and it's impossible, since he has said his office - The Executive Chamber - is a high-pressure, long hours, late into the night shop, dealing with life-and-death stuff. Who has time to work on their boss's book under those circumstances?  

He never mentioned the nursing home stuff - that's where the $2.5M noted above is going. He's apparently using campaign funds for the sexual harassment legal team - that's legal here, sadly - even though he said he wasn't.

In the end, he's just a man, like many before him and like many - hopefully fewer, as time progresses - who will come after him. Political men, compelling when in power, much less so as their power slips away. Sitting alone, trying to pin the tail of blame on unnamed political enemies, elephants and donkeys alike, not caring who they bring down with them. 

That's really who he is, today. 

Meanwhile Back in Albany (v35)

Nathaniel Brooks/NY Times

Everyone is so focused on the ethical shenanigans going on in Congress and the White House, where the even president himself has admitted to impeachable offenses, we sometimes forget that lots of other equally dubious stuff is going on in statehouses around the country, including here in New York State.

According to the Albany Times Union article linked above, our Sonofa Gov Andrew Cuomo has had his administration give as much as $1.2M more to a criminal defense law firm that was originally hired back in 2016 for the "Buffalo Billion" investigation. That's the one, you'll remember, that brought charges against several developers (including COR Development here in my neck of the woods) and others close to the gov.

Here's a bit of background on the contract with Morvillo Abramowitz, from the Times Union article:

For $950,000, the Executive Chamber originally retained Morvillo Abramowitz on April 29, 2016, the same the day administration was served with a sweeping federal subpoena from the Manhattan US Attorney's office. The document request was part of the upstate bid-rigging probe that included Cuomo's "Buffalo Billion" initiative.

After two extensions of the contract worth another $1.5M, the contract ended in July 2018 - the same month the second and final trial concerning state contract bid-rigging - featuring SUNY Polytechnic founder Alain Kaloyeros and others as defendants - ended with convictions.

But now? The firm is involved for a new reason: it seems the FBI is investigating Cuomo's administration for its practice of placing certain employees on the payrolls of state agencies and authorities, instead of on the Executive Chamber payroll where they belong.

Two years ago, the FBI was in the midst of interviewing Executive Chamber staffers in that manner as part of the probe. A Cuomo spokesman at the time dismissed the FBI inquiry as "absurd" and noted that governors had for decades engaged in the practice. 

The Times Union has been reporting on this for a while; it was their story in 2016 that 89 of 209 Executive Chamber employees were on other payrolls; that prompted the current investigation. Another group of employees, more than 20 of them, came on board in the spring of 2017, all but five of whom were paid outside the Executive Chamber.

Although the no-bid contract extension was originally denied by Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's office for being too broad, it was eventually approved and runs through the end of 2020. According to DiNapoli spokeswoman Jennifer Freeman,

We asked them to be specific about why they wanted to extend the contract. they provided us with justification for why they wanted to extend the contract and what the services were for and we approved in early 2019.

The article notes that Morvillo Abramowitz has worked for Cuomo not only on the Buffalo Billions case, and the hiring practices case, but also a third case, from 2014, when Cuomo shut down his Moreland Commission investigation into public corruption. (You can read posts about that debacle here). But what was different then was that Cuomo's campaign picked up that tab, whereas we taxpayers are carrying the load on the recent investigations.

What's telling here is that the Sonofa Gov apparently thinks it's OK to do this because others have done it too. And they probably have - honestly, I have no doubt about that - but the point is, being ethical and honest is an individual choice.

Making the decision to be ethical in spite of how others have acted in the past, are acting today, or are likely to act in the future is exactly as easy as making the decision to be unethical because of those same factors. That Cuomo and his advisers don't know this, or choose to ignore it, is a stain on them, but it's consistent with past behavior.

Need an example? Cuomo said we needed to close the LLC loophole in NY's campaign finance laws, that it was wrong and needed to be fixed, at the exact same time he was benefiting from it.

It's no secret that Cuomo happens to be the biggest beneficiary of  LLC donations. He has reported raising $16.54M from them since taking office in 2011. By comparison, his past three opponents - Republicans Carl Paladino and Rob Astorino and Democrat Zephyr Teachout - raised $8M from all of their contributors combined... 

Since Cuomo took office, 574 committees associated with candidates for one of the Legislature's 213 seats have received at least one donation from an LLC. Combined, those hundreds of individuals have reported raising $16.5M from LLCs, just slightly less than Cuomo's total.

And the Senate Republicans who bear the brunt of Cuomo's criticism? They've raised $6.4M from LLCs, or 39% of Cuomo's total. 

And, of course, we know that he rests peacefully at night because he knows he's ethical. Because he told us he is, back in 2014.

I'm going to make the decision that I think is right for them because at the end of the night I go home and I put my head on the pillow and I have to be able to fall asleep and I can't fall asleep if I don't believe I'm doing the right thing.

And somehow, five years later, that means taxpayers are on the hook for lawyers to help defend him in an FBI investigation for what (at the very least) has the perception of being unethical and dishonest.

Sleep well, Governor.

Meanwhile, Back in Albany (v17)

Nathaniel Brooks/NY Times

For the second time, former NY State Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and his son Adam were found guilty of corruption charges.  

Previously convicted in back in 2015, that verdict was thrown out and a new trial ordered based on a Supreme Court decision in another dirty politician's trial. The Skelos case was kicked off by former US Attorney Preet Bharara, who was fired by the Trump Administration, as happens sometimes when administrations change. (Bharara is now more than holding his own on social media, hosting a podcast on NPR and otherwise keeping us in the know.) 

And yes, while the trial was in Manhattan, the case has legs beyond the boundaries of New York City.  Because, meanwhile back in Albany, these are just a couple more convictions in a list of convictions on ethics-related charges that have occured in the past few years, reinforcing the message that we need to do something about the people we elect, the people they appoint, and how they all operate.

Who's in the rogue's gallery, in addition to Skelos? Here's a partial list, covering the nine years I've been publishing veritable pastiche of just the convicted state pols, not the 'resigned in disgrace because of a sex scandal' gang or any who served at the federal level:

• Sheldon Silver, Assembly Leader
• Deputy Senate Majority Leader Tom Libous
• Senate Minority Leader John L Sampson
• Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith
• Assemblywoman Gabriela Rosa
• Assemblyman William Boyland
• Assemblyman Eric Stevenson
• Assemblyman Nelson Castro
• State Senator Shirley Huntley
• Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr.
• State Senator Vincent Leibell
• State Senator Nicholas Spano
• State Comptroller Alan Hevesi
• State Senator Carl Kruger
• State Senator Hiram Monserrate
• State Senator Efrain Gonzalez, Jr.
• State Health Commissioner Antonia Novello

Pretty impressive, kinda sorta, isn't it? You know, in a shameful kind of way, or in a 'seriously, we can't do better than this?" kind of way.

We've tried to address this, in any number of ways, including suggesting that the legislators get paid more so they would be less tempted to be bad.

We've tried passing ethics legislation - that didn't work, either.  And we had our Sonofa Gov's Moreland Commission, which was abruptly cancelled just when things started getting interesting.

Do we maybe just need better people?

Sunday School 6/11/2017

Boy, it was a hot one today, no air conditioning in the school, since it's the weekend and all. I only had the energy to visit one classroom today, and it was a good one: This Week with George Stephanopoulos, on ABC.

One of George's guests today was former US Attorney Preet Bharara, who, you might remember, is the guy who brought about the end to the reigns of Shelly Silver and Dean Skelos in the New York State Legislature, and who was also not shy about delving into potential ethics violations by New York's Sonofa Gov, Andrew Cuomo, his close associates, and less-close associates affiliated with Cuomo's Buffalo Billion and other economic development activities. He was not thrilled with the premature shuttering of the Moreland Commission, either.

Right here in Syracuse, he's got the leaders of COR Development under indictment; motions are still being filed in those matters, even as COR continues working on our Inner Harbor project, where they have exclusive development rights. Bharara's firing has not yet had an impact on the cases, and I hope it doesn't. Better to see these go through the legal process than to have things messed with simply because we have a new administration in Washington.

Anyway, today Bharara talked about James Comey and Donald Trump, answering some specific questions from Stephanopoulos. When asked if Comey lied under oath, the answer was clear:

It does not appear that way. I mean you've got someone who...has a reputation for telling the truth, someone who has contemporaneous notes of what happened... On the other hand, I think a lot of people will tell you that the president himself sometimes makes accusations that turn out to be not true...  And when it comes down to who's telling the truth and who's not, I think most people would side reasonably with James Comey.

Stephanopoulos asked about Comey leaking his notes, and whether there was "anything illegal" there.

So, I'm not in the business of making legal pronouncements on... what's legal or what's criminal anymore. But I will say, it sounds like more of a distraction... Nothing that was in the memo or in the conversations he had with his friend... was classified.

So I think the main point that people should be focusing on, from what I can see, is that you have... uncontroverted from someone who was under oath that on at least one occasion, the president of the United States cleared a room of his vice president and his attorney general, and told his director of the FBI that he should essentially drop a case against his former national security advisor. 

And whether or not that is impeachable or that's indictable, that's a very serious thing. And I'm not sure that people, you know, fully get that the standard is not just whether something is a crime or not, but there should - you know, whether or not it can be charged as a crime or Congress will impeach, it's a very serious thing.

And there's a lot to be frightened about and a lot to be outraged about if you have a president who, A, may have done it, although I know he denies it, but he hasn't (denied it) under oath yet. And B, he seems to suggest that even if he had done it or said words to that effect, there's nothing wrong with it. And you have other people who seem to be excusing it.  

 That's an incredibly serious thing if people think that the president of the United States can tell heads of law enforcement agencies, based on his own whim or is own personal preferences or friendships, that they should or should not pursue particular criminal cases against individuals. 

That's not how America works.

There's more, including a discussion on whether or not this is ever going to be more than 'he said/he said case'. Bharara doesn't know but did toss out this out there.

...look at the surrounding circumstances and indicia of truthfulness and those things include contemporaneous statements to other people. They include the track record of the witness... and whether or not one of the hes in the 'he said/he said' has a track record for lying or not both on the air and in legal proceedings...and I believe there is such a track record with respect to one of the parties.

We all know which one he's talking about, don't we?

Bharara himself was the recipient of a three calls from Trump, two from him as president-elect and a third after the inauguration, including the one Bharara refused to return. He was fired the next day. Regarding those  conversations, he also noted

The number of times that President Obama called me in seven-and-a-half years was zero. The number of times I would have expected to be called by the president of the Unites States would be zero, because there has to be some kind of arm's length relationship given the jurisdiction that various people had.

I miss Preet Bharara, I do.

See you around campus.

The Update Desk: Grains of Salt (v8)

Back in May, I talked about the Onondaga County DA-for-Life William Fitzpatrick and his head-scratching, head-spinning decision to open an investigation into Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner's administration.

The reason for the investigation? Fitzpatrick thought the Mayor was trying to influence public opinion against a local developer in a lawsuit. COR Development, once a local success story, went around the city's development agency to the county's development agency, got a tax deal, and the mayor was not happy. She sued and lost, but Fitz - not known to be a fan of the mayor or her police chief, for that matter - wanted to protect us from any undue influence from a politician.

He is one - a politician, of course -  and one who is not shy about trying to influence public opinion either in his official capacity as DA, or in his political capacity as, say, a member of our Sonofa Gov's Moreland Commission on ethics, or as, say, a boss getting involved in employment matters in his office.

Anyway -- back to our investigation,which one judge called a "fishing expedition": seems it's over, and there will be no findings or indictments, or even a report that we'll ever see, it appears. Here's the update from the local paper last Thursday:

A politically-charged investigation by the Onondaga County district attorney looking for misconduct at Syracuse City Hall has fizzled out without producing any allegations of wrongdoing.

District Attorney William Fitzpatrick's investigation of Syracuse Mayor Miner and her political allies produced no criminal charges or reports of malfeasance. 

According to the article, the Grand Jury records have been sealed, so we will likely never know for sure what happened, nor will folks, including at least two common councilors, officially have their names cleared.

That may be enough for Fitzpatrick, but is it enough for the elected officials? And is it enough for city taxpayers? Or County taxpayers who ultimately paid for this investigation?

No comment from Fitz, or from the Mayor.

Meanwhile Back in Albany (v9)

Nathaniel Brooks/NY Times

The beat goes on in Albany, it surely does.

The last few times we talked about doings in New York's capital, it was all about good people, and full time vs. part time, and pay raises for our lawmakers.

They may or may not be good people, you see, because from what we heard (and hear) all along when it comes to paying elected officials is that the salary is too low to get good people involved. Which means, I guess, instead of having the best legislature, we have the best legislature we can entice for a piddly wage that's more than $20K over the median for the state, plus travel, per diem and, in a whole lot of cases, cases a leadership lulu.

Anyway -- the tripartite Commission on Legislative, Executive and Judicial Compensation - a group of representatives of the State Senate, State Assembly, and Governor's Cuomo's office, made their decision on the judiciary, giving judges and district attorneys (who work full time, by the way) a nice raise. But when it came time to make a decision on the legislature, commissioners and executives, no deal was done: the Commission rules require agreement by all three parties, and our Sonofa Gov's representatives said no.

So, where are we today?  Well, see, the Governor -- who is the only one of the Three Amigos still standing, and who has ethically-challenged people very close to him, who sleeps well at night because he knows he's doing the right thing, and who started and abruptly ended a big darn deal Moreland Commission on ethics -- wants to do something about ethics reform in Albany.

The best way to do that, apparently, is to have the Legislature come back for a special session so they can chat, and wheel-and-deal, and pass a bill on ethics reform, and a bill to either authorize a pay raise, or authorize the Commission to come back to the table at some defined future point so that they can give the Leg a raise.

Now, of course, everyone involved says this is no quid pro quo, tit for tat, play for pay for play kind of deal. It's about "getting the people's work done," and of course, "it's not a deal if everyone agrees"  and stuff like that.

And while it appears the reason for the special session may move from Let's-do-ethics-reform-in-return-for-a-raise to Let's-help-the-homeless-in-return-for-a-raise, I admit to some curiosity here.

• Isn't urgently helping the homeless something that could be done for the $172 per diem and cents-per-mile, without having to dangle a carrot in front of these folks? 
• Maybe we really do need to get some better people in the Legislature, if they won't come back to do urgent homelessness legislation without getting something in return?
• Aren't these folks, who desperately need us to agree that they're full timers to justify their raise, shooting themselves in the foot by refusing to work on important stuff like this in the off-season?

I'm not normally a huge fan of time flying by, but in this case, I hope that it does -- we do NOT need a special session that results in giving legislators a raise. Period. I don't want them to come to agreement on any deal, because the cards were already dealt to give them a raise, and they got a losing hand.

If they're unhappy with the salary and benefits they receive, they know where their district are -- and it's in their districts they should stay for the last two weeks of December.

Meanwhile, Back in Albany (v4)

Nathaniel Brooks/NY Times

When we last checked in on doings in Albany, we were looking at the issue of a possible legislative pay raise, with something in the neighborhood of 47% on the table.

My earlier posts touched on the recent legislative session, the pros and cons of a big raise, and good people.

I had hoped, by now, that the transcript from the September 13th meeting would be available, so we could see how the Commission tackled the part-time vs. full time issue, which they touched on in the July meeting and were to address in more detail this month, Alas, nothing's been posted yet.

But that's OK, because there have been even bigger doings in Albany than something as inconsequential as a monster pay raise for the Leg, the Gov, and the various commissioners who do those things about which we often hear little and know even less.

Our old friend Preet Bharara, the US Attorney in Manhattan and the person most actively interested in getting rid of corruption in Albany, has struck again - in a big way.  He has indicted several people on bribery, bid-rigging and other charges. Here's who made the list this time:

• Joseph Percoco and Todd Howe, both former aides of Andrew Cuomo and his father, late Governor Mario Cuomo. Percoco was referred to as "Mario Cuomo's third son" by the current governor - "and the one he loved the most." Percoco allegedly accepted bribes arranged by Howe from a couple of development companies.
• Steven Aiello and Joseph Gerardi, of Syracuse-based COR Development, who were alleged to have paid bribes for help in avoiding a labor agreement, getting paid by the state for work done, and obtaining a raise for Aiello's son, who worked for Percoco. The company was not charged.
• Peter Galbraith Kelly Jr, the lobbying guy for Competitive Power Ventures; the company wanted help on a project in the Hudson Valley, and paid bribes to Percoco's wife. Again, the company itself was not charged.
• Louis Ciminelli, Michael Laepple, and Kevin Schuler, of LPCiminelli. The goal of these bribes was to ensure that the company (itself not charged) was the sole eligible bidder on a project.
• Dr. Alain Kaloyeros, head of SUNY Polytechnic, who was the mastermind behind high-tech economic development projects across the state.  NY Attorney General Eric Schneidermann also charged Kaloyeros last week for other corrupt actions

Naturally, everyone did nothing wrong, they will all be exonerated, this is a sham, Bharara has designs on something bigger, and on and on. I like to think he has designs on continuing to clean up Albany, something that the Governor and the Legislature are unable to do themselves. JCOPE is an example of that.

JCOPE, the Joint Commission on Public Ethics, is more of a reporting organization than anything else, and like other commissions, is lock stock and barrel comprised of representatives of the people it oversees.

The Commission consists of 14 members, three appointed by the Temporary President of the Senate, three appointed by the Speaker of the Assembly, one appointed by the Minority Leader of the Senate, one appointed by the Minority Leader of the Assembly and six appointed by the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor. 

As with the Commission looking at the pay raise, none of the members are appointed by the people of the Empire State. None answer to the people of the Empire State. None are looking after the interests of the people of the Empire state. The fox is overseeing the hen house, with the full commitment of the hens.

This is ridiculous, but it's not as ridiculous as Cuomo's personal attempt at rooting out corruption.

I've done a number of posts on the reasonably well conceived but poorly executed and prematurely shut down Moreland Commission. This commission would have been a complete waste of time and money, except that it really put front and center our Sonofa Gov's lack of interest in getting ethics reform. He's been talking reform for a number of years, but the reality of what he's accomplished pales in comparison to his rhetoric.

Cuomo has always maintained that he's clean as a whistle, and so far, he's not been touched by Bharara's investigations, which also took down Shelly Silver and Dean Skelos. But now, the investigations have closed in on people who are extremely close to the Governor, who are huge donors, who are actively involved in the Buffalo Billion and in the other signature projects that came from the Gov's porkfest, the Regional Economic Development Councils.

I suspect Cuomo may be having a little more trouble sleeping at night.

Grains of Salt (v8): Fitzing Around

Onondaga County's DA-for-Life, William Fitzpatrick, is investigating Syracuse's City Hall and Stephanie Miner, our term-limited mayor, for allegedly attempting to influence people's opinions against a tax deal for a developer who has been given exclusive rights to make the Syracuse Inner Harbor pretty.

Miner prefers that developer candy baskets include specific hiring requirements for city residents, among other things, and defends (too fiercely, many think) city territory on these deals. The mayor challenged this one because COR Development, the company in question, went straight to  the Onondaga County Industrial Development Agency  instead of to the Syracuse Industrial Development Agency, because they anticipated a friendlier reception - and they got one.

Miner sued, saying that COR promised not to seek a PILOT on the Inner Harbor project; the judge didn't buy it, and tossed her lawsuit. Fitzpatrick is investigating to see if there was undue influence by City Hall on legislators or other witnesses, or on public opinion generally. (Note that there was apparently some attempt to influence, as noted by the discovery of a letter to the editor that was 'signed' by five religious leaders, some of whom were surprised to see their names in the paper. Comically, or sadly, all of the local judges recused themselves from the case.)

COR Development once had close ties with Miner, and has a connection with the mayor's husband and his family; the company still has close ties with OnJoanie Mahoney, only the third county executive in Onondaga's history, and perhaps the last, depending on what happens with the Consensus Commission's recommendations to merge government functions between the city and the county.

It was this same developer who was in on the plans to build a half-a-billion-dollar stadium for Syracuse University - in the city - and we know that the plan was not discussed with the mayor in advance of it being announced, and eventually was not given the green light. The property where the stadium was to have been built remains basically undeveloped by COR at this time; all of the grand plans for the Loguen's Crossing development pre-stadium debacle have not yet been realized, nor has any real intent to act on them, as far as anyone knows.

The developer is also huge supporter of our Sonofa Governor Andrew Cuomo, giving a couple hundred thou to his 2014 campaign, and benefiting by having millions of dollars in contracts associated with the Sonofa Guv's gimmicky economic development programs around the state come their way. That includes right here in our own back yard where they have - you guessed it - exclusive rights to develop things like the 'nano-center' where we have a movie production studio generating some jobs, and a new LED lighting manufacturer which will bring in a few hundred more.

Those deals came about through COR's relationship with the Gov, er I mean through their interactions with the SUNY Polytechnic Institute. SUNY Poly is heavily involved in the "Buffalo Billion" project, a shining star in Cuomo's portfolio of economic successes.  Parts of the Buffalo Billion, including SUNY Poly, and people associated with it, including a very close former aide to Cuomo, are currently being looked at as part of the ongoing investigation of US Attorney Preet Bharara into politics and ethics in New York.

Bharara, who has already gotten convictions of both former NY Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and former State Assembly Speaker Shelly Silver, has made it clear he's not stopping his investigations even if the Governor's ill-fated and "totally independent" Moreland Commission to investigate corruption in NY's government was nipped in the bud when it apparently got too close to Cuomo, his donors, media partners, and so on.

I say 'apparently' that's why it was nipped in the bud, because pretty much everyone thinks that -- reporters, Bharara, and most New Yorkers, except maybe the members of the State Legislature; they're glad the Commission is out of their hair, and I don't think they care why.

One person who doesn't think that, though, is Fitzpatrick, who was one of the three co-chairs of the Commission (OnJoanie was also a member) and who suggested in emails that were uncovered that "the Second Floor" (the Sonofa Guv's home base in Albany) needed to understand what "independent" meant. Many people took that as suggesting at least some level of meddling, but apparently that was not the case.

Because the Commission asserted in court papers that it was fully independent, only a couple of months before it was unceremoniously shut down by the Governor, who pretended that his objectives on ethics reform were met through the budget negotiation process. Bharara noted that the shutdown didn't really pass the smell test. He ordered the Commission to preserve all papers and then, a few months later, let people know he would not take kindly to attempts by the Second Floor to influence any of the now former Commission members into painting a rosy picture of things when that was likely not the case.

And who was one of the Commission members who made glowing statements about the independence of the Commission, noting that no one can push him around and make him drop something he was interested in looking at, oh no siree?  None other than our very own DA,  Bill Fitzpatrick.

Heads spinning as we try and sort out this plate of spaghetti, we're Fitzing around here in Syracuse, fingers pointing, accusations and denials flowing like wine, he saids and she saids and who remembers and who signed and who didn't and who told on who and, frankly, for what?

Absent a smoking gun in Syracuse's City Hall, I would be confused as to how the Mayor's attempts to influence public opinion about a tax deal are really any different than Fitzpatrick's attempt to influence public opinion about an independent ethics commission?

They're both elected officials, speaking to constituents (many of whom don't like them) about things that any number of their constituents don't like or don't believe, and about which many people couldn't care less.

Do we want honest politicians? Of course we do. Do we want to uncover corruption? Sure we do. Would it be better if the person doing the investigating was not someone who has long-standing issues with the folks he's investigating? Of course it would.  Is that likely to happen here?

Nope.

More Term Limits, Please.

Governor Cuomo is using his executive budget-making powers to force the legislature into a corner on ethics reform. Among other things, according to his 30-day budget amendments, he would:

• eliminate the $172 per diem paid to each legislator when they're in Albany, and instead have them file expense reports just like state employees are required to do;
• disclose all outside income over $1,000; not allow any compensation in connection with a bill or resolution; not refer lobbyists to any business the lawmaker is affiliated with; require lawyers, real estate agents and some others to provide a description for and the source of compensation; disclose any compensation of over $5,000 from a client/customer, as well as disclosing who the client/customer is, the work performed, and whether the services were related to any pending legislation; 
• change the rules so that pensions can be forfeited by those folks who were elected before the pension forfeiture law was passed in 2011; and make it possible for prosecution of legislators for filing a false instrument (such as their disclosure statement), including a ban on holding office for five years or more;
• expand the disclosure requirements on communications made with a certain number of days of a general, special, or primary election.

These budget amendments are in addition to or add clarity to changes the Sonofa Gov outlined earlier in February. And, in theory, these changes are fine.  I'm all for disclosure, and I've long been a proponent of eliminating the per diem  After all, we pay these folks $79,000+ per year; do we also have to pay them for showing up?

I have a few issues, however, with his approach.  This is the same governor, after all, who set up a fake Moreland Commission on ethics, and shut it down as soon as it got close to his end of the hall.  He's ignoring existing ethics venues that are already in place, which he could easily work to strengthen rather than ignoring them.

Further, I have a strong distaste for politicians who link unrelated items together (ethics and the state budget?) and for those who think that they're more important than the process as a whole, which is exactly what Cuomo is doing. I mean, what's your tolerance for a CEO who threatens to shut down the whole shebang if he doesn't get his way?

And have we been shown, in any way at all, that ethics reform is more important than the business of New York?  I don't believe we have.

Not only that, but his changes don't get at the heart of the issue, which is this: entrenched politicians, the ones who are around year after year after decade after decade, are really the cause of the ethics problem. It's the power that goes with all of that time in office, the power which is so attractive to outside influencers, and so susceptible to outside influence. If you have no power, you're harder to bribe.

Someone like Shelly Silver, for example, with his decades-long career, his big staff, fancy office, ability to bring legislation to the floor (or keep it from the floor), the ability to 'motivate' other members of the legislature to go along, and in return get nice assignments, bigger lulus, and so on -- that's the guy you want to have your hooks in if you're unethical, or as some like to say, "playing by the rules."

How do we stop them? Term limits.

Itemizing campaign contributions is good, eliminating the per diem is good, forfeiting pensions is good, but those things won't stop the madness that is inherent with entrenched politicians.

These were not intended to be lifetime jobs; people who think they are, are the problem.  And when they've been there so long that even the strongest made-in-New-York shoe horn is not enough to shake them loose, we need more than Cuomo's suggested reforms.

We need term limits. We need level playing fields so that all of the people who are elected to serve have a chance to do that, on equal footing with their gentle brothers and sisters from districts across the state.  We can no longer continue to have the system turned on its head by people who are allowed to stick around forever, who accumulate and wield a ridiculous amount of power based simply on longevity.

As we learned in seventh or eight grade, power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely.

More term limits, please.

The Sonofa Gov Strikes Again

Andrew Cuomo has been a very busy man these past few weeks. He was pretty quiet after winning reelection in November, but he's been making some noise of late.

Photo credit: Cuomo's bio

First, he got himself engaged in the 'negotiations' over a possible pay raise for the state Legislature, trying to obtain additional concessions on ethics.  That effort failed, probably for the best; I don't know about you, but I don't believe that the Gov should be the decider on whether our elected officials in Albany deserve a raise.

He had his year-end press conference, where it was announced that fracking was a no-go for New York. That decision crushed the hopes of many in the Southern Tier, they of course being the folks under which the majority of the frackable gas resides, and the ones who can see Pennsylvania's fracking growth from their porches.

And there was the announcement by the Gaming Facilities Location Board (GFLB) letting us know who the winners were in the contest to build new casinos.  Three were authorized: one in the Catskills, one in Schenectady, and the third in the town of Tyre, near Waterloo, in Seneca County. The casino decision was another blow to our neighbors down south; the winner for "Southern Tier - Finger Lakes" region ended up not being in the Southern Tier.

Cuomo, who deflected credit (and blame) for the fracking and casino decisions, tried to say that neither had anything to do with politics and that he wasn't involved. The fracking decision was made based on science, and the casino location decision was entirely up to the GFLB; his hands were clean on both. Not surprisingly, a lot of people didn't believe him, given his record of similar statements on the 'independent'  Moreland Commission.

Now, Cuomo has stepped up with a letter to his, I mean 'the' Gaming Commission, looking to have a reopened bidding process for a casino in the 'true Southern Tier.'  At this point, the only bidder from the 'true' region is Tioga Downs, as a rival in Broome County will support the Tioga package if bidding is reopened. Cuomo suggests there might be national interest as well, although with a saturated market and casinos closing in Atlantic City, that may be as likely as the odds of winning the jackpot on a single pull on a slot machine.

However, since the Sonofa Governor has decided that we need a casino in the Southern Tier, it merely remains to be seen how he will make that happen. Maybe as part of the budget negotiations next spring? Say, a pay raise for the legislators if they pass some special bill for Tioga? Maybe he'll promise to stay away from any more ethics legislation if they go along with a win for the Downs?  It would probably serve us well to remember that the house always wins - and in this case, the 'house' is the Governor's Mansion.

And yesterday, Cuomo vetoed his own legislation delaying the implementation of teacher evaluations which included Common Core scores.  Cuomo says it was because there's no need for this particular legislation, given that just about every teacher in New York was rated as effective or higher.  He's now promising 'comprehensive reforms' in teacher evaluations next year. And we can trust that these reforms are because we need them, and not at all tied to the failure of NYSUT, the teacher's union, to support Cuomo's re-election bid.

We can trust him on all of these decisions, right?  Right?

Primary Post-mortem: #AskCuomo

In the end, the result was expected, even if the numbers were better than expected.

Andrew Cuomo, New York's Sonofa Gov, handily won the primary battle with Zephyr Teachout, with about 327,000 votes to her 185,000. Those who thought that Teachout, the law school professor, would barely make a dent were wrong, it turned out. She outright won 24 counties; who knows what would have happened if more people had voted.

Cuomo was barely visible during the primary season, other than going to the State Fair here in Syracuse and the Labor Day Parade in New York City. A thoroughly entrenched incumbent with dozens of millions of dollars at the ready, I'd be surprised if he spent as much of his own campaign funds during the entire primary season as I spend in one week feeding My Sweet Baboo and our cats.

All of the ads, all of the mail, everything I saw was paid for by the state Democratic Party -- a state party which apparently believes we here in Syracuse should be as enamored of the Buffalo Billion as are folks in Erie County, and should be thrilled with Cuomo for everything he's done for Western New York; I guess we can only wait to see whether the campaign mail is more reflective of us here in CNY between now and November, and to see what comes our direction once his second term gets into full swing, especially since he and Syracuse Mayor Stephanie Miner have made amends.

Zephyr Teachout had almost no money yet still managed to reinvigorate the left wing of the party, and actually made them feel like they belonged again. I think that was really the point of her campaign: the Democratic Party is big enough to welcome traditional Dems along side the 'new Cuomo' Dems, if you will, even the ones who sometimes come across looking more like Republicans to the libs.

Beyond fracking and wage equality and what not, Teachout and I had the same bone to pick with the governor. We want honest politicians who do not take advantage of every available trick of the trade to get elected or to stay in office. We want people who walk the talk of the reforms they pretend to support. We do not want politicians who publicly lament money in politics and then take it in hand over fist, as fast as they possibly can.  My views on election reform and campaign finance reform are out there for anyone who wants to pay attention. Andrew Cuomo doesn't.

His handling of the Moreland Commission was atrocious. His heavy handed approach to getting people to go along with the limited campaign reforms passed this past April is reminiscent of the actions that got Texas Governor Rick Perry arrested. They are not the actions of an ethical politician, one who sleeps easy at night because he's doing the right thing. But he doesn't pay attention to anyone on those subjects, either.

Cuomo's failure to debate Teachout - in sharp contrast to dad Mario's primary race against Ed Koch -- showed his disdain for the primary process very clearly. In response to a reporter's question on whether not debating was a disservice to democracy, he gave us this gem:

I've been in many debates that I think were a disservice to democracy, so anybody who says debates are always a service to democracy hasn't watched all the debates that I've been in.

I think most of us would have taken the risk on that; we would have liked to see the two square off on the issues, to truly see where they differed and where the heart of the party really lies. Instead, we're left with the #AskCuomo hashtag, which was used with both insight and humor during the last couple weeks of her campaign. And with this thank you message from Zephyr Teachout.

And Cuomo? Well, he can now waltz towards a November victory against Rob Astorino, the Westchester County Republican and sacrificial lamb the state Republicans chose when His Hairness, the blowhard Donald Trump bailed on them. That, too, went the way just about everyone expected, save a few county Republican chairmen who actually fell for his bluster.

Hopefully we'll see #AskCuomo throughout the inevitable second term. It's the least we can do, I think, to keep the pressure on, to help nudge the Governor in the direction he so wants us to believe he wants to go.

Questions for Zephyr Teachout

Fordham University law professor Zephyr Teachout seems to be having the time of her life in her primary campaign against our Sonofa Gov, Andrew Cuomo. There's been a lot of attention, much of which is pro-Zephyr, not just anti-Andy. I find that encouraging; it's easy to support someone new simply out of dislike of the other guy.

AP photo/Hans Pennink

I would love a debate between Cuomo and Teachout.

It's important that incumbents don't sit on their high horses (or, in Cuomo's case, in another country) during the primary season, ignoring their challengers, and the voters.

We deserve better.

The only sure thing is that I will be voting in the primary on September 9th - right now my vote's up for grabs.  And on the likely chance that we won't get a debate, here are some questions for Zephyr Teachout.

(1) Economic Development:
Your position on economic development touches four points: economic fairness, having a 21st century Internet, stopping consolidation, and infrastructure.

You note that you would push to increase the minimum wage, pointing out that Cuomo's increase (implemented incrementally over three years) did not go far enough. I admit to some discomfort with, say, doubling the minimum wage without making changes to all wages.  But let's agree that the minimum wage should be higher, and should get there faster than 2016.

Would you leave in place the minimum wage reimbursement credit that is paid to businesses to cover a sizable portion of the hourly increase, or should businesses pay the fair wage on their own?

As part of economic fairness, you reference Cuomo's focus on big business, specifically changes in the corporate income tax, the estate tax, and certain taxes paid by banks.  However, you did not mention one of Cuomo's economic development achievements, the Start-UP NY, or Tax Free NY program, which allows new companies to come to New York, plop down near a SUNY Campus or a designated private college or university and get a pass on sales, property or business taxes. And their employees don't have to pay state income taxes for 10 years.

Clearly, this program is not fair to existing companies and their employees, including those companies who can expand into these tax-free zones, as long as they maintain their existing workforce.  And of course we've been promised that the shirt-changing, game-playing of similar programs from the past will not happen this time.

Given your stated preference for economic fairness, would you continue this program as-is, continue it with changes that make the playing field more level and fair for existing companies, the ones that do pay sales, property and business taxes, and their employees who are required to pay income tax, or would you scrap this program all together and do something else to promote development, increase employment, and encourage growth? If the answer is scrap it, describe what you would do to engage businesses to come to - or stay in - New York? 

You also reference infrastructure and expanding competition, rather than consolidating it, as other key components of your economic development platform. I agree with you both on the critical need for all New Yorkers to have affordable, reliable access to high speed Internet and on disapproving of the Comcast - TimeWarner merger.

Here in my neck of the woods, the infrastructure issues that are of greatest concern are the deteriorating condition of roads, bridges, and our water delivery system. We have streets in desperate need of repair in our central business districts and our neighborhoods, and not enough time or money to fix all of them. Syracuse had the dubious distinction of making NY Times this past February, with our 100+ water main breaks just in the first six weeks of the year. Our water delivery infrastructure is decades-old  and acts it, in an ornery and cantankerous fashion. Whenever a main breaks, there are not only issues with a lack of water for the impacted area, but the ripple effect, pardon the pun, is extensive AND expensive for local businesses, employees, and customers.

In addition to having New York companies work on New York infrastructure, and restoring infrastructure funds 're-purposed' for the state's general fund, what assistance can local municipalities expect from the state to help correct these critical infrastructure issues?

Another 'up here' issue is the effort to get some sort of high speed passenger rail service along the Empire Corridor, a route that generally follows the path of the existing Interstate network from Buffalo and Niagara Falls to NYC.  How much use this high speed rail system might get depends on how fast the trains go, where they stop, how often they run, and of course how (and how much) work will be done to separate existing passenger and freight lines, which everyone seems to blame for Amtrak trains travelling more slowly than cars on the Thruway. 

Regular infrastructure problems -- roads and bridges, water delivery, broadband access - these are all people problems, they're fiscal problems, and they're future growth and development problems. And as you note they're public health and safety issues as well, in light of the problems experienced after Hurricane Sandy (and I'd add Super Storm Irene as well). Those storms opened our eyes to a whole other set of infrastructure and service delivery issues which have not effectively been addressed. 

How do you prioritize these issues?  Is attention going to be paid first to NYC, the MTA and the Sandy fallout, and let the upstate chips fall where they may?  Or can you fund critical priorities in both areas without breaking the bank or our collective financial back?

(2) Energy:
You support a full and fast ban on fracking, and an end to the dance around the issue, which I cynically believe is designed to prevent a decision from occurring during a Cuomo administration. Many residents in the Southern Tier, who see the economic boom happening across the border in Pennsylvania, not only want a decision now, but they want a 'full steam ahead' decision, now.

What industry or industries do you feel could provide similar economic impact as fracking, but without the risk to the environment? 

You also note that we need large-scale public works programs to help us retrofit existing structures, from public buildings to gas stations, to improve energy efficiency and reduce costs.

Do you envision a modern-day Works Progress Administration (WPA) for the unemployed and able-bodied people in the safety net?

(3) Clean, fair and open elections:
I agree with most of your positions on campaign finance reform, including limiting the amount that can be contributed, closing the LLC loophole, and the unfettered use of housekeeping accounts. I would go farther on this issue, however.

Do you support term limits for those who serve at the state level, including members of the Legislature, the Governor, Attorney General, Comptroller, and so on, with a maximum combined 12 years in state elected office?

Would you support campaign finance laws that require donations only from residents of the legislative district where applicable, meaning no out-of-state funds, and no out-of-district funds for legislative seats as well as seats at the county, town and village level?

Would you apply the same limits to unions (public employee groups as well as others) as you would on corporations? 

I also agree that we need to reboot the Moreland Commission, but I have a concern with the make-up of the committee, particularly the fact that eleven of the commissioners are elected District Attorney, including two of the three commission chairs. I'm not convinced that these folks are any more pure than the others, who as you point out, may not be doing anything "technically illegal" but are "epitomizing legal corruption."

Would you consider reinstating and fully funding a Moreland Commission that did not include any elected officials as members?

(4) Guns and gun control:
Governor Cuomo, with the help of liberal Dems and moderate Republicans, passed the NY SAFE Act, which includes a host of changes to New York's gun laws, including ammunition limitations, more background checks, increased penalties for gun crimes (including those impacting first responders), and tries to keep guns out of the hands of those with mental illnesses. It also touches on Internet sales, the permitting process and school safety.

The SAFE Act has been widely derided by legal experts, police departments, fraternal police organizations, gun clubs, politicians in office an out, just about all of the 62 county legislatures in the state, and many ordinary New Yorkers. At the same time, even strongly pro-gun folks can find agreement with much of what's included in the law, as we all can disagree with the heavy-handed method in which the law was passed.

In addition, many counties have a significant backlog in the processing of handgun permits, which some feel is one more violation of their 2nd Amendment rights (on top of the SAFE Act itself).

Explain your position on gun control, and what if anything would your administration would do with the SAFE Act -- leave it alone, scrap it and start over, or modify it?  Please provide details if you would make changes to or scrap the current program. 

I keep thinking of other questions, but I have to save some for whoever ends up facing Rob Astorino.

Overall, I see many areas where Teachout and I share positions, and some where we don't. I like that we have a choice, and I'm a firm believer in the primary process.  I just wish our current governor was more of a believer.

I'll keep you posted on any responses I receive.

20 Questions, 20 Answers

Today's Post Standard editorial, It's Time to Play 20 Questions, is an open invitation for all of us to have a little fun.  It doesn't matter whether you're happy and optimistic, or a miserable, cynical skeptic; as a city resident, county resident or even an out-of-towner, you can chime in. Full disclaimer: in general I resemble at least few of those categories above: I'll admit to being an optimistic if skeptical city resident, at the very least. Answering the questions might put me in some different buckets, we'll see.

Here goes:
1. Is $17,000 to keep the bathrooms clean at the New York State Fair really an excessive expenditure when you figure in the number of bathrooms (about 40), the length of the Fair (12 days) and the loudness of the complaints when the bathrooms are disgusting and run out of toilet paper?

If you've ever been in one of the Fair bathrooms, you'll know that this is money well spent. Those 40 bathrooms have a potential customer base of between 50,000 and 100,000 users per day, and it's worth it to have someone supervise the people hired to clean them. And no, I'm not interested, at any price. 

2. Is Onondaga County government just being super-efficient -- kind of like the private sector -- in its super-speedy review of plans to build an amphitheater on the west shore of Onondaga Lake?

I have to admit, it was hard not to chuckle at the comments from Legislature Chair Ryan McMahon who noted that "This is the first time in my nine years in government, people have been criticized for moving too fast in government."  Apparently he's forgotten about the stadium project, which Onondaga County tried to get shoehorned into the Governor's budget without including Stephanie Miner?  

I would love to see the square wooden wheels of government turn more quickly, on several things -- most notably reform, consolidation and spending -- but when you're talking about $30 million taxpayer dollars to build a seasonal amphitheater on top of decades-old waste beds, in the backyard of the snowiest major city in the Northeast, is time really of the essence?

3. Or is Onondaga County Government trying to ram the project through while nobody's looking?

Yes. And not for nothing, I'm as interested in the comments from concert promoters as I am in the environmental impact statement.  "If you build it, they will come" might have worked in an Iowa cornfield, but I'm not convinced that it will work here, given all of the other entertainment venues that are available within an easy drive.

4.  Why hasn't Attorney General Eric Schneiderman said anything about the implosion of the Moreland Commission to Investigate Public Corruption, whose members he deputized as special prosecutors?

Um, because he's as culpable in the failure of the Moreland Commission as our Sonuva Governor? Do you think he realizes that he dropped the ball, by not "talking to people" on the Commission, by not making suggestions to and meeting with the commissioners, including our own DA-for-Life William Fitzpatrick?  Or is it because he'll do just about anything to stay away from Cuomo at this point, since the two have long had a fractious relationship?

5.  What will the Syracuse University student -- the one who helped design an app to warn Israelis when rockets are about to fall on their heads -- come up with next?

Maybe he can warn us when the drones referenced in #13 are about to fly over our heads? 

6.  Why hasn't anyone built a glass-enclosed party palace in downtown Syracuse before now?

Lack of vision and lack of downtown momentum. Glad we've overcome both!

7.  Where are the Syracuse Chiefs fans -- considering the team is in the thick of a playoff picture, there's a ton of fun off the field and they're giving away a funeral this coming Wednesday, August 13th?

I'm still not convinced on that whole funeral give-away. That said, I haven't been to a Chiefs game since Josh Beckett did a rehab start for the Pawtucket Red Sox. I found my pictures from that night and guess what? There were about as many empty seats as filled seats, even for Beckett.

Now, had you asked me when that game was, I would have guessed a generic 'couple of years ago' --  but in fact, it was in July of 2010.  I had no idea it was that long ago.

I'm not a Chiefs fan, but what the heck's wrong with me that I haven't been to a game in more than four years?  That's a question most of us should ask ourselves.

8. Why is it taking so long to reconstruct West Fayette Street downtown?

The answer is 42. 

9.  Will Syracuse University get more applicants, now that it's been anointed the No. 1 party school in the nation?

Perhaps the better question is, how many folks will leave after the first semester when they realize that the ranking is unwarranted? And will they transfer to LeMoyne "we may be Jesuit but..." College, where at least they have Dolphy Day?

10.  Did President Barack Obama really think he could avoid being dragged back into Iraq?

Maybe he thought he'd be impeached first and wouldn't have to deal with it? On a more serious note, do we always have to go where others fear (or fail) to tread? Must we always be the world's police? Is our manifest destiny to continually try and secure the destiny of others? And how do we sit back and watch our ally Israel cause similar damage against Hamas in Gaza killing hundreds of innocent men, women and children in the process, at the same time we bomb others who cause the same carnage, albeit for different reasons?  Maybe 42 is the answer here as well. 

11. When is a political endorsement from a union not a political endorsement from a union? (Ask Dan Maffei and John Katko).

His uncle and my aunt were hanging up clothes. My union folded, it joined one of those. They support the other guy, so I had nowhere to go, but to throw my support to Cousin Katko. Or something like that, if Timothy Hogan spoke in verse.  

12. What is it with professional athletes and domestic violence?

From the time they're in junior high school, or even earlier, when they get discovered in Pop Warner or AAU leagues, promising athletes become a prized commodity; they're told they're special, and many are given special treatment, as soon as it's possible for someone to do so. Whether having female 'escorts' (wink wink) to them when they're college recruits, or not having to go to class, take tests or write papers, or being excused for sexual assault as high schoolers, or free clothes and all the rest, we show and tell athletes that they're special and all the rest of us are throw-aways, just like an old pair of free sneakers. Sadly, many of them learn that lesson more readily than all of the other critical life lessons that are right in front of them. 

And no, I'm not excusing the athletes' behavior, I'm complaining about the enablers, the ones who sweep bad behavior under the rug to make sure that (enter athlete's name) gets to play on (enter day of the week) in the big game against (enter key rival's name).  

And about league commissioners who put a higher price on smoking pot than on hitting a woman and then dragging her from an elevator.  

13.  With drones poised to start flying over Central New York, how soon before the fist invasion of privacy lawsuit is filed?

As soon as soybeans, corn, and wheat achieve personhood, or corporation-hood, and obtain free speech rights.

14.  Why can't Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand fly coach like the rest of us?

Good lord, is Chuck 'Touchdown' Schumer wearing those crazy astronaut diapers on his trips around the state?  He pays almost $300,000 to fly around on a plane that doesn't even have a bathroom? 

15.  Would it really be unethical to give experimental drugs to people dying of Ebola?

Ethical questions are supposed to be tough, and to me this one is. Would it be right to experiment on third-world people with the experimental drug, which might not even work? If it's wrong for us to have done that over the years with prisoners,blacks, mentally ill and the poor,how can it be right to do it now? And is it even necessary to do that, since traditional methods, if employed effectively, work effectively?  I think I'm on the 'yes' side of this one. I think.

16.  Can you believe it's football season already?

No. I sure hope my 49er's are ready. And I can't wait for us to get rolling with Scott Shafer press conferences after SU games.

17.  Who will be the next USA Basketball player to quit, after that gruesome injury to Paul George?

Can't say who will be next, don't know enough about it. But if the pros are afraid to play for fear they'll get hurt, perhaps with a career-ending injury, that leaves college kids. If they get afraid of maybe getting hurt before their NBA careers even start, will the USA be left fielding teams of walk-ons and high-school kids against the pros who compete with us (on our favorite teams) during the season and against us in international play? That would stink. 

18. Would today's hyper-partisan Congress have impeached Richard Nixon?

I can't imagine that they would have. Nor, if he was President now, that Nixon would resign. Back then, doing something for the good of the country meant something. Now, not so much. 

19.  Will we ever come to a consensus on Interstate 81?

I'm afraid our conversation will reach the end of its useful life about the same time the highway does.  At the same time, though, I'm glad that voices are being heard and that DOT is listening.  (Ryan McMahon, pay attention...)

20.  The State Fair is almost here.  Where did summer go?

A good portion of it went (as always) to work, weeding, and writing.  This year, we have to add in widing our bikes and dodging waindwops.

How would you have answered the questions? Share your responses in the comments.