33rd State Senate Race Update No First Name

   It has come to our attention that the petition of 33rd State Senate candidate J. Gustavo Rivera is being challenged for having no first name. It appears that the name of the candidate on the petition does not match the name on the voter registration form (VRF), which lists the name as Jose G. Rivera. 

   Could it be that this Jose Rivera did not want his name mixed up with that of 78th Assemblyman Jose Rivera, and not have people say that they already signed for Jose Rivera or did not live in his district?

   Having checked the petition for J. Gustavo Rivera and the VRF of Jose G. Rivera it appears that there is no first name on the petition for senate candidate Rivera, and that should knock him off the ballot. If this is a fatal mistake for Mr. Rivera it is inexcusable as his clam to fame is his political experience in helping many candidates (including State Senators and President Obama) win their elections.

   Now for the political magic, we have been told that Mr. J. Gustavo Rivera filed some sort of change to his VRF on June 4th 2010. We called the NYC Board of Elections to ask how long any change takes to be listed on the permanent VRF, and we were told three to four weeks. Our check of Mr. J. Gustavo Rivera's VRF was done on August 2nd two months later and the name on the VRF is the same as before Jose G. Rivera.

Charlie Rangel Update

   Democrats were trying to make a deal where as Congressman Charlie Rangel was to get only a slap on the wrist, but that did not fly with house Republicans who want to use Rangel as their poster boy as to why to vote Republican in 2010. While the 13 charges were read into the house record Rangel is still playing it cool. It is expected that with the somewhat weak field of contenders that Rangel should be reelected this year. 

   One Manhattan Democrat who is sticking with Rangel is Manhattan Democratic County Leader Assemblyman Keith Wright. It appears that Wright who made an appearance at the Bronx county dinner last month could be next in line for Rangels seat should Rangel decide to retire soon after winning congressional reelection for the Manhattan and very small part of the Bronx seat.

Could The 33rd State Senate Race, Be Down to Two Candidates?

  We have been told that there are serious defects to the petition of  J. Gustavo Rivera for the 33rd State Senate District. These claims come from two separate sources and are of a different nature. Both sources claim that they will have candidate Rivera knocked off the ballot for the September Democratic Primary. in the 33rd District. These challenges to the petition will be heard on Tuesday, and we don't want to speculate on them as of now because we can not substantiate or deny the charges. 

   On first glance however this could wind up a two person race in the 33rd State Senate District between incumbent Pedro Espada Jr. and challenger Dan Padernacht. We have seen similar instances where this has happened to invalidate items on a petition.

Elections Update

   Having been at the New York City Board of Elections headquarters where the hearings on the specifications filed against candidates running are being heard the past two days, this will continue on Tuesday August 3rd as all hearings were not finished today as scheduled.

  Today Board of Elections commissioners ruled that a few of the candidates being challenged are to remain on the ballot, and of note today Board commissioners ruled 80th Assembly candidate Robert Guiffree on the ballot, however candidate Guifree still faces a court challenge to be heard on Tuesday afternoon. Mr. Guifree was angered by what he called trying to tie him up at the Board of Elections and in court. Guifree added "that the voters of the 80th Assembly District will know about this".

   On another note former Queens State Senator Hiram Monserrate's petition for Assembly was ruled valid by the Board of Elections commissioners after being challenged. Mr. Frank Bolz attorney for the challenger of the Monserrate petition said aloud that "the petition was safe for now, but won't be after the hearing in court next week".

Senator and Weill Cornell Community Clinic to Provide Free Screenings for Bronx Residents

   State Senator and Deputy Majority Leader Jeff Klein (D-Bronx/Westchester) and Weill Cornell Community Clinic will provide free heart health screenings to Bronx Residents on Saturday, July 30th at the Throggs Neck Community Center at Throggs Neck Houses.  At the event, which will run from 8:30AM-12:0PM, community members can have their blood pressure and cholesterol tested, and be screened for diabetes. Physicians will be on hand to provide referrals and recommendations based on individuals’ screenings, and to answer any questions. 

  The screenings will be on Saturday, July 31^st starting at 9:30AM at the Throggs Neck Community Center 550 Balcom Ave, Bronx.

Update on 33rd State Senate Race

  Fernando Tirado was declared off the ballot for the 33rd State Senate today by the Board of Elections. The Board of Elections ruled that the challenge by Mr. Steve Balicer had placed Mr. Tirado's petition at 736 valid signatures when 1000 valid signatures were needed to be a candidate for state senate. It is not known at this time what Mr. Tirado is going to do, that being to try to validate his petition through the courts or wind up endorsing one of the other candidates in the 33rd State Senate race. 

   In other 33rd Senate District news, we received this from the Pedro Espada camp.

STATEMENT FROM DANIEL PAGANO, ELECTION LAW ATTORNEY FOR STATE SENATE MAJORITY LEADER PEDRO ESPADA, JR. WHO IS CHALLENGING THE PETITION SIGNATURES FILED BY GUSTAVO RIVERA

"Everyone seeking to be placed on the September Democratic primary ballot has a lawful obligation to submit valid petition signatures to the Board of Elections. Upon line-by-line scrutiny and review of Mr. Gustavo Rivera’s petitions, we have found considerable evidence that the petition signatures Mr. Rivera filed with the Board of Elections are invalid.   We respectfully believe these petitions do not meet the legal requirements” said Daniel Pagano, the election law attorney for State Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr. who is challenging Rivera’s petitions.

“Our challenge to his petitions is good government at work. If Mr. Rivera’s petition signatures can’t stand up to scrutiny and meet election law standards, then they are invalid, and he deserves to be removed from the ballot because he is not a valid candidate, ”  Pagano said.  

City Council Majority Supports Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act

   Momentum Grows for Living Wages in Publicly Subsidized Development

   The Living Wage NYC Campaign announced today that a majority of New York City Council members have now signed on in support of the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act (Intro 251) requiring developers who receive major taxpayer-funded subsidies to pay at least a living wage for the permanent jobs they create.

   "Reaching this majority shows that when City Council Members are faced with a clear choice about what type of economic development our tax dollars should support, one that keeps people in poverty or one that provides a path to the middle class and supports our communities, they will make the right choice. The majority has decided that public subsidies must be used to create permanent living wage jobs," said Rev. Sekou,  a member of the Living Wage NYC Coalition from the Micah Institute.

   Every year New York City spends billions of taxpayer dollars to subsidize development and create jobs. Too often the permanent jobs created with these public subsidies pay poverty wages with no benefits -- whether it's retail and stockroom jobs at shopping centers, mailroom jobs in office buildings, or food service jobs at stadiums.

   Under the bill, the living wage will start at $10.00 per hour - the same as under New York City's existing living wage law. Employees who are not covered by an employer-provided health plan will receive an additional $1.50 per hour wage supplement to help them purchase their own health insurance.  Both the living wage and the health benefits supplement will be adjusted each year to keep pace with the rising cost of living.

   Reaching the 26-vote threshold needed to pass the Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act adds to the momentum for a citywide policy to guarantee fair wages on subsidized development projects. The Fair Wages for New Yorkers Act will lay out clear expectations for developers and help speed economic growth that  will create jobs that benefit all New Yorkers.

   More than 15 cities have enacted such legislation and they have found that these policies create quality jobs for local residents without slowing growth. New York City is behind the times on this issue and, as a result, our publicly subsidized developments are keeping people in poverty-wage jobs, rather than providing them with opportunities to get ahead.     

Will The New York Budget Ever Be Finalized?

   In what is being called A Charade by Senate GOP leader Dean Skelos, it took only 15 minutes for the latest Special Session of the New York State Senate to end. “We are now almost in August and the Senate Democrats refuse to complete the budget process,” said Skelos said. "A total failure of leadership. At some point, vote yes, vote no and lets get this done.”

   Nine senators were not present when the Senate was conducting business - five Democrats and four Republicans. The Democrats were Malcolm Smith, George Onerato, Joseph Addabbo, Thomas Duane, and Bill Perkins. Perkins arrived after the session ended, saying that he was running a little late.

   The Assembly fared much better with 78 of the 107 Democrats and 114 members showing up out of a total of 151 members of the assembly.

  Governor David Paterson has called another Special Session of the legislature for today, and has vowed to call special sessions every day until the budget is final.