BY BRIAN KIERAN “The casual attitude and ease with which 16 APRIL 11 - APRIL 17, 2013 The despicable details of the mayoral race bribery scheme may contain a silver lining. We finally have some bipartisan cooperation between politicians in New York City! Who would have thought a few thousand dollars would prompt Democrats and Republicans to agree on a candidate for mayor in this November’s election. State Senator Malcolm Smith (D-Queens), former majority leader of the State Senate, allegedly tried to pay off Republican Party bosses to get his name on the ballot as the GOP candidate for mayor. Smith, City Councilmember Dan Halloran (R-Queens), Bronx County Republican Party Chairperson Joseph Savino, Queens County Republican Vice Chairperson Vincent Tabone and others were arrested for conspiring to give Smith a shot at City Hall. A cooperating witness provided evidence of bribery and collusion to employ an obscure Election Law rule which would let party officials put a nonparty candidate on their ballot for their party. The federal prosecutors have enough information to prosecute a case of double dealing so foul it would make Boss Tweed blush. The alleged conspirators face long jail sentences if convicted. They are charged with a conspiracy to take bribes from Smith in exchange for an endorsement to place Smith on the GOP ballot for mayor in November. The casual attitude and ease with which these politicians who promised to serve the people joined the conspiracy gives us all good reason to worry about the extent of corruption and unethical behavior in government. It is comforting to know that, when properly motivated, Democrats and Republicans will work together. Kudos to Mr. Bharara, the federal prosecutor, for pursuing these crimes against public integrity. A loud and clear message that this betrayal of the public trust will not be tolerated must be made. In Connecticut, state legislators gave the nation an example of the dedication and hard work that public servants may provide to the people. The elected officials in Hartford worked past midnight in order to hammer out the details of a new state regulation on firearms which includes mandatory background checks for purchasers and a limit on magazine capacities for semiautomatic weapons. This is a reminder that elected officials can truly be leaders when motivated and the Newtown massacre may provide sufficient motivation across the nation to pass similar laws. President Obama is working hard to galvanize the outrage, inspired by the Newtown tragedy, that the majority of Americans feel right now. Most Americans feel that this is the time to enact consistent and sensible firearm regulations on a federal level in order to keep all Americans safe. NRA supporters oppose all proposed changes in the law no matter what change is contemplated. This knee jerk reaction to change is expressed by a complaint that any proposed law is ineffectual and it will not address the safety concerns expressed adequately. The naysayers constantly oppose change but provide no answer themselves to the problem presented. The issue of traffic regulation and pedestrian safety is an important one. In the debate, some unreasonable persons oppose any proposed change while other unreasonable persons propose change merely to satisfy a desire to make it. What our community needs is a consistent and sensible plan to change the present infrastructure to increase safety for pedestrians in Bay Ridge. Another pedestrian death on 86th Street is a powerful argument that something needs to be done now. The placement of speed cameras at strategic locations along problem streets in the community would be an ideal solution to speeding and reckless driving in Bay Ridge. State Senator Golden and Assemblymember Malliotakis must listen to the voice of the people and resurrect the speed camera bill in Albany and adjust it for adoption in Bay Ridge right now. The tired answer that we need absolute proof before we enact any change is a too clever political maneuver unworthy of the question at hand. The time is now. We need action now. Brian Kieran is an attorney who works as a Principal Law Clerk in the Supreme Court of the State of New York in Kings County and is a Democrat. WE THE PEOPLE these politicians who promised to serve the people joined the conspiracy gives us all good reason to worry about the extent of corruption and unethical behavior in government. It is comforting to know that, when properly motivated, Democrats and Republicans will work together. When thieves fall out, honest men come into their own Dirty politics In the days following the State Senator Malcolm Smith/Councilmember Dan Halloran scandal, I read only one piece that I believe answers the question of what Malcolm Smith was thinking. Many have said that it made no sense. What hope would he have of being elected mayor as a Republican? Could he even expect to win a primary against a strong candidate like Joe Lhota? Well, as they say in crime movies, “It was all about the money.” Public financing of the mayoral election — which he would have easy access to with a “Wilson- Pakula,” that would allow him into a Republican primary — was worth around $3.5 million in taxpayer dollars. To get the $3.5 million, he would have to raise around $590,000, but he could have even caused that to make its way back to him through corrupt vendors. And I think it is safe to assume that Smith —who had a checkered history of bankruptcies, lawsuits and serious consumer complaints against his businesses — might know a shady vendor or two. The bottom line is that Smith, in my opinion, is anything but a dumb person, as some have suggested, who got himself entangled in something that he did not completely understand. The transcripts read like a mob movie screenplay and the potential money he could steal is very large — all taxpayer dollars it is worth noting. Smith is not the only elected official being investigated with a tie into public financing. Comptroller John Liu has seen some of his closest campaign aides arrested and now awaiting trial due to campaign finance violations. And the story involving the misuse of taxpayer dollars does not end with public financing. Halloran was, for a price, quite agreeable to giving away to “special friends” taxpayer dollars in the form of member items. The state ended this practice several years ago because of its own scandals and the difficulties in monitoring this type of small distribution. Some not-forprofits folded, but, in reality, if a not-for-profit can only exist on taxpayer dollars, it should not be in business. This is not the first City Council scandal involving member item money. Speaker Quinn, whose management style has come under criticism in the past due to her lax management of these dollars, claimed that she had successfully put in place new checks and balances. Apparently, she was wrong. In so many ways, she reminds me of the old Tammany Hall bosses who held high government positions and used taxpayer dollars to help certain friends in order to gain political advantage. What Quinn and the Council do are perfectly legal, but clearly questionable at best and, as many have said, all too often lead to corruption. Of course, Governor Cuomo until last week was quick to take credit for cleaning up Albany. That too was an overly generous description by his people of his efforts, which more and more often do not stand up well to close review. In any event, the FBI and U.S. attorney’s office must have had a good laugh at his expense. Understandable scandals such as these only further add to a distrust of government and politics that most citizens hold. Obviously, most individuals involved are forthright and honest. But there are certainly some really bad eggs. It’s worth noting that, for all elected officials, their careers begin with the voter at the voting booth. And even the party officials at one point or another are subject to some form of election. If you are disgusted and do not vote, you are not doing your part to make things better. And if you are a regular voter, this could be a wake-up call to look more closely at the candidates. For those involved in party politics, the need to vet candidates better could hardly be more apparent and the need to take seriously who you put in leadership party roles more important. Jerry Kassar is the chairperson of the Kings County Conservative Party. He is a longtime community activist who has served as an officer or member of many organizations. He works for the state of New York. COMMON SENSE “Understandable scandals such as these only further add to a distrust of government and politics that most citizens hold. Obviously, most individuals involved are forthright and honest. But there are certainly some really bad eggs. BY JERRY KASSAR
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