Spin Cycle
News, views and commentary on Long Island, state and national politics
Unclear if AG will represent Silver in sexual harassment lawsuit
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver said Monday there’s been no final decision on whether the state attorney general will represent him in two sexual-harassment lawsuits filed by former staffers against the speaker and ex-Assemb. Vito Lopez.
The lawsuits, filed in federal and state courts last week, claim that Lopez (D-Brooklyn) routinely groped and harassed young female staffers and that Silver...
Read more »Leaders "close" to sorting out casino proposal
Officials are “very close” to sorting out details of a proposal to site Las Vegas-style casinos but still have no agreements, legislative leaders said after emerging from a 90-minute closed-door meeting with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.
Senate co-leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) said the possibility of allowing off-track betting parlors on Long Island install video slot...
Read more »Boyle won't support abortion proposal
Sen. Phil Boyle, one of two Republicans that groups have been pressuring to back a 10-point “women’s agenda,” said Monday he would not support a controversial part of the proposal that strengthens abortion rights.
Proponents said the proposal merely codifies under state law the abortion rights currently guaranteed on the federal level by the Roe v. Wade court decision. The proposal has been...
Read more »She's got mail: Quirky timing for a Nassau fundraising invite
At the same time Nassau’s ethics board was investigating whether Public Works Commissioner Shila Shah-Gavnoudias had a conflict when she signed off on a $250,000 engineering contract for her sister, the campaign committee for Minority Leader Kevan Abrahams (D-Freeport) was soliciting contributions from her sister.
A letter inviting Carolyn Shah Moehringer, president of CSM Engineering of Uniondale,...
Read more »A face-off over a task force in Southampton
There's no smirking in Hamptons politics.
Southampton Republican Councilwoman Christine Scalera took offense at the facial expression of Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst as a Southampton Town Board work session broke out in accusations.
Scalera proposed the town issue a request for developers who want to remake the Riverside section of Southampton. Throne-Holst, an Independence Party member...
Read more »Nassau: Independence party 'pledge' aligns with Mangano borrowing aim
Photo credit: Celeste Hadrick
Some Nassau legislative candidates were surprised to be handed a “Nassau County good-government pledge” when they arrived at Oheka Castle recently to interview for the Independence Party endorsement this fall.
The pledge basically asks the candidate to support Nassau's borrowing of $305 million to pay overdue property tax refunds as part of a plan to end borrowing by the county to pay for...
Read more »Cuomo 'tax-free' proposal allows LI private colleges' participation
Private colleges on Long Island would have a shot at participating in Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s “tax-free communities” program formally unveiled Monday.
Since kicking off a campaign for it last month, Cuomo has focused on State University of New York campuses and primarily billed it as a boost for upstate. The proposal would allow businesses to build tax-free facilities up to 200,000 square feet...
Read more »Does Cuomo's abortion-rights overture signal doom for bill?
When Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo made a big splash to draw attention to his controversial proposal to strengthen abortion rights, some saw it as a sign of its doom.
At an overflow news conference, the Democrat released it as part of a 10-point “women’s agenda” and demanded a vote by the State Legislature — counter to the stealth approach he used for a property-tax cap and a gun-control law.
“The...
Read more »Nassau: WFP whacks Martins on caterer issue -- but not Suozzi
The Working Families Party has sent mailers around the Nassau district of state Sen. Jack M. Martins (R-Mineola) accusing him of “pay to play” — for collecting contributions from catering companies with a direct financial stake in a bill he’s pushing.
Yet the party also recently endorsed, for county executive, Democrat Thomas Suozzi — who’s a lawyer for the caterers and promotes the same Martins...
Read more »Prominent national Dem from L.I. backs friend Quinn in NYC
Long Islander Robert Zimmerman, a major political fundraiser and Democratic National Committee member, is working the circuit this season for New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn in her mayoral quest.
Neither might have guessed it when they first met 13 years ago.
At the time, the Al Gore presidential campaign sent Quinn, a rookie council member, as surrogate to a meeting of...
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