As we continue our look at the prospects of same-sex marriage, which is in the news again after Gov. Andrew Cuomo met with proponents of the measure, its time to turn our attention toward the vote that would have been cast by Democratic Senator and part-time troll Carl Kruger.
Kruger, one of the four amigos, was also one of the no votes on same-sex marriage when it came up in December of 2009. Now, with his apparent ouster seeming imminent as he turned himself in to the U.S. Attorney's office on Thursday, his vote could be in flux.
This represents a major coup for same-sex advocates, as Kruger's district is heavily democratic. Unfortunately for them, though, the district has a lot of immigrants and is socially conservative, which doesn't bode extremely well for the proposal.
So what does this mean? I would say too soon to tell. As we've covered so far, though, the new votes we have are Zeldin's no and Avella's yes vote.
Showing posts with label Carl Kruger. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Carl Kruger. Show all posts
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
AIM Funds Stir Controversy
One of the recurring topics at Monday's budget hearing was the allocation of Aid and Incentives to Municipalities (AIM) funding, which was cut by two percent to all municipalities, except in New York City, which lost all of its money.
Mayor Bloomberg, Comptroller Liu and member of the New York City Council all struck the same note about the AIM money. They said that after being cut from last year's budget, politicians in the city had been promised that the funds would be restored for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
In his unveiling of the budget, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's position on this money was that the city wasn't entitled to it and that he wasn't cutting their budget because it had been previously withheld. He also noted that the city had many other sources of revenue so they would be able to absorb the hit.
This idea was reiterated by Democratic Member James Brennan, who argued that the city shouldn't have expected this money because of how bad the state's fiscal crisis was. He essentially argued that people shouldn't trust the state when things get tough, because when the goings get tough, the state basically writes checks it can't check.
NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn said the city had to plan on getting the money, or then the state would have had no reason to even consider giving them their funds. "WE would have been chumps not to put it in," said Quinn. She went on to say that the AIM cut was just another example of the state's inequitable treatment of a city that it has taken for granted.
To this point, Quinn warned that it could get worse for the city when the Medicaid Task Force finally reports, because they could disproportionately hurt the city. She said people were talking to the taskforce on behalf of NYC, but revealed that they had no stakeholders for HHC hospitals in the room. "Unfortunately they do not have a seat at the table," she lamented.
Former Finance Chair Carl Kruger expressed his apologies for his failure to deliver on the promise he made while in the majority. "It was our intention for this to be a one-year cut," he said. "That commitment is not being honored...It is being totally ignored."
Mayor Bloomberg, Comptroller Liu and member of the New York City Council all struck the same note about the AIM money. They said that after being cut from last year's budget, politicians in the city had been promised that the funds would be restored for the 2011-2012 fiscal year.
In his unveiling of the budget, Gov. Andrew Cuomo's position on this money was that the city wasn't entitled to it and that he wasn't cutting their budget because it had been previously withheld. He also noted that the city had many other sources of revenue so they would be able to absorb the hit.
This idea was reiterated by Democratic Member James Brennan, who argued that the city shouldn't have expected this money because of how bad the state's fiscal crisis was. He essentially argued that people shouldn't trust the state when things get tough, because when the goings get tough, the state basically writes checks it can't check.
NYC Council Speaker Christine Quinn said the city had to plan on getting the money, or then the state would have had no reason to even consider giving them their funds. "WE would have been chumps not to put it in," said Quinn. She went on to say that the AIM cut was just another example of the state's inequitable treatment of a city that it has taken for granted.
To this point, Quinn warned that it could get worse for the city when the Medicaid Task Force finally reports, because they could disproportionately hurt the city. She said people were talking to the taskforce on behalf of NYC, but revealed that they had no stakeholders for HHC hospitals in the room. "Unfortunately they do not have a seat at the table," she lamented.
Former Finance Chair Carl Kruger expressed his apologies for his failure to deliver on the promise he made while in the majority. "It was our intention for this to be a one-year cut," he said. "That commitment is not being honored...It is being totally ignored."
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Nanny State 3: No Running!
If you live in a city with over 1 million people then I hope you enjoy running with traffic for background noise, because that's the vision of State Senator Carl Kruger, D-Baldmidgetville, who has probably never run a day in his life.
Motivated by three pedestrian deaths in NYC since September, Senate Bill 1945 would restrict the use of electronic devices within a crosswalk in large New York cities.
Kruger's classification of electronic devices includes media players (think I-Pods) and cellphones, on the basis that these things make it impossible for someone to be aware of their surroundings. The bill suggests that just a few seconds could save someone's life.
Additionally, the future law mandates that using the device includes having it in the "immediate proximity" of one's ears.
For risking the lives of pedestrians and motorists, offenders will be charged with a fine of $100.
No word yet on if Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has introduced a companion bill or whether he will just be serving as a crossing guard on every block in his district...
(Look for the bill in the Senate Transportation)
Motivated by three pedestrian deaths in NYC since September, Senate Bill 1945 would restrict the use of electronic devices within a crosswalk in large New York cities.
Kruger's classification of electronic devices includes media players (think I-Pods) and cellphones, on the basis that these things make it impossible for someone to be aware of their surroundings. The bill suggests that just a few seconds could save someone's life.
Additionally, the future law mandates that using the device includes having it in the "immediate proximity" of one's ears.
For risking the lives of pedestrians and motorists, offenders will be charged with a fine of $100.
No word yet on if Assemblyman Felix Ortiz has introduced a companion bill or whether he will just be serving as a crossing guard on every block in his district...
(Look for the bill in the Senate Transportation)
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