From THE RETURN OF MARTY CONNOR by Elizabeth Benjamin (6/23/09)

"…A short while ago, there was a little confab in the middle of the chamber floor between Shelly Mayer, counsel to the Senate Democrats, Sen. Malcolm Smith and former Minority Leader Marty Connor.

“I believe in an America where the separation of church and state is absolute, where no Catholic prelate would tell the president (should he be Catholic) how to act, and no Protestant minister would tell his parishioners for whom to vote; where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference; and where no man is denied public office merely because his religion differs from the president who might appoint him or the people who might elect him.

I believe in an America that is officially neither Catholic, Protestant nor Jewish; where no public official either requests or accepts instructions on public policy from the Pope, the National Council of Churches or any other ecclesiastical source; where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the general populace or the public acts of its officials; and where religious liberty is so indivisible that an act against one church is treated as an act against all….

Thursday’s NY Times has an amazing story about Curtis Brooks, a self-described “eviction specialist.”

The Times reports on the allegation that Brooks has been forging documents on behalf of a non-existent lawyer to collect fees from landlords to evict people.

Like I said, it’s an amazing story and I won’t repeat all the details but one part jumped out at me.

The U.S. Census Bureau has released 2007 data on the financial status of state and local government pension plans in the U.S. The data is at the state level, and is at present separate from data from the rest of the finance phase of the 2007 Census of Governments, so only limited conclusions may be drawn from it, but I’ve calculated some ratios to see how New York compares. What the data shows is that New York State’s pension plans, and in particular New York City’s pension plans, tend to be on the extreme end compared with other states by a variety of measures. There are more retirees relative to the number of workers in New York. Public employees contribute less to their own pensions here. For New York City, payments to pensioners and others are draining existing assets at an above-average rate. And, perhaps in an attempt to get out of the hole, New York’s plans were among the most highly invested in risky stocks in fiscal 2007.

On June 29th 2007, the last trading day of that fiscal year, the S&P 500 was at 1,505.70, while as I write this it is at about 925, a loss of 38.6%. Based on the assumption that the pension funds earn 8 percent per year, it should be at 1,756 by now starting at June 2007. Then again, starting at June 2000, when that assumption was made by state law, it should be at 2,960, or triple its actual level. It’s based on assumptions like those that all those pension enhancements over the past decade were described as “free.”

I guess neither Bill Hammond of the Daily News, Nicholas Confessore of the Times nor Mike McKee, the lobbyist for tenants are as dumb as Hiram hoped they would be.

My alarm rang at 5:30 AM. I tried to remember why. It was primary day.

Senator Hiram Monserrate, has been giving a series of interviews, in which he constantly repeats the talking point that he was once a Marine and a cop and then tries to explain his wacky behavior of the last week. While I’m glad his defense is not as lame as his defense from the charges that slashed his girlfriend (at least he doesn’t deny he voted with the Republicans!), his statements make no sense.

It is now the ninth day of Albany’s Time of Troubles and we’ve entered the game show phase.

Democrats have put forth a power-sharing agreement, while Republicans are insisting on the bigger share. If they do not decide who is in charge among themselves, a judge may decide it for them.

Democrats are saying “Let’s Make a Deal,” while Republican respond, “Monty, I’d rather see what’s behind door number three.”

The big surprise here is the unexpected willingness of the Democratic Conference, including Leader in Name Only Malcolm Smith, to behave like grown-ups. Looking back, historians may find this to be the one silver lining to this dark cloud reigning forth on our Capitol.

As I write this on Monday morning, Juan Gonzalez of the NY Daily News is reporting that Senator Hiram Monserrate has decided to rejoin the Democrats in Albany.

When I first ran for public office (state assembly) in 1998, I was called for an interview by the Brooklyn leaders of the Independence Political Party; so I showed up. I was reached out to by some people within that party, with whom I was politically connected. We met in a Brooklyn Diner (Lindenwood). I thought it was a strange venue for such an interview, but I held my sometimes-wayward tongue in check that night. There were many candidates seeking office(s) that year, and quite a few insurgents showed up to be interviewed. I thought I did well in the session, and their officials must have concurred since they offered me their line on the November ballot.