New Yorkers throw the bums out

Both the Daily News and the Post yesterday urged New Yorkers to go to the polls and ‘throw the bums out,’ and they did just that.

Gustavo Rivera trounced scandal-plagued Senate Majority Leader Pedro Espada, Jr. [D-Bronx] by a 67 to 28 percent margin. Espada remained defiant after he conceded to Rivera. “Understand I am not quitting anything,” he told supporters at a Bronx bar as the New York Times reported. “As I go to sleep and wake up re-energized, I am ready for a new fight.”

Espada’s ‘new fight’ may very well come separate courtrooms as he continues to defend himself against allegations he siphoned $14 million from the Soundview Health Center and questions about whether he actually lives in the district he represents in Albany. He is not the only politician, however, New Yorkers sent packing last night.

Francisco Moya easily defeated disgraced former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate [D-Jackson Heights] in a race to fill a vacant Queens Assembly seat. Tim Kennedy defeated incumbent state Sen. Bill Stachowski [D-Lake View]. And in arguably the most surprising result of the night, Buffalo developer Carl Paladino trounced former Congressman Rick Lazio to secure the Republican gubernatorial nomination. The insurgent will square off against Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in November.

Queens voter: Monserrate is not a good example to our children

He is not a good example for our children.

Queens voter Pedro Duran provided one of the innumerable takeaways from former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate's failed campaign to regain his seat in the 13th State Senatorial District's special election. State Assemblyman José Peralta garnered 66 percent of the vote, compared to the 27 percent Monserrate and 7 percent administrative law judge Robert Beltrani received.

A judge convicted Monserrate last October of misdemeanor assault against his girlfriend Karla Giraldo in his Jackson Heights apartment in Dec. 2008. Giraldo urged area voters in a video she posted to YouTube to support her boyfriend.



This plea thankfully fell on deaf ears.

Will special election end the Monserrate spectacle?

As voters in the 13th Senatorial District go to the polls today, the circus that continues to surround former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate's delusional campaign against state Assemblymember José Peralta remains a sad spectacle that further tarnishes New York State politics.

Boy in Bushwick has posted several blogs in recent weeks about Monserrate and the circumstances that led to his expulsion from the state Senate last month, but Andrés Duque captures the events that lead up to this moment perfectly on his post "So, Hiram Monserrate walks into a gay bar... (or why I will vote against him today.)

Univision poll indicates Peralta has commanding lead over Monserrate

With less than three weeks to go until voters in the 13th Senatorial District go to the polls in the special election, a Univision poll indicates state Assemblyman José Peralta has a commanding lead over former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate [D-Jackson Heights.]

The survey indicates 78 percent of respondents support Peralta, as opposed to 22 percent who back Monserrate. It's practically a foregone conclusion Peralta will easily win the March 16 special election, but the group of Queens religious leaders who endorsed Monserrate earlier this week proves the former New York City Councilmember still has support in spite of his conviction last October of misdemeanor assault against his girlfriend in his Jackson Heights apartment in Dec. 2008.

Stay tuned...

Monserrate to run in special election under "Yes We Can" party

One can certainly argue chutzpah remains in abundance in New York politics, and former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate's decision to declare himself a candidate in next month's special election under the "Yes We Can" party proves it is alive and very much well.

The state Senate expelled the former New York City Councilmember earlier this month in response to his conviction of misdemeanor assault against his girlfriend inside his Jackson Heights apartment in Dec. 2008. The Democratic establishment has rallied behind state Assemblyman José Peralta [D-Jackson Heights] ahead of the March 16 special election. And pending any unforeseen scandals and/or other developments, Peralta will succeed Monserrate in Albany.

This almost certain reality, however, has not sunken in with Monserrate.

"I am committed, as I have always been, to defend the rights of the voters and never allowing their vote to be disenfranchised," he said in a statement released on Monday, Feb. 22. "The amount of community support during the past 6 days proves that voters in this district know who best represents them independently from party bosses, political hacks, and Albany insiders."

One truly cannot make this you know what up!

Federal judge expected to rule on Monserrate's expulsion

As embattled former state Sen. Hiram Monserrate [D-Jackson Heights] awaits a federal judge's decision on whether to block his expulsion, many of the state's top Democrats continue to defend the state Senate's decision to remove him.

New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn told WNYC earlier this morning she thought her colleagues would support an expulsion of any member who faced allegations similar to those on which a Queens judge convicted Monserrate last October. And state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo described the former police officer's federal lawsuit as "absurd."

Absurd is certainly one adjective to use to describe this ongoing saga.

Monserrate saga continues

The Hiram Monserrate saga continues!

The former state Senator and his lawyers plan to return to court on Thursday to assert in a federal lawsuit the decision to expel him from the state Senate violated his civil rights. He remained defiant as he spoke to reporters late last week.

"I will continue to serve," Monserrate said as the Daily News reported. "I will continue to help be a problem solver and deal with the many, many needs [of] my community."

I was literally in a Las Vegas hotel room getting ready for an event when news of Monserrate's expulsion broke. A flurry of tweets, breaking news e-mails and even phone calls ensued, but the 53-8 vote certainly amounted to a collective repudiation of the former police officer's conduct over the last 14 months -- his conviction last October for assaulting his girlfriend, (and the role he played in the Senate coup last June, among many other things.)

One political strategist told Boy in Bushwick last month he thought lawmakers would vote to expel Monserrate
ahead of the budget process so he would not be able to "screw around again." Some gay activists outside New York speculated Monserrate's vote against a bill that would have allowed same-sex couples to marry sparked some lawmakers to support his expulsion. In the end, however, it appears as though the ethically-challenged legislature drew a firm line in the sand: a domestic violence conviction amounts to an unfitness to serve in public office--even in the New York State Senate.

Monserrate will continue to portray himself as a martyr as he fights this decision, but it is time for Albany to move forward from this extremely unfortunate episode. The state's deficit continues to balloon, the economy remains week and gays and lesbians cannot legally marry in New York. The people's business remains far from finished, and the ongoing Monserrate saga should no longer distract from getting it done.

Monserrate compares himself to murdered civil rights activists

Call him a martyr!

As the New York State Senate prepares for a probable vote to censure and expel embattled state Sen. Hiram Monserrate [D-Jackson Heights] from office, the former police officer has compared himself to four slain civil rights workers.

"Students from the college [Queens College] that I went to died to help African-Americans have the right to vote," Monserrate told the Daily News yesterday. "Today, the Senate would seek to push back the clock and discredit the major movement that occurred here in the United States to protect the rights of all Americans."

This rather desperate comment comes nearly two weeks after several Albany sources confirmed to EDGE a committee would recommend Monserrate's censure or expulsion from the state Senate after a Queens judge convicted him in October of misdemeanor assault against his girlfriend inside his Jackson Heights apartment on Dec. 2008. The committee released its findings last week. And a vote on Monserrate's future could come within days.

The clock continues to tick on Monserrate's tenure in Albany; and implications he plans to go down as a self-anointed martyr will almost certainly strengthen the resolve of those who want to rid themselves of a tiresome distraction.

Senate panel recommends Monserrate's expulsion or censure

A New York State Senate panel has recommended embattled state Sen. Hiram Monserrate's expulsion or censure in connection with assaulting his girlfriend.

Multiple sources told Boy in Bushwick over the weekend the panel would announce its conclusion by the end of this week. And lawmakers--and members of the Democratic caucus in particular--have obviously moved quickly to address what remains a growing liability ahead of the looming budget battle.

Sources: New York State Senate could move to expel Monserrate this week

A state Senate committee’s decision to expel embattled state Sen. Hiram Monserrate [D-Jackson Heights] could come this week, a number of sources have said.

The Daily News reported late last month the committee would likely recommend Monserrate’s expulsion. A judge convicted in October the former New York City Councilmember and police officer of misdemeanor assault against girlfriend Karla Giraldo.

Democrats—U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney and others—around the state continue to urge Monserrate to step down. The Queens Democratic establishment has lined up behind Assemblymember José Peralta [D-Jackson Heights] ahead of a possible special election next month. And Monserrate continues to face growing calls to step down from advocates of domestic violence victims, LGBT activists upset with his vote last month against marriage for same-sex couples and others.

Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson [D-Brooklyn] created the special committee after Monserrate’s conviction. State Sen. Eric Schneiderman [D-Manhattan] chairs the committee, and state Sens. Diane Savino [D-Staten Island] and Ruth Hassell-Thompson [D-Mount Vernon] are among its members.

Lawmakers remain tight lipped about Monserrate’s future, but it remains clear legislators will move quickly.

"They don't want Monserrate hanging around for the budget so he can screw around again," one source said.

Pride Agenda endorses José Peralta for State Senate

As LGBT activists appear poised to target those who opposed a bill that would have allowed gays and lesbians to marry, the Empire State Pride Agenda announced this morning it has endorsed a Queens assemblyman who seeks to unseat embattled state Sen. Hiram Monserrate [D-Jackson Heights.]

Pride Agenda executive director Alan Van Capelle said in a statement that announced his organization's decision to endorse Assemblymember José Peralta [D-Jackson Heights] he feels "Queens needs a new state Senator--one with integrity and honor, and who stands up for the rights of all New Yorkers."

“José Peralta has demonstrated time and time again that he is a champion of equality and justice for all New Yorkers and has consistently represented the interests of his district in the New York State Assembly,” Van Capelle said. “His record on LGBT issues demonstrates that he does not duck-and-run when our bills come up for a vote. He has stood up for us in the Assembly, and we will stand with him in his race for the state Senate.”

Monserrate, who was convicted in October of misdemeanor assault against his girlfriend, is one of eight Democrats who voted against the marriage bill that went before the state Senate last week. This vote was arguably the last straw among the embattled senator's growing list of detractors. And the Peralta endorsement is the latest indication Monserrate and others who opposed the marriage bill remain squarely in the electoral cross hairs of LGBT activists and their supporters.

“Over the next several months, the Pride Agenda will roll out
endorsements of candidates who support equality and will challenge sitting
members of the state Senate on both sides of the aisle whose record on equality
is a stain on New York,” Van Capelle said.