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| Politics Forum Index » Democrats (House) Politics Forum » Senate Ponders What to Do About Monserrate... |
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| Kenyan Obama... |
 Posted: Tue Nov 03, 2009 7:50 am |
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http://www.gothamgazette.com/article/eyeonalbany/20091023/204/3065/
It could have been simple. Justice William Erlbaum could have found Sen.
Hiram Monserrate guilty of a felony and Monserrate would have been booted
from the Senate seat he was elected to almost a year ago.
It's no secret that a number of high-ranking Democratic Senators had their
fingers crossed for a felony conviction. Instead, Monserrate was convicted
of a misdemeanor assault charge, making his ouster not automatic and
leaving his fate as a senator in the hands of his colleagues.
Monserrate was charged with two felony counts for slashing his girlfriend
Karla Giraldo in the face with a broken glass and then forcefully dragging
her through the halls of their apartment building. He passed on having a
trial by jury reportedly due to concerns that the juror pool would already
be biased against him.
That roll of the dice paid off for the state senator for Queens -- not for
his Democratic colleagues. Now a committee of his colleagues is
considering Monserrate's fare but no one sees the issue being resolved
easily or without rancor.
Condemning Monserrate
A cascade of press releases calling for Monserrate's resignation followed
his conviction. The first came from Democrat Sen. Liz Krueger. "I believe
Hiram Monserrate should not remain in the Senate, and for the sake of his
constituents, the institution of the Senate and the Democratic Party he
should resign immediately based on the seriousness of his violent crime,"
read the statement.
Other Democratic senators who called for Monserrate to resign included
Bill Perkins, Neil Breslin, David Valesky, Darrel Aubertine and Suzi
Oppenheimer. In the face of the opposition, Sen. Ruben Diaz defended
Monserrate and called those who attacked Monserrate "racist."
Breslin said that he had concerns that the factionalism of the Democratic
Senate would be aggravated by calls for Monserrate's resignation but said,
"You can't not speak out when its right."
As the days have gone on, though, some Hispanic politicians have called
for Monserrate to leave office. On Thursday, Assemblymember Adriano
Espaillat said Monserrate should resign, indicating this would be in the
best interest of Latino New Yorkers.
"New York is grappling with an economy in distress and the legislature
needs to be able to focus on these problems. The Hispanic community in
particular is feeling the devastation of the downturned economy and our
leaders need to work full time on creating jobs, protecting our healthcare
and improving our schools. ... Sen. Monserrate is no longer able to
effectively serve his constituents, or the people of this state, " his
statement said.
Earlier City Councilmembers Annabel Palma and Melissa Mark-Viverito said
Monserrate's remaining in office would be "a disservice to his district
and his constituents."
The chorus of voices calling for Monserrate's resignation or expulsion
grew to include, New York State Democratic Party Chair Jay Jacobs and U.S.
Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Charles Schumer as well as City Comptroller
William Thompson Jr. and Councilmembers Bill de Blasio and John Liu, all
candidates for citywide office next month. Liu originally wavered saying
at a debate last Friday that Monserrate's appeal should run its course
before any final decision was made. He reversed that position Wednesday.
How to Get Rid of a Senator
Legislative law states that "each house has the power to expel any of its
members, after the report of a committee to inquire into the charges
against him shall have been made." The law is not specific as to what sort
of conduct would warrant expulsion.
Last week Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson empanelled a
committee of four Democrats and four Republicans to decide whether and how
to punish Monserrate.
"As a father with daughters I am not only angry, but I'm pissed off,"
Sampson said at the press conference. "But as a leader I cannot let my
personal feelings supersede the individual rights of each member."
Democrat Eric Schneiderman, considered to be Sampson's top advisor, was
named chair of the committee while Andrea Stewart Cousins, Toby Ann
Stavisky, Diane Savino and Ruth Hassell Thompson were appointed to serve
on the committee. Republican Minority Leader Dean Skelos appointed
Catharine Young, Andrew Lanza, John Flanagan and James Alesi. Five women
sit on the panel charged with deciding Monserrate's fate.
Monserrate has issued a statement pledging full cooperation.
"In response to today's announcement of the formation of a State Senate
Review Committee, Senator Monserrate and his attorneys expect to cooperate
fully," the statement reads. "Senator Monserrate respects Conference
Leader John Sampson's and the Democratic Conference decision to review the
matter."
But privately Monserrate supporters floated the idea that the Senate
committee might not have the right to punish Monserrate, because the
alleged slashing took place in December -- when Monserrate was still a
member of the City Council. Schneiderman told Liz Benjamin that his
committee "will consider any precedent or arguments submitted by Mr.
Monserrate and his counsel."
Diaz continued to stand by Monserrate saying Senate leaders are out for
revenge against Monserrate for his involvement in the June coup against
the Democratic leadership. He also said the panel was "racist" because it
has no Latino members. "I believe that the real intention of this
"independent and impartial" committee is to get even with Senator
Monserrate for what he did to the Democrats this past June and to use the
Republicans who have been praying for such an opportunity to settle the
score with Senator Monserrate," said Diaz in a statement.
The Best Revenge?
Revenge may not be Democrats would use to describe their true motivations
in wanting to oust Monserrate -- some of them have privately called it
"progress."
Democratic leaders know that having a man convicted of domestic violence
in their caucus can only make things harder for them during the 2010
elections. Being down one vote until a special election is held to replace
Monserrate won't be easy. But in private a number of veteran Democratic
legislators say that their majority is already compromised. They have no
hope of pushing through a progressive agenda until their majority becomes
stronger or legislators like Sen. Pedro Espada and Monserrate are
replaced.
"We are now still struggling to get our sea legs and I don't necessarily
believe we will have the combination of members of the senate we need
until after the 2010 election, where I believe we will have some
additional Democrats and some different Democrats," Krueger recently told
Jimmy Vielkind of the Politicker.
It may actually take some time for the committee to rule on Monserrate.
Senate spokesperson Austin Shafran said that while the committee "can
begin to examine precedent, evidence, the Senate rules and the law in
preparation for a full and fair investigation," it won't actually have its
full investigative powers until a resolution passes the Senate by 32
votes. And Shafran was noncommittal about when the Senate may return to
session to vote on that or anything else.
Paterson wants the full legislature back to address the state's budget
deficit in the next two weeks. Shafran noted that the Senate is holding
hearings on the budget deficit reduction package across the state in the
coming weeks. |
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