In the aftermath of the conviction of Pedro Espada and another episode of disappointment for Bronxities comes a great story about State Senator Gustavo Rivera, who defeated Espada.
The New York Times has a great profile of Rivera, who is regarded by many as a breath of fresh air in a cesspool state legislature. If even half of the story is true, it puts Rivera head and shoulders above most of his colleagues. Let's hope he maintains his integrity and does not let this system corrupt him. People in that Senate district in particular deserve it.
Rivera head and shoulders above most of his colleagues ... It's a really low bar.
ReplyDeleteWhy is this a story?
DeleteWho?
ReplyDeleteI read the Times article carefully but I still do not know much about Mr. Rivera as a legislator. I am not saying that he is a totally empty suit, but so far he has only shown the maturity of a under-ripe banana.
DeleteIt is a symptom of the times, with its wholesale corruption, that the Times lavished such a story on a completely unknown, inexperienced, and untried politician. The only good thing about him is he is not corrupt-at least not yet.
DeleteThe man seems to be a creation of the political organization that's responsible for the mess the Bronx is in. So if his political buddies are any indication, Gustavo Rivera will be part of the problem, not the solution.
ReplyDeleteI certainly don't expect Gustavo Rivera to go against the bunch of political lowlifes who put him there.
Unfortunately, nothing will change until the public gets sufficiently fed up with public servants who are taking the taxpayers for a ride.
DeleteIntegrity? Please! The guy is a politician, and anybody who aspires to be one in this corrupt, broken and irreperable system is automatically a criminal. The system cannot be fixed, and how much longer are we going to be in denial about that very simple fact. Believe it, this guy Rivera will be the object of scandal soon enough. Why? Because he is a system pol, just like the rest of his scummy ilk.
ReplyDeleteHow do ypou know that he is not mature beyond his years?
DeleteWhat's amazing is not Rivera, but the fact that he got a whole article in the NY Times, and that's only because it's related to the Espada news and the fact that Rivera replaced Espada.
ReplyDeleteThis is probably the highpoint of Rivera's political career in terms of news coverage. I guess it's all downhill from here.
Well, it's a good article for him but there's no confusing State Senator Rivera with the Sage of Monticello.
ReplyDeleteHe seems like a nice guy who won't make any waves.
ReplyDeletehigh praise?
Deleteno waves because he is a political lightweight
DeleteTotally ordinary pol
DeleteFYI ... New York State Senator Jeffrey D. Klein visited the Riverdale-Kingsbridge Academy's first annual carnival this afternoon.
ReplyDeleteHe was seen speaking with kids, parents and teachers in his newly enlarged district that now includes all of Riverdale.
You forgot to mention that Jeff Klein was seen at the RKA event with City Council candidate Cliff Stanton.
DeleteWith the right exposure, I'm sure that Cliff Stanton would be a formidable candidate BUT I don't think the public knows anything about him yet. He needs a major PR campaign to get word out to the voters. Only time will tell.
DeleteI just do not trust him and his pals at all
ReplyDeleteIf that's hope then the situation is hopeless.
ReplyDeleteI come from Nebraska, where the state legislature is unicameral. Why does New York even need a State Assembly when just a State Senate would do?
ReplyDeleteYes, less government is better than more givernment.
DeleteI don't expect much from Mr. Rivera and his legislative colleagues because Albany is a place of magnificent intentions but very small performance.
ReplyDeleteNobody cares, Gustavo!
ReplyDeleteyeah ... he's pretty low-key
Delete- the above comment was made by either someone who doesn't live in the 33rd or doesn't own a mail box.
DeleteHere's an excellent article that I just read about political corruption in New York State:
ReplyDelete__________________________
The New York Times | May 31, 2012
STUDY TIES ALBANY'S DISTANCE FROM VOTERS TO ITS CORRUPTION
By Sam Roberts
It took no less than the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard to demonstrate that out of sight is, indeed, out of mind. Or, if you prefer a different cliché, that when the cat’s away, the mice will play.
“The evidence displays a strong connection between the spatial distribution of population and corruption: Isolated capital cities are associated with greater levels of corruption across U.S. states,” a study by the Kennedy School concludes.
“Massachusetts, with its population quite concentrated around Boston, is measured as considerably less corrupt than New York and its isolated Albany,” the authors found. And the readership of Boston newspapers “might be more interested in what goes on in Beacon Hill (the central Boston neighborhood that is the site of the state government) than the New York papers’ is in what takes place in Albany.”
The authors, Filipe R. Campante of Harvard and Quoc-Anh Do of the school of economics at Singapore Management University, devised an intricate formula to measure corruption, press coverage, voter participation and delivery of government services. The less concentrated a state’s population is around the capital, they found, the more corruption and the less press coverage, voter participation in state elections and delivery of services.
“People who are close to the capital city are indeed more likely to turn out in state elections,” the report said.
“I think the way to interpret our results is that the isolation of Albany makes New York State particularly prone to corruption, so it should lead one to be especially vigilant with respect to corruption,” Professor Campante said. “When it comes to turnout specifically, we do find that elections that take place along with presidential elections do not see the same effect, as state turnout seems to benefit from the coattails of presidential turnout. In that sense, pairing the elections would tend to reduce the asymmetry between upstate and downstate.”
New York’s capital moved from New York City to Kingston in 1777 when the British invaded, then meandered to Hurley and Poughkeepsie before encamping permanently in 1797 in Albany, which was more centrally located and was then (until the 1860 census) one of the nation’s 10 most populous cities.
“It is not New York City, and therefore makes the state less subject to the city’s dominance,” said Gerald Benjamin, a political scientist at the State University of New York at New Paltz. “It is relatively centrally located, and reachable by river travel from several directions, or at least somewhat reachable. It is not uncommon in the states to choose a smaller place for the state capital, for these or similar reasons.”
The shift upstate wasn’t necessarily to avoid big-city scrutiny.
“The move of the capital from New York City to Albany was paralleled in most of the other 13 original states,” said Jim Folts, the head of research services for the New York State Archives. “During the same period, Virginia moved its capital from Williamsburg to Richmond, Pennsylvania from Philadelphia to Harrisburg. The moves reflected the rapid growth and shift of states’ populations after the Revolutionary War.”
Still, the move helps explain why New Yorkers generally greet what goes on in Albany more dispassionately than what happens in City Hall. As former Mayor Edward I. Koch once said, “If you don’t like the president, it costs you 90 bucks to fly to Washington to picket. If you don’t like the governor, it costs you 60 bucks to fly to Albany to picket. If you don’t like me, 90 cents.”
READ MORE: http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/05/31/study-ties-albanys-distance-from-voters-to-its-corruption/?ref=nyregion
Surprise: Albany is Corrupt!
DeleteIt's the electorate's fault! Here are 4 reasons why:
Delete1- they don't follow what's going on
2- they don't organize at the grassroots
3- they don't lobby their legislators
4- they don't vote in large numbers
New York has a very well-deserved reputation for official corruption.
DeleteThe real problem is that the government of our state is riddled with lifetime professional politicians who've done little besides campaign and hold office for their entire adult lives. And any true effort for change is blocked by political leaders eager to protect the sleazy status quo.
There can be no doubt that the the New York State Senate and Assembly are corrupt to their cores. But let's put the blame where it ultimately belongs: on the VOTERS who elected these public plunderers to legislate for us.
ReplyDeleteSure the voters are ultimately responsible for putting these people in office but that doesn't mean that we should absolve politicians for their own wrongdoing.
DeleteActually, the politicians are the ones primarily responsible. The voters are contributorily negligent.
DeleteI will vote for anyone, no matter their party affiliation, who advocates for "Term Limits" on Assembly and State officials.
ReplyDeleteThere is only one consistent way to break the sick and enduring hold of incumbency ... TERM LIMITS
DeleteAnd there goes Gustavo Rivera's 15 minutes of fame.
ReplyDeleteReally? You don't think him beating Espada was a bigger news headline than this article? How about all of the coverage he's had with his health initiative? Do you understand what "15 minutes of fame" means? He's having a pretty long 15 minutes then.
DeleteThis is a very amusing and ridiculous Rivera article because it is really about nothing. Also what a waste of space for the New York Times it is.
ReplyDeleteObviously you guys have no idea how funny it is to read a fluff piece about a political non-entity like this man who we will probably never hear of again since he is in the pockets of a selfish and useless political cabal.
ReplyDeleteDamnit guys, you are hating on Rivera because he's not perfect . Look at yourselvs 1st. At least he has put himself out there and actually ran for office and made it. So what if a bunch of asshole politicians helped him do it. Just cause they backed Rivera doesn't mean he's part of them.
ReplyDeleteIt would be nice if all the incumbent lifetime politicians were replaced with some fresh blood like Rivera. We already have term limits in NYC, but now we need them on the state level in Albany. It's time to flush the shit out of the legislature! The best way to flush it is to limit them to no more than 2 or 3 terms and call it a day. That way you get new people, new talent, new ideas, new ways of approaching things and new opportunities to give other people a chance and to give the people of this state a real choice. Otherwise you end up with the group we have now, and it's not pretty.
It's amazing how Bronx politicins are so proud and honored to be nobodies.
DeleteLet's hope Cuomo does the right thing and passes Sen. Rivera's Charitable Bail Bonds Bill. It could potentially free THOUSANDS of Bronxites form jail.
ReplyDeleteThanks to Sen. Rivera's Bronx CAN Health program, my aunt has been checked by a doctor a few times since last year. A big help since she has no insurance.
ReplyDeleteGustavo in action - speaking up for the middle class and job creation!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hguMMkxaIew&feature=relmfu
I love all of these anonymous comments. You do know IP addresses can be easily tracked, right?
ReplyDeleteHere is Mr. Rivera fighting for aid to localities. God bless him.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UkQ6206AL2A
Hundreds of people showed up to one of his job fairs. I hope he has another one soon
ReplyDelete