If you're a government, and you're in a jam, you've got three options. Pick one and swallow your poison. Bailouts, Bonds and Taxes. That's the trifecta.
Usually you pick one or two. Usually, you tax and bond in comnbination with service cuts and fee hikes. Tom did those two. But he also got a bailout from the state.
So let's get this straight -- he got a hundred million dollar bailout. He blew it. He raised taxes and invented new ones. And then that wasn't enough. So he went out and spent millions more on the credit cards (bonds).
When does it stop? The hole we're in is deep. And unless we get some real change now, we're never going to get out of the hole.
Friday, August 28, 2009
More Democratic Hypocrisy
Tom Suozzi's two good friends, Dennenberg and David Mejias, held a press conference condemning water rate increases as taxes on necessity.
Hmm. Maybe the water rate hike is due to the ten billion in taxes that Dave Paterson and Tom Suozzi enacted earlier in the year. Maybe they had to raise rates due to the 2.5% home energy tax.
I think its time we send a message. Tom, tell your friends to stop the smoke and mirrors. Focus on what is at hand. The 80% property tax hike since you took office and the insidious 2.5% energy sales tax.
Focus on YOUR BUSINESS, NOT EVERYONE else's
Hmm. Maybe the water rate hike is due to the ten billion in taxes that Dave Paterson and Tom Suozzi enacted earlier in the year. Maybe they had to raise rates due to the 2.5% home energy tax.
I think its time we send a message. Tom, tell your friends to stop the smoke and mirrors. Focus on what is at hand. The 80% property tax hike since you took office and the insidious 2.5% energy sales tax.
Focus on YOUR BUSINESS, NOT EVERYONE else's
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Suozzi's Shell Game
The shell game is a famous con trick where the con artist hides the shell through deft manuevers and slights of the hand. Tom Suozzi's gotten to be a master of the shell game. And he's using YOUR money to play it.
Suozzi's taking money from one account, moving it to the other and getting on the soapbox and claiming 'I FIXED NASSAU.' But we know that isnt true. And here's his game.
Here's an example. Suozzi tried to lay off all of the police mechanics and the hire them back at a lower rate. That's illegal and failed. So, he simply took the money from their budget, and moved it somewhere else. That's got to be illegal too, but the bottom line is simple. The money is being moved around. No one knows where its going. Is it going to fund the performance bonuses for county employees who spend their time handling the Suozzi machine political business (as detailed in the Morganstern case)? Or is it going to fund other stuff, like the 400 something patronage employees larding the payroll?
It makes you think. The county's in bad shape. Yet Tom's shifting money around trying to prevent disaster. How is that for transparency and open government? Suozzi needed money a few years ago, so he told the Assessor, his good friend Harvey Levinson to jack out assessments. So now, if you're living in a house worth 500k, the county thinks its worth over 700k! Amazing, isn't it.
But I'm truly worried about the next big thing. Consolidation. Suozzi's sitting on a bankrupt county. He needs money. When you're desperate and attention hungry, you start trolling around for money.
Suozzi thinks he's found a nice chunk of change in something called the special districts. Special districts are something that make Long Island special. Home rule. Local control. Direct democracy.
The special districts include villages. Villages control local zoning, and are staffed by none other than local residents who care about the community. Villages bring goverment closer to the people.
The special districts include the firehouses that form an integral part of the community. Suozzi and his friend in Albany, Pedro Espada and David Paterson, want to close those down too and merge them to form super districts. Super districts won't be able to offer the same localized and individual responses that we need in Long Island.
And finally there are sanitation districts. Suozzi claims, without any evidence to support him, that they are bastions of waste and patronage. He might as well claim that they are staffed by unicorns and Abominable snowmen. Special districts are staffed by hard working people. People who care about the community. In fact, they do their jobs much more efficiency and at a much lower cost than the county itself.
Suozzi or the special districts? I chose the special districts in a heartbeat. I chose the dedicated employees, rather than the embittered and angry County employees who go through the motions while cursing their bosses for laying them off and slashing their salaries to the bone. I chose the dedicated commissioners -- who for a small salary devote hours of their time to their jobs -- over a full time spoiled brat of a CE who devotes 98% of his time to touring the state selling snake oil, raising money from contractors and groveling for a new job rather than 100% of his time running the county he is paid to run.
This November, let's send a message to Taxing Tom Suozzi. We want home rule and local services, not pay to play, unbridled ambition, misuse of government resources, cronyism and taxation. Let's elect a real executive -- Ed Mangano.
Suozzi's taking money from one account, moving it to the other and getting on the soapbox and claiming 'I FIXED NASSAU.' But we know that isnt true. And here's his game.
Here's an example. Suozzi tried to lay off all of the police mechanics and the hire them back at a lower rate. That's illegal and failed. So, he simply took the money from their budget, and moved it somewhere else. That's got to be illegal too, but the bottom line is simple. The money is being moved around. No one knows where its going. Is it going to fund the performance bonuses for county employees who spend their time handling the Suozzi machine political business (as detailed in the Morganstern case)? Or is it going to fund other stuff, like the 400 something patronage employees larding the payroll?
It makes you think. The county's in bad shape. Yet Tom's shifting money around trying to prevent disaster. How is that for transparency and open government? Suozzi needed money a few years ago, so he told the Assessor, his good friend Harvey Levinson to jack out assessments. So now, if you're living in a house worth 500k, the county thinks its worth over 700k! Amazing, isn't it.
But I'm truly worried about the next big thing. Consolidation. Suozzi's sitting on a bankrupt county. He needs money. When you're desperate and attention hungry, you start trolling around for money.
Suozzi thinks he's found a nice chunk of change in something called the special districts. Special districts are something that make Long Island special. Home rule. Local control. Direct democracy.
The special districts include villages. Villages control local zoning, and are staffed by none other than local residents who care about the community. Villages bring goverment closer to the people.
The special districts include the firehouses that form an integral part of the community. Suozzi and his friend in Albany, Pedro Espada and David Paterson, want to close those down too and merge them to form super districts. Super districts won't be able to offer the same localized and individual responses that we need in Long Island.
And finally there are sanitation districts. Suozzi claims, without any evidence to support him, that they are bastions of waste and patronage. He might as well claim that they are staffed by unicorns and Abominable snowmen. Special districts are staffed by hard working people. People who care about the community. In fact, they do their jobs much more efficiency and at a much lower cost than the county itself.
Suozzi or the special districts? I chose the special districts in a heartbeat. I chose the dedicated employees, rather than the embittered and angry County employees who go through the motions while cursing their bosses for laying them off and slashing their salaries to the bone. I chose the dedicated commissioners -- who for a small salary devote hours of their time to their jobs -- over a full time spoiled brat of a CE who devotes 98% of his time to touring the state selling snake oil, raising money from contractors and groveling for a new job rather than 100% of his time running the county he is paid to run.
This November, let's send a message to Taxing Tom Suozzi. We want home rule and local services, not pay to play, unbridled ambition, misuse of government resources, cronyism and taxation. Let's elect a real executive -- Ed Mangano.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
The Ambition and the Ego
There's nothing wrong with ambition. It's part of the American Way. Ambition has led millions of people to come to America, take a menial job and work their way up. It's led to the American Dream of Long Island -- a house of your own, a car and some space for your family.
But Tom Suozzi's version of ambition goes well beyond your normal dose. His ambition, combined with his mammoth ego, are the main threat facing Nassau County. His toxic brew could be the thing that destroys the American Dream of Long Island.
An ego in search of an office. That's what they call Suozzi. So says Fred Dicker, a prominent Albany reporter widely known as the premier political reporter north of Bear Mountain. I've been following Suozzi's career for years. Frankly, I think Dicker was maybe too moderate in his characterization of Tom Suozzi.
Ambition is a good thing. But Suozzi has taken your standard ambition and put it in overdrive. The people who've suffered are the citizens of Nassau County. While Suozzi ran for governor in 2006, his subordinates took over the day to day management of the county. And without a strong executive, everything fell apart. The deficit, which had been wiped out, came back with a vengeance. This time, its worse than anytime under Tom Gulotta. And the State, which is pretty much insolvent too, cannot come in with a hundred million dollar bailout. Thanks in part to a Suozzi ally on the north shore, our Long Island Senate delegation doesn't have that juice anymore.
Running for governor costs money. A lot fo money. In 2006, Suozzi ran against a well funded and independently wealthy man. Spitzer had money, and was willing to spend it. Suozzi needed to match Spitzer. Sure, he could raise money from people on Wall Street who hated the guy, but that was a drop in the bucket. Tom's Dad has made millions off the broken tax cert system that Suozzi refuses to fix, but even those millions (which Joe Suozzi shares with his partners, including none other than Basil Paterson, father of David) couldn't bankroll a run against Spitzer.
So, Suozzi did something that he really shouldn't have done. He began to shake down contractors. I've covered the five digit donations that Suozzi shook out of big time contractors in past posts. Everyone gets money from contractors; but Suozzi turned it into an institutionalized shakedown racket. Pay to play is alive and well in Nassau County.
But that wasn't enough. Suozzi then began to lard the public payroll with patronage employees. These guys were hired for one reason -- to work for Tom's political ambitions. If you worked (check out the LI Press article on the Morganstern case), you got to keep your job and maybe get a raise or a performance bonus! Let the good times roll!
And Suozzi went on seeking higher office. He took over a state panel on property taxes, and appropriated a longtime Republican battle cry of tax freezes and tax caps. Then he came home from his upstate swing and jacked up property taxes at home. He didn't bat an eyelash.
Suozzi's eight years in office have been a disaster for the citizens of Nassau. It's time for a change. A change we can afford.
But Tom Suozzi's version of ambition goes well beyond your normal dose. His ambition, combined with his mammoth ego, are the main threat facing Nassau County. His toxic brew could be the thing that destroys the American Dream of Long Island.
An ego in search of an office. That's what they call Suozzi. So says Fred Dicker, a prominent Albany reporter widely known as the premier political reporter north of Bear Mountain. I've been following Suozzi's career for years. Frankly, I think Dicker was maybe too moderate in his characterization of Tom Suozzi.
Ambition is a good thing. But Suozzi has taken your standard ambition and put it in overdrive. The people who've suffered are the citizens of Nassau County. While Suozzi ran for governor in 2006, his subordinates took over the day to day management of the county. And without a strong executive, everything fell apart. The deficit, which had been wiped out, came back with a vengeance. This time, its worse than anytime under Tom Gulotta. And the State, which is pretty much insolvent too, cannot come in with a hundred million dollar bailout. Thanks in part to a Suozzi ally on the north shore, our Long Island Senate delegation doesn't have that juice anymore.
Running for governor costs money. A lot fo money. In 2006, Suozzi ran against a well funded and independently wealthy man. Spitzer had money, and was willing to spend it. Suozzi needed to match Spitzer. Sure, he could raise money from people on Wall Street who hated the guy, but that was a drop in the bucket. Tom's Dad has made millions off the broken tax cert system that Suozzi refuses to fix, but even those millions (which Joe Suozzi shares with his partners, including none other than Basil Paterson, father of David) couldn't bankroll a run against Spitzer.
So, Suozzi did something that he really shouldn't have done. He began to shake down contractors. I've covered the five digit donations that Suozzi shook out of big time contractors in past posts. Everyone gets money from contractors; but Suozzi turned it into an institutionalized shakedown racket. Pay to play is alive and well in Nassau County.
But that wasn't enough. Suozzi then began to lard the public payroll with patronage employees. These guys were hired for one reason -- to work for Tom's political ambitions. If you worked (check out the LI Press article on the Morganstern case), you got to keep your job and maybe get a raise or a performance bonus! Let the good times roll!
And Suozzi went on seeking higher office. He took over a state panel on property taxes, and appropriated a longtime Republican battle cry of tax freezes and tax caps. Then he came home from his upstate swing and jacked up property taxes at home. He didn't bat an eyelash.
Suozzi's eight years in office have been a disaster for the citizens of Nassau. It's time for a change. A change we can afford.
Monday, August 24, 2009
Desperate Times, Desperate Flyers
Today, Spin Cycle on Newsday had a stunning report. The Democrats, who after eight years of total control of County Government would by common sense be touting their accomplishments, have come out with a new flyer. It ties Chris Browne, a young Republican who was probably in law school back when Gulotta reigned supreme, to the Tom Gulotta machine.
I couldn't stop laughing. I saw the flyer last week. Browne has NOTHING to do with the Gulotta era. Neither does Ed Mangano. And the Suozzi corruption and pay to play makes whatever may have gone on during the Gulotta years look like kisses.
The real shark is Tom Suozzi. Eight years ago, he got a gift from the state that bailed him out. Now, he's dug a deeper hole. And there's no one to save him.
Tom isn't stupid. He knows what is happening. So he's touring the state promoting a surrealistic tax cap -- a cap that is ironic considering that Suozzi has taxed Nassau into literal submission.
His goal is to get out of here. He wants to get something statewide. So rather than focus on the county's problems he is focusing on his ambitions and propping up David Paterson.
But we need more than that. Tom Suozzi has been gorging himself on Nassau County like a he's shark and we're the bait. It's time the bait got together and turned on this shark and shows him who's boss.
I couldn't stop laughing. I saw the flyer last week. Browne has NOTHING to do with the Gulotta era. Neither does Ed Mangano. And the Suozzi corruption and pay to play makes whatever may have gone on during the Gulotta years look like kisses.
The real shark is Tom Suozzi. Eight years ago, he got a gift from the state that bailed him out. Now, he's dug a deeper hole. And there's no one to save him.
Tom isn't stupid. He knows what is happening. So he's touring the state promoting a surrealistic tax cap -- a cap that is ironic considering that Suozzi has taxed Nassau into literal submission.
His goal is to get out of here. He wants to get something statewide. So rather than focus on the county's problems he is focusing on his ambitions and propping up David Paterson.
But we need more than that. Tom Suozzi has been gorging himself on Nassau County like a he's shark and we're the bait. It's time the bait got together and turned on this shark and shows him who's boss.
Sunday, August 23, 2009
Hired Guns and Grassroots Volunteers
Come and spend a day in the Ed Mangano for County Executive office. There are no paid consultants. There are no paid workers. Everyone there is a volunteer. Everyone there believes in Ed. And no one there is making a cent off this election.
Everyone, from the campaign manager to the people answering the phone, loves Nassau County and wants to live here. Most have spent our lives in Nassau. Some were born here, others came when they were young or older. All are living here by choice. And all want to keep living in Nassau County.
That's why the people working for Ed are spending their days in the office. Everyone there has 'better' things to do, whether it's work at the day job that pays the bills, work on other campaigns, look for a job or sit at the beach. But go in any day and the office is hopping.
It's love for the county that's driving Ed's campaign. It's belief in Ed Mangano and his message of change that we can afford. It's the belief that Ed is Nassau County's last hope to remain solvent and a good place to live.
And the people in the office couldn't be more different than each other. There are people from Oyster Bay; others from Freeport. There are people from Woodmere and others from Hicksville, Hempstead and Levittown. There are African Americans, Irishmen, Italians, Jews and Hispanics toiling side by side for Ed. It's truly a homegrown campaign.
Many are Republicans. Others are Democrats. Some are independents. Some are registered conservatives. Others are Republicans who long ago abandoned the party of their heritage for political apathy. Many are union members and others are environmentalist members of the Sierra Club. But everyone is going all out for Ed not because their job depends on it, but because they believe in him. Many are ex Suozzi supporters who turned after seeing the County destroyed around them in the name of vanity and pride.
Take a look at Suozzi's campaign. He's hiring million dollar firms from the city. He's hauling in advisors from Washington with national experience. He's probably sitting in One West monitoring the news services wondering where the next vacancy is. Will it be in Washington, with another Senate seat or Cabinet office coming open? Or will it be in Albany, when Cuomo runs for governor? Will it be the job Ravitch had until last week? Or will it be a position of unrivaled power...on the bench?
His campaign is fueled by money raised by county employees on county time (check out the LI Press). His bankroll is aimed not at the county but at some amorphous higher office in Albany or Washington (check out last week's Times Union and last month's Capitol newspaper).
Sit down and think about. Do you want your county governed by people who don't care about your home and only care about the Next Big Move? Or do you want a county governed by people who want nothing more than to live in Nassau County and enjoy their lives with their friends and neighbors?
Think about it and put aside your biases and preexisting opinions. Read NIFA report and think about it. I think you'll come to the same decision I made 6 months ago.
Everyone, from the campaign manager to the people answering the phone, loves Nassau County and wants to live here. Most have spent our lives in Nassau. Some were born here, others came when they were young or older. All are living here by choice. And all want to keep living in Nassau County.
That's why the people working for Ed are spending their days in the office. Everyone there has 'better' things to do, whether it's work at the day job that pays the bills, work on other campaigns, look for a job or sit at the beach. But go in any day and the office is hopping.
It's love for the county that's driving Ed's campaign. It's belief in Ed Mangano and his message of change that we can afford. It's the belief that Ed is Nassau County's last hope to remain solvent and a good place to live.
And the people in the office couldn't be more different than each other. There are people from Oyster Bay; others from Freeport. There are people from Woodmere and others from Hicksville, Hempstead and Levittown. There are African Americans, Irishmen, Italians, Jews and Hispanics toiling side by side for Ed. It's truly a homegrown campaign.
Many are Republicans. Others are Democrats. Some are independents. Some are registered conservatives. Others are Republicans who long ago abandoned the party of their heritage for political apathy. Many are union members and others are environmentalist members of the Sierra Club. But everyone is going all out for Ed not because their job depends on it, but because they believe in him. Many are ex Suozzi supporters who turned after seeing the County destroyed around them in the name of vanity and pride.
Take a look at Suozzi's campaign. He's hiring million dollar firms from the city. He's hauling in advisors from Washington with national experience. He's probably sitting in One West monitoring the news services wondering where the next vacancy is. Will it be in Washington, with another Senate seat or Cabinet office coming open? Or will it be in Albany, when Cuomo runs for governor? Will it be the job Ravitch had until last week? Or will it be a position of unrivaled power...on the bench?
His campaign is fueled by money raised by county employees on county time (check out the LI Press). His bankroll is aimed not at the county but at some amorphous higher office in Albany or Washington (check out last week's Times Union and last month's Capitol newspaper).
Sit down and think about. Do you want your county governed by people who don't care about your home and only care about the Next Big Move? Or do you want a county governed by people who want nothing more than to live in Nassau County and enjoy their lives with their friends and neighbors?
Think about it and put aside your biases and preexisting opinions. Read NIFA report and think about it. I think you'll come to the same decision I made 6 months ago.
Smoke and Mirrors Again
I was having lunch this week in a pizza joint, and was talking to someone about the problems facing Nassau County. Namely the $150 million deficit and Tom Suozzi's utter lack of action to combat it other than press conferences. So, someone overheard me and began to parrot the Suozzi line of the Lighthouse!
Of course, Ed Mangano supports the Lighthouse, and under Ed's leadership the Lighthouse would actually come into being. Ed believes strongly in working with local government, instead of bashing it and holding incessant press conferences about some miracle cure. But, let's be realistic here.
Nassau County is in serious financial straights. A deficit that will soon be over $200 million -- plus legal costs and settlements from the lawsuits Tom's political machine has generated -- can't be fixed by one project. Even a project like Levittown would have a hard fixing Nassau right now. Besides, most of the revenue from the Lighthouse would go to the local municipalities (Uniondale), unless Suozzi plans to abolish those villages and fire districts to steal that revenue to patch his own sinking ship.
What we need is real reform. Structural reform. An end to the hundred million in tax refunds that serve only the purpose of making a few lawyers on the North Shore wealthy beyond belief. An end to backdoor tax increases. Transparency and honesty from our leaders. Leaders who care about Nassau County, not their own ambition.
Tom Suozzi has dug a hole deeper than most mines. He took $100 million from New York State and squandered it. And no, this current hole is far too deep to fix with a miracle project.
We need Ed Mangano, a man who cares about Nassau County and isn't about to desert Nassau for greener pastures in the time of greatest need.
If you want to get involved in Ed's campaign, give the office a call at 605 0245
Of course, Ed Mangano supports the Lighthouse, and under Ed's leadership the Lighthouse would actually come into being. Ed believes strongly in working with local government, instead of bashing it and holding incessant press conferences about some miracle cure. But, let's be realistic here.
Nassau County is in serious financial straights. A deficit that will soon be over $200 million -- plus legal costs and settlements from the lawsuits Tom's political machine has generated -- can't be fixed by one project. Even a project like Levittown would have a hard fixing Nassau right now. Besides, most of the revenue from the Lighthouse would go to the local municipalities (Uniondale), unless Suozzi plans to abolish those villages and fire districts to steal that revenue to patch his own sinking ship.
What we need is real reform. Structural reform. An end to the hundred million in tax refunds that serve only the purpose of making a few lawyers on the North Shore wealthy beyond belief. An end to backdoor tax increases. Transparency and honesty from our leaders. Leaders who care about Nassau County, not their own ambition.
Tom Suozzi has dug a hole deeper than most mines. He took $100 million from New York State and squandered it. And no, this current hole is far too deep to fix with a miracle project.
We need Ed Mangano, a man who cares about Nassau County and isn't about to desert Nassau for greener pastures in the time of greatest need.
If you want to get involved in Ed's campaign, give the office a call at 605 0245
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