Tuesday, July 6th 2010, 7:23 PM
ALBANY - An angry Pedro Espada accused Attorney General Andrew Cuomo yesterday of launching the effort to oust him from the Democratic party.
"Every aspect of this is Cuomo," the state senator told The News. "The fact that he has other stooges speaking for him, he's pulling the strings on this."
The state Democratic Committee formally demanded the Bronx chapter "cancel" the embattled Espada's enrollment as a Democrat.
"Through his repeated public statements and bad conduct, Sen. Espada has shown he is not 'in sympathy' with our party's fundamental principles," the state party said in its letter to Bronx party honcho, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz.
Espada, who beat back a similar effort in 2002, yesterday called the latest push "ill timed, in bad taste, and un- American."
He said Cuomo, who is running for governor, is using him as "easy fodder" to portray himself as "the outsider who took on the head of (last year's Senate) coup."
"If this is the new Democratic party, it's a party that really shows no respect for democracy or its people," Espada said.
Cuomo's office earlier this year filed a civil lawsuit charging Espada siphoned $14 million from the Bronx health care clinic he founded for personal and political use.
Espada is also under investigation by the Bronx district attorney regarding whether he lives in his district and is also the target of a federal corruption probe.
Cuomo had little to say about the move to oust Espada from the party, citing his office's "ongoing matters" with the senator.
"I think the party's position speaks for itself," he said.
It's unclear whether the Bronx Dems make a move on Espada.
"Simply because press releases were sent out doesn't mean that I or anybody else should feel any pressure to make an immediate decision on something this important," said Bronx Democratic Committee Chairman Jeffrey Dinowitz.
Dinowitz said he doesn't believe a process could conclude before the Sept. 14 primary. A court battle from any decision could add months more to the process, he said.
A number of Bronx Democrats--even those who want Espada gone--fear stripping him of his party enrollment would only make him "a martyr" and enhance his re-election chances.
"If we're going to beat the guy, let's beat him at the polls; that's what real Democrats do," he said.
Some also fear stripping Espada of his enrollment could throw the Senate, where Dems need every one of their 32 votes to pass most legislation, into further chaos.
While the legislative session ended last week, there are still some outstanding issues, including a final budget bill.
Jacobs said Democratic leaders deliberately waited until session ended before making a move on Espada.
"We felt that to do anything while the Senate was in session would be potentially compromising governmentally and would be ill-timed," Jacobs said.
Cuomo's running mate, Lt. Gov hopeful Robert Duffy is headlining a July 21 fundraiser in Manhattan for a group that's trying oust Espada.
2 comments:
Go Gustavo Go!!! We need Gustavo Rivera to bring Pedro Espada down. it's about time someone stands up for the right. Gustavo Rivera is our Guy!!!
The real corruption, in Albany, is the special interests and their puppets...
So is getting Pedro Espada out so important to the district that they should vote for a person who is not from the community, and that has no history of community activism?
Gustavo Rivera is not from NY, and has never done anything in "his district"... he worked for the special interests, including David Paterson and Paterson's appointed Senator gillibrand.
So is Pedro the only reason why Albany is broken...or is it broken because of Pedro and the friends of Gustavo Rivera, like Paterson?
The 33rd State Senate district deserves a real community leader that is really from the community...
so sad, but that's politics in the Bronx!
Post a Comment