I blogged a bit this morning about a letter headed the way of Bronx Democratic County Committee Chairman and Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz, who's being asked to kick Sen. Pedro Espada, Jr. out of the party for using the affiliation to advance his own ends.
According to NYDN State Capitol Bureau Chief Ken Lovett, Dinowitz says he still doesn't have the letter to hand -- and isn't sure what he'll do when he gets it:
Jeff Dinowitz
“If a request such as this is made, once I read the letter, I’ll make a determination if it’s something that we should do, whether we should move forward with a hearing,” he said.
He seemed in no hurry to make a decision, noting candidate petitions are due next week and that he is also running for re-election.
“I don’t feel any pressure to do something in the next few days,” he said. “Even if we did move ahead with something like this, I think it would take time. If we did move ahead, we’d want to make sure it’s the right way. He’s still entitled to appropriate due process.”
Dinowitz, a former administrative law judge, added: “If I do decide to go forward, then it’s absolutely crucial that things be done fairly.”
He also noted the Dems have already been down this road with Espada in 2002 -- and ultimately lost: “In that period of time, Espada had publicly stated he was a republican,” Dinowitz said. “He stood with Joe Bruno in Albany and said he was a Republican. I don’t believe that’s happened this time.”
The assemblyman also pointed out Espada has not been convicted of anything and there have been other Democrats who were under indictment who were not stripped of their party registration.
A Democratic official from New York City said Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is believed to be behind the push to oust Espada from the party.
“This might be a way to try and separate [Espada] from the rest of the Democratic party as far as Espada being an issue the Republicans can use against the Democrats,” the official said. “This wouldn’t be happening if Cuomo wasn’t okay with it.”
NYDN Bronx Bureau Chief Bob Kappstatter has some more on this in today's column (second item). The first item also deals with Espada -- specifically one of his challengers, Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter, who has faced some questions about why she is collecting disability payments if she is able to withstand the rigors of a state Senate campaign.
We'll have a response from Team Espada when and if we can get one...
Update: After the jump, there's some interesting reading from noted election lawyer Jerry Goldfeder on the ins and outs of booting "rogue" members from political parties, including a citation of the Espada case.
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