Sheldon Silver’s 21 years as the leader of the New York state Assembly will come to a close when he steps down in the wake of federal corruption charges.
The Manhattan Democrat’s resignation will be effective at 11:59 p.m. Monday, an unceremonious end to the second-longest tenure by a sitting speaker in any U.S. statehouse. One of the most powerful men in New York state, Silver, 70, was known as a shrewd negotiator and the ultimate insider in a capital city long known for its backroom culture.
Two lawmakers are vying to replace him. Bronx Assemblyman Carl Heastie is considered the front-runner, though Queens Assemblywoman Catherine Nolan said she hopes that changes as lawmakers have a chance to weigh each candidate.
Assembly Majority Leader Joseph Morelle of Rochester will serve as acting speaker until the next speaker takes over.
Silver was arrested Jan. 22 and faces charges that he took nearly $4 million in payoffs and kickbacks. He has said he expects to be exonerated and plans to keep his Assembly seat.
Silver initially tried to keep his position by offering to temporarily cede power to a handful of senior lieutenants. Assembly members balked at that idea, and following two days of closed-door hearings they announced that Silver had to go.
His spokesman, Michael Whyland, announced Friday night that Silver had filed his letter of resignation.
Democrats hold two-thirds of the seats in the 150-member Assembly.
A group of reform-minded lawmakers have said the selection of a new speaker provides an opportunity to change Assembly rules to allow for greater government transparency and more input from rank-and-file legislators. They’re expected to meet with Heastie and Nolan on Monday to discuss their proposals.
(AP)
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5 Responses
Yawn
There was an interesting article on the OP ED page of Friday’s Wall Street Journal saying that what Silver is accused of is common for Democratic politician/lawyers throughout the country, and that the connections between doctors (the “medical experts”) and lawyers suing on the basis of “junk science” are deep, and are a serious problem and would be solved with “tort reform” (which Silver, along with thousands of other Democratic politicians, oppose).
‘the connections between doctors (the “medical experts”) and lawyers suing on the basis of “junk science” are deep’
Sorry, but if you deny the association between exposure to asbestos and mesothelioma, which is the basis for most of what Silver’s law firm does, then you are the one promoting junk science. You can argue that the huge number of lawsuits is an inappropriate way to compensate the injured parties (and I might agree with you) but in this case the science is there.
Yes, but much of the evidence is that knowing you worked in a facility that might have had asbestos, allows a doctor to swear that all your illnesses are attributed to the asbestos. No need even for the doctor to examine you, as long as the company (defendant) processes asbestos somewhere. That’s junk science.
Real science would be to examine each and every patient before swearing under oath that the patient was suffering from asbestos. But that way wouldn’t generate fees.
There is a reason the Trial Lawyers Association always supports Democrats. For once, akuperma is right.