She says, he says, Constitution says

From: POLITICO New York Playbook - Friday Jan 13,2023 12:39 pm

Jan 13, 2023

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It’s official: The Senate’s committee hearing for Gov. Kathy Hochul’s pick for chief judge, Hector LaSalle, will be next Wednesday in Albany. It’s the first step in moving the governor’s nomination forward, but to hear Hochul tell it now, the committee’s opinion doesn’t really matter.

She’s seen what the rest of Albany has: The majority of the Senate Judiciary Committee — newly expanded from 15 members to 19 — has expressed skepticism, at best, about LaSalle. It’s possible that following his hearing, they will not recommend his nomination move forward for a full floor vote. Even if they do, it’s rare for majority leadership to bring a matter to the floor without the votes to carry it through. As it stands, the 42-member Democratic conference does not have those votes.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul's next Chief Judge nomination Hector D. LaSalle, fifth from right, sits with other state judges during Gov. Hochul's inauguration ceremony, Sunday, Jan. 1, 2023, in Albany, N.Y. (AP Photo/Hans Pennink)

But Hochul, under criticism for the nomination and the way she went about it, is saying LaSalle should be considered on the full Senate floor (where she might have a better chance of pulling both Democrats and Republicans to vote in LaSalle’s favor) because the Constitution says so.

Hochul had this interpretation on Wednesday: “He’ll have his hearings; he’ll answer questions; and then as required by the Constitution, the full Senate must decide because the Constitution says it's on the advice and consent of the Senate."

That’s not how Judiciary Chair Manhattan Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal reads it.

Hoylman-Sigal, on Tuesday: “The Constitution does not require a floor vote, because in addition to the Constitution, we have Senate rules, and certainly it's within the Senate's prerogative to decide how to proceed with its own votes, in committee and otherwise.”

Hochul is convinced enough of her interpretation that she left the door open to legal action when asked yesterday if she might sue over the matter.

“I’m willing to do everything I need to do to get it through the committee,” she said, calling LaSalle “horribly maligned based on the handful of cherry-picked cases.”

Of course that dangles the prospect of an intraparty legal battle — and the use of the state's time and lawyers — on top of what would be an awkward play by the executive branch to direct traffic in the Legislature.

“I think recent past has shown that courts are very unwilling to wade into political matters such as separation of powers and how the Constitution is to be interpreted pursuant to the Senate responsibilities," Hoylman-Sigal said this week. "I think we know what we're supposed to do. I think it's in plain English, and I think the governor, at the end of the day, agrees.”

Here’s the Constitution of the State of New York. Please check out page 18 of the PDF and let us know what “advice and consent of the Senate” means to you.

IT’S FRIDAY the 13th, which is good luck around here. Got tips, suggestions or thoughts? Let us know ... By email: agronewold@politico.com and sgoldenberg@politico.com or on Twitter: @annagronewold and @sallygold

WHERE’S KATHY? In Albany with no announced public schedule.

WHERE’S ERIC? Calling in live to Caribbean Power Jam’s “The Reset Show,” delivering remarks during Friday prayer at the Bronx Muslim Center, delivering remarks at ARC A. Philip Randolph Senior Center’s Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration, appearing on PBS’ “NewsHour” and delivering remarks at KAAGNY’s 2023 Korean American Day Celebration.

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WHAT CITY HALL IS READING

“Adams Unveils $103 Billion Budget as New York Faces Major Challenges” by The New York Times’ Dana Rubinstein and Emma G. Fitzsimmons: “For the first time in at least a decade, the mayor has proposed reducing the size of the budget from the current year’s adjusted spending plan — by roughly $5 billion, according to an analysis by the Citizens Budget Commission.

“Yet Mr. Adams intends to maintain funding for what he said were his primary concerns: safety, housing and sanitation, a category that includes his battle against rats.”

“Eric Adams blasts NY Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli for migrant budget critique” by New York Post’s Bernadette Hogan, Carl Campanile and Bruce Golding: “Mayor Eric Adams lashed out at state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli on Thursday after New York’s chief fiscal officer faulted him for not including the $1 billion-plus cost of the migrant crisis in his proposed city budget.

“Can you ask the comptroller to show you the letter he wrote to the federal government asking for help for us?” Adams fumed during a news conference at City Hall.”

“Why Are Slashings Surging in City Jails?” by THE CITY’s Reuven Blau: “Many of the victims and culprits are younger people locked up fighting over things like phone usage, food, and gang affiliation, according to Department of Correction records and several jail insiders.”

“NYPD Commissoner says community played critical role in gun bust,” by Spectrum News Staff: “The four men are charged with firearms trafficking conspiracy in a scheme prosecutors allege included the distribution of more than 50 guns, including difficult-to-track ghost guns and weapons used in two 2021 shootings in Canarsie and Bedford-Stuyvesant. Brooklyn residents ‘decided last year when that case began in January of 2022 to work in collaboration with the police department to get those guns off the street and get those people off the street,’ Sewell told NY1’s Rocco Vertuccio during an appearance on ‘Mornings On 1’ Thursday.”

STEP INSIDE THE WEST WING: What's really happening in West Wing offices? Find out who's up, who's down, and who really has the president’s ear in our West Wing Playbook newsletter, the insider's guide to the Biden White House and Cabinet. For buzzy nuggets and details that you won't find anywhere else, subscribe today.

WHAT ALBANY'S READING

“As Benjamin mounts a comeback, N.Y. spends up to $2 million to respond to feds,” by Times Union’s Joshua Solomon: “Former Lt. Gov. Brian A. Benjamin is attempting to mount a public comeback after leaving office in April following his indictment on an alleged pay-to-play bribery scheme that has resulted in the most serious charges being dismissed. But the fallout of the criminal case has also cost the state, with the governor's office recently spending nearly $500,000 in legal fees responding to the U.S. Justice Department's investigation of Benjamin.”

“ Ex-NY Chief Judge’s Guard Cost Millions Without Approval,” by Law360’s Frank G. Runyeon: “Former New York State Chief Judge Janet DiFiore's around-the-clock chauffeur and protection detail cost taxpayers an estimated $1 million a year while she was in office, but there is no record of any written approval for the unprecedented escort, Law360 found. State court officials have provided only a vague rationale for the security detail, which has continued even after DiFiore resigned in August, violating state court policies barring personal use of state vehicles and outraging Albany lawmakers who are now looking into the expense. Previous chief judges did not receive such perks after they left.”

“CUNY, SUNY students decry Hochul’s proposed tuition hikes,” by WNYC’s Sophia Chang: “In-state tuition at SUNY schools is currently $7,070 a year and $5,130 for the system’s community colleges, while CUNY students pay $6,930 a year or $4,800 at community colleges. The increases proposed by Hochul — the first since the pandemic began — would mean students would pay roughly $144 to $424 more for tuition next year. ‘The pandemic has made things hard for students already,’ said Salimatou Doumbouya, an architecture major at New York City College of Technology and chair of the CUNY University Student Senate. ‘A tuition hike does not help at all.’”

#UpstateAmerica: Highmark Stadium with have some new food items for the Bills-Dolphins matchup on Sunday, such as a Surf & Turf Bloody Mary with poached lobster, roasted tenderloin, spiced shrimp and a pickled pepper garnish served in 32-ounce goblet.

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FROM THE DELEGATION

“Rep. George Santos says he’ll resign if 142,000 people ask him to,” by NBC News’ LIz Brown-Kaiser and Amanda Terkel: “Rep. George Santos, the newly sworn-in New York Republican under fire for fabricating large parts of his résumé, told NBC News on Thursday that ‘if 142 people ask for me to resign, I will resign.’

“He later clarified in an interview on Steve Bannon’s War Room with Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., that he was referring to the more than 142,000 people who elected him in November’s race for New York's 3rd Congressional District. Santos said he would be in Congress ‘until those same 142,000 people tell me they don’t want me.”

TRUMP'S NEW YORK

Bannon refuses to talk to his own lawyers in charity fraud case, by POLITICO’s Danielle Muoio Dunn: During a Thursday appearance in Manhattan Supreme Court, Bannon’s attorneys said they no longer communicate directly with their client due to “irreconcilable differences” over how to approach the case. Bannon has reached out to at least seven law firms in the past several weeks to find new representation, according to his current counsel. “There has been a direct breakdown in communication,” said David Schoen, one of Bannon’s three outgoing lawyers who appeared in court Thursday.

JOIN NEXT TUESDAY TO HEAR FROM MAYORS AROUND AMERICA: 2022 brought in a new class of mayors leading “majority minority” cities, reshaping who is at the nation’s power tables and what their priorities are. Join POLITICO to hear from local leaders on how they’re responding to being tested by unequal Covid-19 outcomes, upticks in hate crimes, homelessness, lack of affordable housing, inflation and a potential recession. REGISTER HERE.

AROUND NEW YORK

— “Hamlet” in the Park is happening.

— Red flag orders skyrocketed in New York City after the state boosted its gun laws.

— Uber drivers are struggling after a blocked pay raise.

— Suicides dramatically increased in rural New York during the pandemic.

— Albany County DA David Soares wants Hochul to address the ‘Raise the Age’ law for teenagers with firearms.

— A mystery buyer now owns a former Superfund site in Albany.

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SOCIAL DATA BY DANIEL LIPPMAN

HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Nate Silver … Andrew Yang … Rod Rosenstein of King & Spalding … Tim Noah … Julia Tishman … Nick Butterfield … Fox News’ Christina Robbins

MEDIAWATCH — Robert Samuels is joining The New Yorker as a staff writer. He currently is a national enterprise reporter at WaPo. … Nihal Krishan has been awarded the Council on Foreign Relations International Affairs Fellowship in India focused on free speech and tech policy in the region. He is the tech reporter for FedScoop and is a Washington Examiner and Mother Jones alum.

MAKING MOVES — The Council for Opportunity in Education named Diane Shust as its new vice president for public policy. Shust most recently served as chief of staff to former Rep. Tom Suozzi (D-N.Y.). … Ali Bogdonoff has been promoted to be senior director for strategy initiatives at Sony Music Entertainment. … Natasha Waglow Teleanu is joining O’Melveny in New York as a partner in the firm’s labor-employment group. She most recently was assistant U.S. attorney in the civil division of New York’s Southern District. … Natalie Israel has joined the finance team of Kasirer. She most recently was finance associate for accounts payable at SpotCo. Lauren Bale, previously deputy communications director for Hochul’s campaign, will be communications director for Lt. Gov. Antonio Delgado.

… Erin Hammond and Burgundy Magoon have joined Brown & Weinraub as senior adviser and legislative director. Hammond most recently was director of external affairs at the Office of Cannabis Management and Magoon most recently was deputy budget director for financial plan, debt, public authorities, public safety and victims services for the Assembly Ways and Means Committee. … Emma Eatman is now manager on the global communications team managing global value chain comms at the Estée Lauder Companies. She most recently was press secretary for the Department of Labor.

COMING ATTRACTIONS — The Museum of Jewish Heritage is holding an event on Feb. 2 with Sarah Morgenthau and Andrew Meier discussing his new book “Morgenthau: Power, Privilege, and the Rise of an American Dynasty.”

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