Nassau County Legislature Taps Schmitt As Presiding Officer; Corbin Is Deputy; Abrahams Gets Minority Leader Post
It's unofficially official. Well, Sort of... Schmitt 9, Abrahams 8, Corbin 2. Election "Certified" by Clerk, Stayed By Court
In what many in political and community circles say stands democracy on head and flies in the face of the will of the electorate, the Nassau County Legislature, controlled by a Democratic majority, today elected Peter Schmitt, a Republican, as its new Presiding Officer.
Roger Corbin, the Democratic legislator who, with fellow Democrat Lisanne Altmann, orchestrated a coup (in collusion with Schmitt and his Republican colleagues) to oust Judy Jacobs from the top post, has taken his old seat as Deputy Presiding Officer, while Kevan Abrahams, a Democrat, is the new Minority Leader.
After the vote, "certified" by the new Clerk to the Legislature (a Republican appointed by Mr. Schmitt), the Democrats stormed out of 1 West Street and took their case back to State Supreme Court. Their argument: 10 votes are required to elect a Presiding Officer. Schmitt got 9 (all of the Republican Legislators), Kevan Abrahams 8 (all of the Democrats except Corbin and Altmann), and Corbin got 2 (his own vote, and that of Altmann). The Court has stayed the certification of the Legislature's vote, keeping the status quo, with the matter adjourned until Monday.
One observer of the scene, upon learning of the vote from The Community Alliance, described the outcome as "topsy-turvy." Said another, "the people elect a Democratic majority, with the presumption that it will be a Democrat who leads, and here the legislators wheel and deal, in their own self interests, defying the public will!"
An aide to a high-ranking Nassau County elected official, who at the time had no formal word of a vote having taken place, spoke to The Community Alliance on the condition of anonymity. "If what I'm hearing is true, it's a good thing that the collective memory is extremely short. If the election was to be held tomorrow, some of these guys would get the boot." And deservedly so!
In a chain of events unprecedented in local politics (akin to a Republican controlled United States Senate electing Ted Kennedy as its Majority Leader), the Nassau County Legislature has slapped the faces of voters who elected a Democratic majority.
What this legislative body has done -- short of castrating itself in the minds of Nassau County residents -- is "obsence." That's not our opinion, but rather, the word of Peter Schmitt himself, who said, "I don't want to be presiding officer of a legislature that is a Democratic majority... That would be obscene... That is not what the people of this county intended when they elected 10 Democrats... The Democrats should be in charge."
Of course, that was then, before the Legislature's vote, not now, as Mr. Schmitt goes to the head of the class. Today's civics lesson: a new meaning for the word "obscenity."
- - -
CLICK HERE TO READ THE NEWSDAY EDITORIAL.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW NEWS12 REPORT.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE LONG ISLAND PRESS ARTICLE.
CLICK HERE FOR THE WORD FROM NASSAU GOP WATCH.
Return to this blogspot for updates on this story.
ON AGAIN OFF AGAIN! Click HERE for Newsday story, Control Up In Air.
TO WESTERNER11552: But for the "politically charged dribble," as you call it, we would be able to move on to the pressing quality of life issues that consume Long Islander's time, consciousness and money.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, with our County Legislature in a perpetual state of chaos, it is difficult -- if not near impossible -- for any of us to either move on or move forward.
We can only hope that the quality of life agenda will not continue to take a back seat to the political posturing that has marred this legislative session and placed the business of community on perpetual hold.
We're ready to "move on," as you are. Let's get going!
Maybe this is all a set up by Tom Suozzi in order to prepare to handle dealing with a republican led State Senate should he make it to Albany.
ReplyDeleteAnd what was it with Suozzi's appearance last week in Borough Park? Oy vey! I haven't seen that much tuchus kissing since donkey mating season ended. Still, I can't blame Suozzi for his morph into Jewish mode and bad attempt at Yiddish. After all, he belongs to a political party whose leaders have a long standing tradition of adopting the speech and mannerisms of the ethnic groups from whom they try to curry favor and score political points. Think Al Gore circa 2000 at a southern baptist church screeming, "I have seen the Promised Land! Halleluyah!", or Hillary at a Harlem church on MLK day ranting that the House is being "run like a plantation - and you know what I'm talkin' about!". (I wonder if Hillary would drop the "g" from the word "talking" at a Chappaqua bake sale).