Shelly Silver kills congestion pricing dead
Alright, so everyone who hasn't been asleep for the last forty years must have seen this one coming: Sheldon Silver, Democrat of Manhattan, Speaker of the Assembly, refused to allow the State Assembly an up-or-down vote on congestion pricing.
Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s far-reaching plan to ease traffic in Manhattan died here on Monday in a closed conference room on the third floor of the Capitol.
Democratic members of the State Assembly held one final meeting to debate the merits of Mr. Bloomberg’s plan and found overwhelming and persistent opposition. The plan would have charged drivers $8 to enter a congestion zone in Manhattan south of 60th Street during peak hours.
Mr. Bloomberg and his supporters, including civic, labor and environmental organizations, viewed the proposal as a bold and essential step to help manage the city’s inexorable growth.
Now, here's where it gets interesting. If the proposal didn't have the necessary votes, it could have been let to the floor and died there. Sheldon Silver didn't allow it to a vote - in the Stalinist system of Albany, only the leaders of the respective chambers, not individual legislators, in practical terms have the ability to bring legislation to a vote - because he did not want it to pass.
And there is no district in all of New York that would have benefited more from congestion pricing than Mr. Silver's own.
In normal years, residents of Silver's 62nd AD really don't have much in the way of leverage over their too-powerful Assemblyman, which is why Silver has completely escaped accountability in his marbled office in Albany. This time, however, things are different: there's a primary challenger, Paul Newell.
If the powerless voters in the 62nd Assembly District want to have a representative for their interests in Albany, this year, they have a choice.
Maybe
Dicker, no friend of Silver, clearly sees it differently
http://www.nypost.com/seven/04082008/news/regionalnews/shel_game_wasnt_p...
Personally, I still hope for a Senate vote; it would be nice for the Mayor to understand that his half million to Joe Bruno's campaign committeee couldn't buy him enough Republcans to pass his plan in one house, and cost him some Senate Democrats to boot.
Personally I favor the plan, and I agree that they should have had a vote in both houses. Shelly then could have been one of 18 Democrats who actually said yes. Instead he took one for the team, and the same editorial boards who condemn "slush funds" now take umbrage when a leader refuses to use them to pass legislation.
Now, let me ask you, does this mean you support Dominic Recchia who was brave enough to vote for it, against Stve Harrison who says he like congestion pricing, but will never support an plan which would actually implement it?
Recchia waited on the vote..
I must remind the last blogger, Mr. Recchia passed on the first vote for congestion taxing in the City Council. He waited till he saw which way the wind was blowing. That's not courage or leadership, that's being a sheep & follower.
Opposing Sheldon Silver may be a good thing
but the failure of congestion pricing advocates to win political support in the NYS Assembly should not be laid at his door. If assembly members wanted this bill, Mr. Silver would have wanted it too.
In my view, congestion pricing advocates -- including me -- were unable to generate significant political support. Mr. Bloomberg & others provided money. Ads were run. Activists took to the streets and to public hearings. We never built popular support for the proposal. Some of the reason for this is that the Bloomberg proposal was presented as a take it or leave it. Supported by obsolete data, it couldn't be defended on technical grounds by even supportive experts. Those of us seeking actual traffic improvements might do better than to short circuit, as Mr. Bloomberg proposed, the environmental assessment process.
Just for the record...
There are two challengers (the NY Sun has articles on both of them): Luke Henry and Paul Newell.