To me one of the top races this year is the primary challenge to one of the number one most dysfunctional people in Albany now that Hiram Monserrate has been ousted: corrupt and reactionary Bronx hack Pedro Espada, jr. Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter has stepped up to the plate to try and get rid of Espada. Already Desiree Hunter has gotten the endorsements of Democracy for NYC, Retail Wholesale and Department Store Union, and Stonewall Democrats.

Pedro Espada is one of the traitors who derailed reform in Albany by temporarily defecting to the Republicans. Espada is also actively under investigation by the Bronx District Attorney, FBI, IRS, and NYS Attorney General for corruption:

The Legislative Ethics Commission is probing the hiring of Pedro G. Espada

Key Senate Coup Player Pedro Espada: Corrupt or Crazy or Both

Bronx DA and Andrew Cuomo Investigating State Senator Espada  read more »

Liz Benjamin's blog has a piece saying that Assemblymember and candidate for state Senate José Peralta is accusing Hiram Monserrate of being a "liar and an abuser."

Here's the problem -- Peralta may be as corrupt as Monserrate. According to a Daily News article, Peralta has received half a million bucks in state and federal member items for a nonprofit that, for all practical purposes, doesn't exist.

It appears that before we throw the rascals out we need to take a good, hard look at the new rascals who are coming in.

On a side note, the New York State Council on the Arts (NYSCA) requires that an artistic entity be around for three years, and prove their activities are worthy, before they can even be considered for a grant; perhaps all state money given to nonprofits should have similar requirements.

Why the New York Times even goes through the bother of individually writing up this recurring story is actually kind of mystifying, but here it is again.

Mr. Paterson, right, has sent 18 bills to the Legislature since taking office in mid-March, according to records provided by his administration late last week. Of those, three were budget bills that demanded attention and two more simply outlined the result of contract negotiations with public-sector labor unions. Those five were swiftly passed.

None of the remaining 13 bills, however, have been passed. Seven of them have not even been introduced in either chamber, though four of the seven were sent over at various points last week. Still, by comparison, Mr. Spitzer’s first five bills were all passed by both chambers within three months of his taking office, even though he had a fractious relationship with lawmakers.

More than half of the governor's bills haven't even been introduced, with a total of eight working days left on the legislative calendar. So what's going on, in case you as a citizen are concerned about this lack of effort, let alone progress?  read more »