Damn, it's here already! Tomorrow is election day here in New York. Starting at 6 am and going until 9 at night, voters from across the state will have the chance to send a message to Albany. Of course not every single New Yorker has this shot, since not every incumbent is being challenged from within their party. Though where there are challengers, chances are there is a need for reform. Certainly this is necessary in the Senate with many long-time, do nothing Democrats that have been waiting for the Senate to turn blue so that they can engage in the same pork-barreled politics that the Republicans have been doing for decades. This is also a necessary endeavor in the Assembly, particularly in AD-64, where 15,000 people can decide to cut the metaphorical head off the snake and cast Sheldon Silver aside. The Times feels this way and now so does the NY Daily News (the Post too, but for other 'conservative' reasons).
From the NY Daily News:
The time has come for the voters of lower Manhattan to turn Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver out of office.
After 32 years in his seat, including 14 years as the Assembly's maximum leader, Silver embodies the insider's game that has captured the state Legislature, to the detriment of 19 million New Yorkers.
Silver's constituents would serve the cause of open, responsive government - and rock Albany to its foundations - by pulling the lever in Tuesday's Democratic primary for challenger Paul Newell.
Across America in this election year, people are demanding change. Let's have it in Albany, too.
Such a vote could mark the start of a revolution. For dumping Silver would send the unmistakable message that the people of this state want a responsible, deliberative Legislature rather than a boss-run fiefdom.
That is exactly what we want. No more fiefdoms, this is supposed to be a democracy dammit. I don't know if this will start any revolution, but getting rid of Sheldon Silver is good news for any reform-minded movement. The key is to keep it up and throw the bums out as soon as we catch wind of their foul odor and not wait decades like New York has down in Lower Manhattan (among many other districts across the state).
So remember to vote tomorrow, and if you know people that live in Lower Manhattan, make sure they vote too!
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