Money Bags Bloomberg Goes To Bat For Padavan

Two separate fundraisers are going on tonight to help the incumbent Frank Padavan and his challenger Councilman James Gennaro. Senate District 11 is one of the top targets to help Albany go completely blue next month and Gennaro's numbers have proven it. He currently bests Padavan by a ratio of 3:1 in a district that also has three times as many Dems as there are Republicans. With two weeks to go, both sides are still raising cash but in two very different ways.

From PolitickerNY (the new home of the NY Observer's political section):

Michael Bloomberg, who may or may not want to run for mayor on the Republican line, is helping Republican State Senator Frank Padavan catch up to his Democratic opponent in fund-raising.

Bloomberg is hosting a $1,000-per-person fund-raiser at his East Side townhouse for Padavan tonight at 5:30 p.m. Co-chairs are asked to pledge $10,000 to Padavan’s campaign, according to an email sent to supporters by one of former governor George Pataki’s fund-raisers, Jason Weingartener. The email was forwarded to me by a reader.[...]

Gennaro is also having a fund-raiser tonight at a bar on 44th Street at 7 p.m. It's hosted by environmental activist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. (who has raised money for Gennaro before) and tickets are $25.

Hmm, one to ten grand versus twenty-five dollars a head, quite a difference from one another. Padavan, despite the powers of incumbency is clearly hurting on the fundraising race aspect of the campaign. Gennaro has been cruising this year and is working hard to make sure the entire district knows that their State Senator can actually stand up for priniciples and not just someone that brings home a ton of pork.

Despite his Independent status, Bloomberg has raised a lot of cash for Republicans recently and in this case, it is clearly to his advantage to keep Padavan for another term (on top of his previous 36 years) which would allow Skelos to remain in control of the Senate. Not only does that keep the State House divided and crush the possibility of reform, it denies the chance for a Democratic State Senate to stop Bloomberg from running for a third term. Promises of a Dem Majority bill to override a possible City Council decision to extend term limits must haunt the Mayor and his ambitious quest for more power.

Governor Paterson, Leave Our Water Alone!

An issue not on the radar in New York and especially New York City should start getting a lot of press. With the economic climate as sour as it is, Governor Paterson and other Empire State leaders are looking at alternate revenue streams. Unfortunately, not all of those monetary possibilities are too smart or safe.

From The NY Times:

There is the utterly fortuitous prospect of a lucrative gas boom coming at a time when New York is desperate for new revenue, and upstate is equally desperate for new economic activity.

There is the national energy crunch to push for domestic exploration. There is the eternal conflict between upstate and downstate over water issues and land rights. There are conflicting instincts among landowners: hope of winning the gas lottery versus fear about the consequences for the environment and on the quality of life in their communities.

Industry officials, who have largely kept a low profile, say that they welcome state oversight and that the industry has a track record of being environmentally responsible. But they also warn that a drilling moratorium or undue regulation could discourage production.

“New York has to be careful how it deals with these issues so it doesn’t send a negative signal to the industry that chills the interest in the play in New York State,” said Tom West, an Albany lawyer who represents several gas companies. “These companies have limited investment dollars, and they’re going to invest them where the natural gas opportunities exist and where there’s a regulatory climate that promotes it.”

Natural gas is a finite resource and in the time of soaring gas prices, new areas are being voraciously sought so that the material that makes our petro-economy go can be extracted and sold at market rates. The problem is that where Paterson and the oil/gas industry is looking is where much of New York City gets drinking water from. Sending a "negative signal to the industry" is fine by me as long as our water stays clean. New Yorkers take pride in having the best big-city water in the country and we are not about to lose that....and our health, at the expense of the oil and gas industry.

Thankfully, as the article points out, we have Councilman Gennaro on our side to fight against the industry and (for now) the short-sighted Governor.