Yes, As some of you may know, I was the Director of Communications for the NYS Senate...that is until the famous overthrow of the Senate by Senators Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate in early June of this year.
With the new "Leadership", came the desire to have a new Director of Communications (since I was not happy with the proceedings and made it known to all). So now I'm NYBri again. Progressive blogger, consultant, and all-round trouble maker. :)
I'm saying this as a disclaimer as some may think the following effort is sour grapes, but believe me, it's not.
More after the flip...
Earlier this week, Senator Hiram Monserrate was convicted of assaulting his girlfriend with a broken glass and slashing her face, causing a deep, muscle cutting wound.
In great New York political tradition, he got off with a misdemeanor....a felony conviction would have resulted in his immediate dismissal from the Senate. Alas, that didn't happen.
Seems that the guys' conviction has pissed off a lot of people. After all, no one wants a convicted domestic violence criminal sitting on the floor of the NYS Senate, passing laws, having staff fired and all that.
Even some fellow Democratic Senators are pissed off.
Senator Liz Krueger's statement:
I believe Hiram Monserrate should not remain in the Senate, and for the sake of his constituents, the institution of the Senate and the Democratic party he should resign immediately based on the seriousness of his violent crime.
Being an elected official is an honor and a privilege, not a right. As a state legislator , the voters give you the power to decide what laws all 19 million of us live under. And as such we are obligated to hold ourselves to the highest standards of our laws.
Senator Dave Valesky's statement:
Like all New Yorkers, I have followed the developments in the domestic violence abuse case against Hiram Monserrate and been disgusted by what I have seen and heard. Domestic violence is a serious matter and a violent crime that cannot be ignored or dismissed.
Darrel Aubertine and Brian Foley also had some not-so-nice-things to say about their fellow Senator.
Many New Yorkers and the press have referred to him as the "slasher".
Well, the people of New York are royally whizzed at the Senate in general because of all the coup crap from the summer... and Espada and Monserrate specifically. So here's what we are doing:
Collecting as many signatures as possible at FireMonserrate.com. We will then make a big stink and deliver the petition to Monserrate's office and the to the Leadership of both the Majority and Minority of the Senate.
See, cutting up somebody's face isn't a partisan issue. ALL New Yorkers should be outraged by this behavior and. Hell, all AMERICANS should be outraged
The call to action here is to go and sign the petition and tell everyone you know in New York to add their name to the petition.
I have a feeling the leadership wants this guy gone and we would be doing them a big favor by giving them cover.
Twitter hashtag - #firemonserrate if you're so inclined.
Many thanks.