Sheldon Silver

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Sheldon Silver (born February 13, 1944) is a politician and member of the United States Democratic Party, currently serving as Speaker of New York State Assembly.

Contents 1 Personal life 2 Political career 3 Criticism 4 See also 5 Sources 6 External links

[edit] Personal life

An Orthodox Jew of eastern European descent, Silver has lived all his life on Manhattan's Lower East Side. He lives with his wife Rosa, a few blocks from their children and her parents. Friends regard him as rather cautious and reserved, though with a good sense of humor. ^[1]

He graduated from the Rabbi Jacob Joseph High School on Manhattan's, Henry Street. He spent his undergrad years at Yeshiva University, and attained a law degree from Brooklyn Law School. He was athletic and captain of his high school basketball team. By the time he became Speaker of the Assembly, he was known to play basketball with other high-ranking officials, including former Governor Mario Cuomo and Alan G. Hevesi the former New York State Comptroller who recently resigned as a result of an ethics scandal^[2].

[edit] Political career

Silver was first elected to the Assembly in 1976, and became Speaker on February 11, 1994. He replaced Saul Weprin, who had recently suffered a stroke and whose sons David and Mark currently serve on the New York City Council and in the State Assembly respectively. He represents the 64th Assembly District, comprising much of lower Manhattan, notably the former World Trade Center site. He has a reputation as a liberal of the Lyndon Johnson mold.

In 1987, Silver sued to stop the City of New York from housing inmates on an abandoned military barge that had last been used by the British in the Falklands War, arguing the barge would be disruptive to the neighborhood. At that time, New York City was struggling with an overcrowded jail capacity^[3]. An appeals court ruled that the inmates could be housed on the barge on February 26, 1988^[4].

In the past, Silver has been critical of state fiscal policy. He was the chairman of the Assembly's Ways and Means Committee from 1992 to 1994, selected after Weprin replaced former Speaker Mel Miller^[5]. In December 1993, he criticized then New York City Mayor-Elect Rudy Giuliani's appointment for budget director, Abraham M. Lackman, as "a person whose primary function [as director of fiscal studies for the State Senate Finance Committee] has been to limit the benefits for New York City^[6].”

Since becoming Speaker in 1994, Silver has been by default the only Democratic counterweight to Republican power in the government of New York State because of how the legislative branch is structured. Although constitutionally not able to veto legislative bills, Silver can effectively veto a bill using Assembly procedural rules. The fact that each house of the New York State Legislature must pass a bill before the governor can sign it, coupled with the fact that Silver can stop passage of a bill in the Assembly, gives him enormous power.

Silver was instrumental in the reinstatement of the death penalty in New York State in 1995. The bill passed was ruled unconstitutional by the New York State Court of Appeals (analogous to the Supreme Court in other states) as the law stipulated that if jurors were deadlocked between sentences of life without parole and execution, the court would sentence the defendant to life imprisonment with parole eligibility after serving 20 to 25 years. The Court ruled that in such a case, execution would seem unfairly preferable to the jury. New York's crime rate had dropped significantly in the 10 years since the law was passed, without seeing an execution. Silver let the law expire in 2005 without much debate^[7]. In December 2005, after two New York City police officers were killed in as many months, Pataki called for reinstatement of the death penalty. The New York Times quoted Silver's spokesman Charles Carrier as saying, "He no longer supports [capital punishment] because Assembly hearings have shown it is not the most effective way to improve public safety^[8].”

In 1999, Silver was instrumental in the repeal of New York City's commuter tax, which taxed non-resident workers similarly to city residents. This was a great benefit to those commuting to work in the city from surrounding areas, but at tremendous cost to his own NYC constituents. Silver was criticized by criticism^[9] city leaders for removing the tax, and though after 9/11 he has suggested he would support reinstating it, he has taken no steps to do so.

In 2000, Silver faced an attempted coup in the Assembly as members, primarily from Upstate New York, tried to overthrow him. Michael Bragman, one of the leaders of the backlash, lost his position as majority leader of the Assembly^[10]

On June 7, 2005, Silver blocked the proposal to build the West Side Stadium in the area of Hell's Kitchen. This project was heavily promoted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who claimed that it was crucial to New York's failed bid to host the 2012 Olympics. He was also involved in blocking the proposed Moynihan Station, a project which would have replaced Manhattan's aging Penn Station, as well as legislation that would stop city employees from collecting potentially-fraudulent duplicate retirement payments from multiple sources.

[edit] Criticism

As the chief officer of one house of a state legislature known for its political inertia (the 2005 New York state budget was the first in 20 years to pass the Assembly on time), Silver has often been criticized as characteristic of the inside power structure of New York State government. During the administration of Governor George Pataki, Silver was criticized for participating in a "three men in a room" system of government in which Silver, the governor, and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno exercised nearly all control over government business in the state. So far it has not become evident if this system will continue with the new governor, Eliot Spitzer, who has been highly critical of this arrangement.

At times, Silver has been criticized as being aloof. A year 2000 editorial, written in response by the failed coup against his power in 2000, in The Buffalo News attributed that aloofness to having too much power:

The problem–which also exists in the State Senate–can be boiled down to a single overarching issue: The Assembly speaker has too much power. He controls everything, from the legislation that can be voted on to how his normally docile members vote on it. He decides what the Assembly will accept in a state budget. He negotiates secretly with the other two leaders to hammer out important, expensive and far-reaching laws. And he ignores the wishes of less exalted lawmakers^[11].

Silver has long been criticized for his employment with Weitz & Luxenberg, one of state's larger litigation firms. This has led some to accuse Silver of having a conflict of interest, as he has consistently blocked medical malpractice and other tort reform in Albany. Weitz & Luxenberg insists that Silver's ties with the firm are "negligible" but Silver has refused to disclose the details of his employment or the salary he receives from the law firm. ^[12]

In 2005, commentator Bill O'Reilly of the Fox News Channel lambasted Silver for blocking legislation that would mandate restrictions on child molesters after their sentences are finished (including possibly forcing them to become permanent residents in psychiatric wards). "He stopped legislation that would have tracked the most dangerous sex offenders with electronic devices, and that would have mandated that communities be notified of sex offenders," O'Reilly said. "Everyone should know that Sheldon Silver is blocking legislation that would protect children and be tougher on sex offenders. That's why we call this man the worst politician in office today." ^[13]

In May, 2006, when legislators proposed a law to eliminate the state's 5-year statute of limitations on rape charges, Silver tied the legislation to a proposal to eliminate a 10-year statute on filing civil lawsuits. In the ensuing controversy, then gubernatorial candidate Elliot Spitzer sided against Silver saying "...the two should not be held hostage, one to the other." Some also questioned Silver's motives as Silver is employed by the Weitz & Luxenberg, a law firm heavily involved in civil litigation in New York State. ^[14]

After the resignation of State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi in December 2006, Silver and Governor Eliot Spitzer attempted to work on a compromise on the appointment of a new Comptroller. According to the New York State constitution, the full legislature (Assembly and Senate) takes a majority vote for the replacement of certain Statewide offices. The alleged deal was that a Blue Ribbon panel would formulate a list of up to five nominees. The panel, partially consisting of three former comptrollers, Edward V. Regan, H. Carl McCall, and former New York City Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin, ultimately put forward three candidates, none of whom were members of the State legislature. They were: Nassau County Comptroller, Howard S. Weitzman, commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance, Martha E. Stark, and William J. Mulrow, an investment banker who ran for state comptroller in 2002^[15].

Silver, expressing disappointment in what he deemed as a broken promise by Spitzer, organized the legislature to approve sitting Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli as the new state comptroller^[16].

Spitzer has since steadily attacked Silver and the Legislature for their maneuver. ^[17][18].

[edit] See also

• List of members of the New York State Assembly

[edit] Sources

[edit] External links

• New York State Assembly Page
• Speaker Silver's New York State Assembly Page

Preceded by Saul Weprin

Speaker of the New York State Assembly 1994–

Succeeded by Incumbent