One day after the arrest of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D), U.S. attorney Preet Bharara criticized Albany’s political culture, Capital New York reports.
Said Bharara: “There are by my count 213 men and women in the state legislature, and yet it is common knowledge that only three men essentially wield all the power. I must confess a little bit of confusion about this: When did this come to pass? Why has everyone just come to accept it?”
As Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) “faced mounting questions about the ouster of the top state law enforcement chief and allegations of improper political meddling, two influential fellow Republicans called for an inquiry on Thursday into the potentially damaging accusations,” the New York Times reports.
Former Florida Department of Law Enforcement Commissioner Gerald Bailey told the Tampa Bay Times “he was pressured by Scott’s office or his campaign to doctor details of a criminal investigation, use state cars to ferry campaign workers, help write Scott’s campaign platform on law enforcement and intervene in a federal investigation of a possible Scott appointee.”
Virginia lawmaker Joseph Morrissey (D), “who was elected to the House of Delegates while serving a jail term now faces felony charges for allegedly entering a forged document into court and lying under oath,” the Washington Post reports.
“The new charges raise anew the possibility of sanctions or even expulsion for Morrissey in the House, where his colleagues expressed chagrin at the continuing drama and said they were considering their options.”
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“Idaho lawmakers worried that special recognition of the Idaho giant salamander could lead to federal protections have rejected a grade school student’s request that it be named the state amphibian,” the Idaho Statesman reports.
Rep. Ken Andrus (R) voted against the measure after recalling being repulsed by them as a young boy: “They were ugly, they were slimy, and they were creepy. And I’ve not gotten over that. So to elevate them to the status of being the state amphibian, I’m not there yet.”
Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal (R) “skipped town over the weekend for an economic development trip. Just where he went is being treated like a state secret,” the Atlanta Journal Constitution reports.
“His office won’t disclose where the state’s top elected official journeyed or whom he visited. His public schedule is blank. His name was on the agenda for Monday’s Martin Luther King Jr. commemoration but he wasn’t there.”
Quinnipiac: “One year after the Bridgegate scandal erupted, New Jersey Gov. Christ Christie still can’t get his job approval rating over the 50% mark as 46% of New Jersey voters approve of the job he’s doing, while 48% disapprove, his worst overall score in almost four years.”
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie’s (R) staff “has refused to release almost $800,000 in American Express card bills being sought by New Jersey Watchdog which has written that the governor’s travel is costing taxpayers a lot of money,” the Asbury Park Press reports.
“Last week, the investigative web site reported Christie’s State Police bodyguard costs have grown by 1,800 percent since Christie became governor. State records showed those costs were $959,856 — not including unreleased expenses — for the last quarter of last year.”
“During his State of the State address Thursday Gov. Sam Brownback declared the state would continue its ‘march to zero’ on income taxes, but the budget and tax plans he unveiled Friday morning showed it would not be marching so quickly. Brownback proposed increasing overall taxes by $211 million for the next fiscal year, which starts in July,” the Wichita Eagle reports.
“The governor offered a proposal strikingly similar to the one offered by his Democratic opponent, Paul Davis, during the election, which Brownback’s campaign had repeatedly attacked. Brownback’s plan would allow a very small reduction to tax rates for the lower income tax bracket to take place in 2016 and then freeze rates until state coffers are restored. He also proposes massive tax increases on liquor and tobacco products.”
North Carolina state Rep. Paul Tine “changed his political party to unaffiliated last week, it represented one more blow for an endangered species at the legislature: the rural, moderate Democrat,” the Raleigh News & Observer reports.
When South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley (R) “takes her second oath for the state’s highest office Wednesday, she will stand as a survivor of a sometimes turbulent first term, having outlasted many of her opponents and controversies,” the Columbia State reports.
“Powerful legislative leaders who fought the Lexington Republican’s priorities have left the General Assembly. Foes who took Haley to court and challenged her at the ballot box failed to knock her out of office. Scandals, including the worst data hacking of a state agency in U.S. history, did not cause lasting damage.”
Virginia Del. Joseph Morrissey (D) “won a special election to keep his seat in the 74th House of Delegates district, making him the first jailed lawmaker in modern Virginia history to win reelection,” the Richmond Times Dispatch reports.
“The lawmaker was sentenced in December to six months in jail after entering an Alford plea to a misdemeanor charge of contributing to the delinquency of a minor.”
In his first official act as Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Sid Miller “granted full amnesty to cupcakes. Cakes, pies, and brownies made the list, too,” the Texas Tribune reports.
“Miller was seeking to reassure Texas parents that it’s legal to bring cupcakes and other treats to school — and that he’ll protect that right.”
“Four years ago, a wave of new Republican governors administered shock therapy to the states they won, rolling back union rights, approving restrictions on abortion and deeply cutting taxes and spending,” the New York Times reports.
“Republicans triumphed again in the 2014 midterm governor’s races, winning re-election almost everywhere and expanding control to Democratic strongholds like Illinois and Maryland. But rather than reprising the Tea Party insurrection of 2010, Republican governors taking their oaths this month have expressed more muted, less ideological priorities.”
Incoming Illinois Gov. Bruce Rauner (R) campaigned as a reformer of the state’s often corrupt politics, Reuters reports.
“But watchdog groups say activities surrounding his inauguration Monday are among the priciest of any incoming governor and take advantage of a loophole in campaign finance that allows wealthy special interests to gain access to those who hold political power. These groups say Rauner’s inauguration festival — with a total tab estimated to reach $10 million — is emblematic of a trend in other states. The costly celebrations, funded by private donors, skirt ethics laws and open conflicts of interest for elected officials, the critics say.”
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R) “was interrogated recently by federal investigators probing the 2013 lane-closure scandal that has threatened his political future,” officials confirmed to ABC News.
“Christie met with federal prosecutors and FBI agents last month during a secret session at the New Jersey governor’s mansion in Princeton. He agreed to sit down with investigators voluntarily after they offered him a chance to provide his side of the story. Interviewing Christie was one of the final steps in the investigation, which appears to be wrapping up, according to those briefed on it.”
The special prosecutor and grand jury investigating allegations that Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane (D) “leaked secret information to a newspaper have found evidence of wrongdoing and recommended that she be criminally charged,” the Philadelphia Inquirer reports.
“The panel concluded that Kane violated grand-jury secrecy rules by leaking investigative material in a bid to embarrass political enemies… Some of those familiar with the grand jury presentment say it recommended charges that included perjury and contempt of court.”
Alabama Democratic Party Chairwoman Nancy Worley “sent a holiday letter to friends and Democrats all over the state describing, among other things, how she got stuck on the toilet and couldn’t get up,” the Birmingham News reports.
“Legislators in the 24 states where Republicans now hold total control plan to push a series of aggressive policy initiatives in the coming year aimed at limiting the power of the federal government and rekindling the culture wars,” the Washington Post reports.
“The unprecedented breadth of the Republican majority — the party now controls 31 governorships and 68 of 98 partisan legislative chambers — all but guarantees a new tide of conservative laws. Republicans plan to launch a fresh assault on the Common Core education standards, press abortion regulations, cut personal and corporate income taxes and take up dozens of measures challenging the power of labor unions and the Environmental Protection Agency.”
Taegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.
Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.
Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.
Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.
Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.
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