Morahan tops in pork

The Journal News has crowned NY State Senator Thomas P. Morahan as one of the state's top pork rustlers. Morahan has a yearly slush fund at his disposal of more than $2 million in what are euphemistically called "member items."

This practice of using pork to fund community projects reeks of corruption. Just to show that I'm not just jabbing my finger in the eye of local Republicans, State Assembly member Ellen C. Jaffee, a Democrat (and my Assembly member) has not been able to resist the temptation of securing her incumbency using member items.

This money earmarked for "member items," is the money given to members of the party in charge of either house of the New York State Legislature. For example, if your State Senator were a Democrat, he/she wouldn't have this discretionary account. The same is true if your Assembly member were a Republican. That's because the Republicans have a majority in the Senate and the Dems have the Assembly.

Don't stop reading yet...

My town of Orangetown and Rockland County, however, has a Democratic Assembly member and a Republican State Senator. You might say, "Well that's good for you!" However, it's not. These member items, this pork, turns voters into greedy pigs willing to vote against their best interests and the best interests of the community to keep the gravy train rolling into town.

What ends up happening is that this money is used to curry political favors and to cement incumbencies. So, what we have in the end is not Senate and Assembly districts, we have fiefdoms. And politicians like Morahan, and quite unfortunately, Jaffee, use this money to pick and choose which village, which hospital, which town will get these funds.

The whole process has become a travesty of the political process. One of the worst examples I've ever seen was a flyer that my two children brought home with them from school nearly two years ago. It was a few days before Halloween and about a week before the 2006 elections. The flyer was from State Senator Thomas P. Morahan. (I think the "P" stands for pork.) It was tips for trick-or-treating safety, written in very small, almost agate-sized type. But Count Morahan's name was in 42 pt type, and it was the only thing that stood out on the flyer. I paid close attention last year and there was no such similar flyer in my children's backpacks.... Of course, it wasn't an election year. This fall, I'm going to camp out at a few Nyack School Board meetings to insure that they don't fall for this crass, unethical electioneering.

If you think I'm way out there in my belief that member items are a flagrant misuse of taxpayer money, I'm not alone. Just 15 miles south in New York City, some city politicians have gotten themselves into hot water by abusing similar "member item" slush funds.

So far, two council aides have been indicted, charged with pocketing so-called "member-item" cash - money set aside for council members and other insiders.

Council Speaker Christine Quinn has hired a powerhouse criminal lawyer, and there's a move afoot to use tax dollars to pay legal bills arising from the mess.

Yes, I know that this is the NYC City Council, but this problem exists in this state on almost every level. If it inspires corruption in New York City, why wouldn't it inspire the same behavior here.

Essentially, city and state lawmakers get to dole out tax dollars to favored groups - many of them beyond reproach, but most of them well-positioned to help their patrons politically and (sometimes) personally.

Take Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Among the appropriations tucked into the new state budget is $290,000 for the enormously influential Metropolitan New York Coordinating Council on Jewish Poverty - which happens to be run by the husband of Silver's Assembly chief of staff.

Nobody doubts that the group does good work. That's not the point.

On the other hand, why should Silver have the discretion to dole out almost $300,000 to an organization with such close personal ties to his office?

And which is well-positioned to help Silver and his hand-picked allies politically?

Okay, there again, it's demonstrated that this is as much of a problem for Democrats as is it Republicans. However, I believe it's incumbent on us true Democrats to wipe this unethical stain from our political process. Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has put us in the right direction, but it's not enough.

Cuomo last year began to require groups receiving discretionary grant money to sign affidavits revealing potential conflicts of interest with elected officials or staffs - and swearing that the funds will only be used for their requested purpose.

Guess who'll be watching this in Rockland County. Me.