Getting to be MorelandGate as Bharara Threatens Cuomo with Investigation over Corruption Commission Tampering

*Now political summer 2014 heats up *US Prosecutor Preet Bharara warns Cuomo 
*Cuomo ad blitz right before Times piece on corruption probe
*Lotsa Dem Party cash went to pump up Cuomo --Did any of that come out of UFT/NYSUT COPE funds???  
*Green Party gubernatorial nominee calls for criminal investigation of Cuomo and Moreland
*Republican Party nominee asks, "Where is Andrew?"
2014 has been a dull summer in New York State news. By contrast, 2010 had the struggle over Race to the Top, showing New York Governor Andrew Cuomo and United Federation of Teachers President Michael Mulgrew bowing before (and caving in to) Bill Gates' Common Core State Standards. With U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara's threat to investigate Cuomo over possible obstruction of justice or witness tampering, [July 31]this could tarnish Cuomo's reputation and grab increasingly negative attention. Talking Points Memo reported on the same story with this digest, "NYT: U.S. Attorney Tells Cuomo To Back Off Witnesses In Ethics Probe."

Cuomo has chugged along as Cuomo the invincible as he made parents' heads explode with his see/hear/say no evil approach to inBloom [the failed plan to siphon tons of private data on schoolkids to the state government and who knows how many corporate education companies] or Common Core, and as he gratuitously shut down the [state corruption investigating] Moreland Commission because "It's not a legal question" and because "It's my commission."  Read Daily Kos on Cuomo's power grab tone.

So now as July closes we get the big New York Times story, U.S. Department of Justice Attorney Preet Bharara. (Credit to DemocraticUnderground posters for the NYT and Cap NY links below.)

U.S. Attorney Warns Cuomo on [Moreland Commission] Ethics Case

From the Times:

In an escalation of the confrontation between the United States attorney in Manhattan, Preet Bharara, and Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo over the governor’s cancellation of his own anticorruption commission, Mr. Bharara has threatened to investigate the Cuomo administration for possible obstruction of justice or witness tampering.
The warning, in a sharply worded letter from Mr. Bharara’s office, came after several members of the panel issued public statements defending the governor’s handling of the panel, known as the Moreland Commission, which Mr. Cuomo created last year with promises of cleaning up corruption in state politics but shut down abruptly in March.

Click here for the full Times story. And gratuitiously there was lots of Democratic Party cash going into a Cuomo campaign ad bltiz right before the Times hit last Wednesday, "Cuomo’s Office Hobbled Ethics Inquiries by Moreland Commission," as Capital New York reported:

Democrats ramped up ads as Cuomo girded for Times hit

Capital New York reported, as noted in the above link, that the New York State Democratic Campaign Committee began buying $281,655 worth of advertizing time on July 19, the day after Cuomo sent off a turgid 13 page missive [Cap NY gave a link for that letter to the Times site, but apparently the Times does not have that letter on its site at this point] to Times reporters working on the story. It is no wonder that campaignmoney.org reported July 24, "New York Newspapers 'Front Page' Gov. Cuomo Moreland Commission Scandal." The site listed 13 upstate newspapers' reactions after reporting,

The New York Times published ["Cuomo’s Office Hobbled Ethics Inquiries by Moreland Commission"] a bombshell investigation yesterday into Gov. Andrew Cuomo's meddling in the affairs of the anti-corruption Moreland Commission he created. This morning, New Yorkers across the state woke up to the story splashed across newspaper front pages with headlines like "Did Cuomo cross line?," "Specter of conflict haunting Cuomo," and "Gov. Cuomo under fire."

Like Cuomo needed the money! Take a look at this post at Diane Ravitch's blog, "Billionaires Rule! How Governor Cuomo and Hedge Fund Managers Protected Charter Schools," April 13, on Cuomo's charter school friends.

According to campaign finance records, Mr. Cuomo’s re-election campaign has received hundreds of thousands of dollars from charter school supporters, including William A. Ackman, Carl C. Icahn, Bruce Kovner and Daniel Nir.
Kenneth G. Langone, a founder of Home Depot who sits on a prominent charter school board, gave $50,000 to Mr. Cuomo’s campaign last year. He said that when the governor asked him to lead a group of Republicans supporting his re-election, he agreed because of Mr. Cuomo’s support for charter schools.

That Ken Langone is the same character that made an Adolf Hitler-Barack Obama analogy, the same fellow that is a top Chris Christie donor and the same fellow that says that Pope Francis' criticisms of capitalism could cause the wealthy to scale back their donations to the Catholic Church.

They can laugh now, the corruption probes haven't finished their work.

And as ProPublica reported, Cuomo has raised millions in campaign donations through a loophole that he promised to close.

Now we get to the question, how much UFT or (now Mulgrew-controlled) NYSUT Committee on Political Education (COPE) money has gone to Cuomo in recent weeks? It is not out of the realm of possibility, for Mulgrew's proxy Andy Pallotta spent $10,000 on an entire table at Cuomo's birthday fundraiser.

Cuomo's opponents have been quick to respond. Green Party nominee for governor Howie Hawkins responded on July 27:

Criminally Investigate Cuomo & Moreland

Today's New York Times article on the Moreland Commission is a disturbing documentation of the ongoing efforts by Governor Cuomo and his staff to prevent an independent investigation into corruption at the State Capitol. Mr. Cuomo's behavior, including deceiving the public as to the workings of the Commission, falls far short of the minimum ethical standards for the highest elected official in our state.
Even the Commission's one watered down report stated that state government is “a pay-to-play political culture driven by large checks." Cuomo is the kingpin of that domain, as his $40 million plus election war chest highlights. Cuomo and his staff however ensured that key issues that would reflect badly on him were stricken from the report, especially information that investigators had learned about the powerful Real Estate Board of New York and its political donations.
While we are encouraged that the US Attorney has picked up investigations dropped by Cuomo's disbanding of the Commission, this story makes clear the urgent need for an independent criminal and ethical investigation of the activities of Mr. Cuomo, starting with the enormous amount of massive campaign contributions he has raised during his tenure. This investigation needs to examine the funds that Governor has raised - and spent - for various party and independent committees that he has controlled, as well as the potential misuse of public funds to promote his candidacy.
As I have pointed out in this and prior campaigns, it is impossible for politicians to effectively investigate themselves. That is why I have called for non lawmakers to control bodies such as JCOPE [NYS Joint Commission on Public Ethics].

More recently, Hawkins weighed in on the developing MorlandGate mess with his statement approval of U.S. Attorney Bharara's involvement. Earlier in July Hawkins noted the declining standardshttp://www.howiehawkins.org/clean_up_albany_corruption for political behavior in our times,

"While Watergate is viewed as our generation's greatest political scandal, the reality is that the morals of political officials have dramatically declined since then. Behavior considered shocking by public officials 40 years ago is now treated as routine. The great shift in wealth to the very rich over the last forty years has gone hand and hand with the perception by lawmakers that they are entitled to treat public service as a license to enrich themselves," said Hawkins.

Republican Party nominee for governor Rob Astorino released a video, "Where is Andrew?" The video ad advises viewers to "Call 1-800-Moreland."

So there you have it: Cuomo has a lot of explaining to do: why did he close the Moreland Commission? Another point: why is the now Mulgrew-controlled NYSUT or any other unions bothering to shell out thousands for such politician that is cozy with the privatizers, the hedge funders? --and a politician that we might add is possibly a bit crooked.

At the very least, regardless of how far Bharara can get with investigating Cuomo, the governor's rapacious greed for money and power look too tactless for someone with presidential ambitions. Serious donors will go to Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race, should he attempt to run. And both Clinton and Republican contenders will be easily able to tarnish Cuomo with the Curroptmo tag.

For a reminder of how this is a governor more concerned with catering to the one percent than in helping ''working families'' read my post this January, "DeBlasio Seeks Pre-K Help, Cuomo Pushes Millionaire Tax Cuts / Why Mulgrew-Iannuzzi NYSUT Battle Matters."

For the best on-going coverage of Cuomo and his manipulation of the Moreland Commission, regularly visit Perdido Street School blog. e.g., His latest post has the important news that "Daily News Reports That Andrew Cuomo Has 'Lawyered Up'." Cuomo has hired a top criminal defense attorney and his top aides have hired their own personal attorneys. Yes, the political summer is heating up.

UPDATED: Karen Lewis Responds to Attack on Schools With Political Mobilization; and the UFT is Endorsing Thompson?

UPDATED: Surprise, Surprise: Randy Mastro and Al D'Amato, top Thompson campaign contribution bundlers

At the 18:12 minute point in the Chicago Teachers Union video on researchers' work and teacher testimonials on a closing school --autopsy of an executed school, Karen Lewis, CTU president, moves onto the ball onto the sphere of political action: "CTU releases school closings study, ramps up political activities", April 16, 2013.
More recently, she noted that in the 2011 mayoral election by which Rahm Emanuel became elected to mayor's office, thereby enabling him to control the school board, Emanuel was elected with only 22 percent of the eligible voters ("CTU Kicks Off Effort To 'Change The Political Landscape," video, May 23).

“Brothers and sisters, mayoral control is a disaster,” said Karen Lewis, president of the CTU. “We must change the political landscape in Chicago.”

She then went on to say that the Union will start getting involved in politics, in registering voters and getting involved in political education including recruiting real grassroots candidates for elective office, in Chicago and in the Illinois state legislature in Springfield. The media have read in a more pointed fashion, with several headlines like this, "CTU hosts voter registration drive, aims to have Mayor Emanuel ousted in 2015 over school closings," and "The 2015 Mayoral Campaign Begins Tonight: CTU trains registrars in effort to unseat Mayor Rahm Emanuel."
Given the CORE-lead CTU of the last three years, we can anticipate that CTU political action will be on CTU terms, on teacher advocacy, that keeps in mind teachers' interests and stances.

# # #

THE STUDY IN CONTRASTS: UFT, JOINING IN THE POWER GLOVE WITH "EDUCATION REFORMERS"
Lewis' and the CTU's stance will stand in contrast to the dominant faction of the United Federation of Teachers, which at the May 22 delegate assembly, had reps from various boroughs ringing the bells for former comptroller and School Board President Bill Thompson.
The choice is problematic on so many levels. He is partially himself to the education reformers' agenda, committing himself to continue parts of the Bloomberg legacy, such as charter school co-locations. And the central role of New York State Regent Merryl Tisch in his campaign is disturbing. Diane Ravitch has called Tisch the doyenne of high-stakes testing. Is it any wonder that so many Teachers College (Columbia University) students protested her award this month?
Note that the Gotham Schools site reported May 15 that Thompson with his education platform is seeking to not merely continue some Bloomberg initiatives, such as lengthening the school day, but expanding other ones:

Thompson would expand, not end, many of Bloomberg’s school policies.
He said he would replicate some of the small schools that Bloomberg has opened, continue the city’s nascent efforts to link high schools with industry partners, and revise — not abandon — the Department of Education’s method of evaluating schools.

The article continues:

But a number of items on Thompson’s platform would be extensions of Bloomberg’s policies. He said he would replicate schools such as Pathways in Technology High School and the Academy of Software Engineering that give New York City students direct paths to jobs.

Some of Thompson’s proposals could even run afoul of the union, depending on how they are implemented. He said he would “hold teachers accountable for what happens in their schools and classrooms” in part by using test scores, as is required under state law, and would launch a citywide initiative for longer school hours and school years. He said he would also work to pay “our most effective teachers” more to teach in high-need schools.

Thompson did not say how he would define effectiveness, taking a pass on a crucial issue that the next mayor will have to resolve. He also did not explain how he would pay for his costly proposals, other than by cutting “the excessive amounts of hundreds of millions of dollars” that the Department of Education has awarded in contracts to private vendors. (Public Advocate Bill de Blasio has so far been the only candidate to say he would raise taxes to support schools.)

Note that Thompson dodges the charter school issue:

And Thompson did not mention the divisive issue of charter schools at all, except to say that he would hold them to the same standards as district schools. (Because the schools are publicly funded but privately managed and authorized by state entities, the mayor has little sway over city charter schools’ operation.)

Endorsing Bill Thompson for mayor? No, our union should instead be educating its members on the differences between the candidates. The UFT should be warning against voting for Thompson.
(For on overview of the candidates, see Dana Rubinstein of Capital New York's "How different are the mayoral candidates from Bloomberg on education, actually?"
UPDATES - WEINER POSITION - QUINN: THOMPSON A MOSAIC OF THE BLOOMBERG PROGRAM:
Anthony Weiner, former Queens Congressman and new entrant to the mayor's race, has staked himself to the right, asserting that city employees need to pay more of their health insurance costs. Christine Quinn, city council president, will drop out of tomorrow's education debate hosted by New Yorkers for Great Public Schools. Weiner will participate in the debate.
If Merryl Tisch's support for Thompson is not reason alone to give teachers pause enough for supporting Thompson (with money and as a top campaign advisor), there is the news that former Senator Alphonse D'Amato (Republican and stalwart ally of president Ronald Reagan) is financially supporting Thompson as well. This last point produced the ironic situation whereby front-runner Christine Quinn makes the reasonable critique in the race --ironic, as she is, with good reason, universally seen as the Bloomberg fourth-term candidate. As the New York Times reports:

“The last thing Democrats are looking for in a mayor of New York is someone who is ‘proud’ to have Al D’Amato’s support,” the e-mail said, citing a statement Mr. Thompson made to The New York Times.

Note the new New York Times interactive chart on campaign contributions to the mayoral candidates. Apparently, Randy Mastro (former Rudy Giuliani deputy mayor) and Al D'Amato are the number one and two campaign bundlers for the Thompson campaign. The site also links to a map with campaign contributions. The top fund-raiser in Manhattan, particularly in the ultra-wealthy Upper East Side district: Christine Quinn.
A Quinn campaign spokesperson continued the attack on Thompson, on points progressive teacher unionists should concur with:

On Wednesday, her campaign spokesman also belittled Mr. Thompson’s proposals on education, calling them “a mosaic of things that Christine C. Quinn has already proposed or done.”

It is important for the UFT to make a principled stand. With Weiner's entry into the race the anti-Quinn vote is further divided, potentially giving the Quinn a boost after her recent fall in the polls. Going with Thompson --simply to get a seat at the table with an insider power man-- is wrong-minded and incredibly short-sighted.