Johnson Means Reform

Interesting thread called "Run Maureen..." at The Albany Project , (where I posted this as a diary under the same title..)

Let me tell you why I think Johnson means reform and O'Connell means dysfunction..

SaveNY has a right to his healthy dose of skepticism, given the apparent dysfunction of the legislature. Still, I disagree with his assessment that Johnson would be bad for upstate, simply because he is a downstate Democrat. For one, this election will ultimately be decided by voters within the district, and whomever they pick ought to reflect their interests and concerns, in the same way that upstate senators serve upstate citizens.

Beyond this, electing Johnson makes for better state government. From what I gather, he has been effective and clean in the Nassau Leg. And if you assume a certain degree of party discipline and lockstep, as SaveNY presumably does, I have a feeling Johnson's loyalties would fall closer to the ever-ascendant Spitzer, (as opposed to the besieged/machine boss Silver).

I say this because of the tremendous political capital our newly elected governor is expending in this race; clearly Johnson will be indebted to Spitzer, and thus an ally for REFORM.

It is the reform that Spitzer champions (public-finance, independent redistricting) that will ultimately benefit ONE NEW YORK, upstate included. So yes, lavish plane rides are certainly disappointing coming from Spitzer, but if he makes this sort of thing illegal, I'm all for it.

Something tells me that despite her love letter pledge to Spitzer, O'Connell would likely crack under pressure from Bruno, Skelos, et al. They've already shown their willingness to maintain their entrenched power-base tooth and nail; do you really think that O'Connell, a freshman legislator with little sway and in need of pork and plum cmte. appointments, could bite the hand that feeds?

This 'hand', might I add, is the Skelos-Mondello Nassau GOP, which seeks to hold on to its ever-dwindling status as the head of the state GOP. Mondello is pulling the strings here, and his loyalties start with Nassau and Long Island.

Therefore I see O'Connell as an impediment to both reform and a vital upstate.