Richard Drew/Associated Press
Peter S. Kalikow has a new six-year term in his mass transit post.
Posted on 09/15/2006 6:59:18 PM PDT by neverdem
In his final months in office, Gov. George E. Pataki has appointed or reappointed hundreds of officials to state boards, commissions and authorities, assuring his imprint on state government for years after his term expires on Dec. 31.
The appointments include Peter S. Kalikow, the chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, to a new six-year term and overseers of the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, who could play a role in the redevelopment of the West Side. Many are Pataki contributors, political allies or their relatives.
Mr. Pataki has submitted dozens more nominees to the Republican-controlled Senate for confirmation today, and Albany Democrats estimate that he could fill at least another 50 vacancies before leaving office. The appointments lock them into policy-making and regulatory roles over a range of matters, including mass transportation and economic development — in some cases until 2013.
Rewarding political supporters with “midnight appointments” to terms fixed by law is a practice that dates back to at least the early 19th century, when President John Adams tried to stack the deck against his successor, Thomas Jefferson.
What distinguishes Mr. Pataki’s going-away appointments, besides the sheer volume, is the fact that this is the first time in decades that a departing governor’s party enjoys a majority in the Senate. That opportunity last presented itself in 1974, although other governors have made midnight appointments that did not require Senate confirmation.
The process first raised alarms earlier this summer when Mr. Pataki tried to make two $90,000-a-year appointments that, to provide the longest possible terms, did not take effect until Jan. 1, 2007. Senate Democrats balked, citing an unofficial opinion from the United States Naval Observatory that midnight — when the governor’s term expires — is actually the last moment of Dec. 31, not the beginning of Jan. 1...
(Excerpt) Read more at nytimes.com ...
I do not like Kalikow.
but the Pataki/Rudy/Bloomberg years were alot better then the Cuomo/Dinkins years in new york. its all downhill from here.
Yep...I'm not looking forward to Spitzer taking over.
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