Sheldon Silver
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Sheldon Silver (born February 13, 1944) is a politician and member of the United States Democratic Party, currently serving as Speaker of New York State Assembly.
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[edit] Personal life
An Orthodox Jew of eastern European descent (although Silver does not follow some rules of Orthodox Judaism), Silver has lived all his life on Manhattan's Lower East Side. He lives in a co-operative housing unit with his wife Rosa, a few blocks from their children and her parents. Friends regard him as rather cautious and reserved, though with a good sense of humor.
He graduated from Joseph Golding High School in Manhattan. He spent his undergrad years at Yeshiva University, and attained a law degree from Brooklyn Law School. He was athletic and captain of his high school basketball team. By the time he became Speaker of the Assembly, he was known to play basketball with other high-ranking officials, including Alan G. Hevesi (today the New York State Comptroller).
[edit] Political career
Silver was first elected to the Assembly in 1976, and became Speaker on February 11, 1994. He replaced Saul Weprin, who had recently suffered a stroke and whose son David currently sits on the New York City Council, first as an interim speaker and then later as speaker. He represents the 64th Assembly District, comprising much of lower Manhattan, notably the former World Trade Center site. He has a reputation as a liberal of the Lyndon Johnson mold.
In 1987, Silver sued to stop the City of New York from housing inmates on an abandoned military barge that had last been used by the British in the Falklands War, arguing the barge would be disruptive to the neighborhood. At that time, New York City was struggling with an overcrowded jail capacity. An appeals court ruled that the inmates could be housed on the barge on February 26, 1988.
In the past, Silver has been critical of state fiscal policy. He was the chairman of the Assembly's Ways and Means Committee from 1992 to 1994, selected after Weprin replaced former Speaker Mel Miller. In December 1993, he criticized then New York City Mayor-Elect Rudy Guiliani's appointment for budget director, Abraham M. Lackman, as "a person whose primary function [as director of fiscal studies for the State Senate Finance Committee] has been to limit the benefits for New York City."
Since becoming Speaker in 1994, Silver has been by default the only Democratic counterweight to Republican power in the government of New York State because of how the legislative branch is structured. Although constitutionally not able to veto legislative bills, Silver can effectively veto a bill using Assembly procedural rules. The fact that each house of the New York State Legislature must pass a bill before the governor can sign it, coupled with the fact that Silver can stop passage of a bill in the Assembly, gives him enormous power.
Silver was instrumental in bringing the return of the death penalty to New York State in 1995. The bill they passed was ruled unconsitutional by the New York State Court of Appeals (analogous to the Supreme Court in other states) when it turned out that the law gave jurors deadlocked between life without parole and execution no choice but to give eligibility for parole after 25 years. When faced between this possibility, the Court of Appeals feared that execution would seem unfairly preferable. New York's crime rate had dropped significantly in the 10 years since the law was passed, without ever seeing an execution. Silver let the law die in 2005 without much debate. In December 2005, after two New York City police officers were killed in as many months, Pataki began to make political moves to re-instate the death penalty. The New York Times, however, reported that Silver no longer supports the death penality. The paper quoted Silver's spokesman Charles Carrier as saying, "He no longer supports it [capital punishment] because Assembly hearings have shown it is not the most effective way to improve public safety."
In 1999, Silver was instrumental in the repeal of New York City's commuter tax, which taxed non-resident workers similarly to city residents. This was a great benefit to those commuting to work in the city from surrounding areas, but a tremendous cost to his own NYC constituents. Silver received much criticism from city leaders for giving away the tax, and though after 9/11 he has suggested he would support reinstating it, he has taken no steps to do so.
In 2000, Silver faced a legislative coup in the Assembly as members, primarily from Western New York, tried to overthrow him from power. Michael Bragman, one of the leaders of the backlash, lost his position as majority leader of the Assembly.
On June 7, 2005, Silver notably vetoed the proposal to build the West Side Stadium in the area of Hell's Kitchen. This project was heavily promoted by Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who claimed that it was crucial to New York's failed bid to host the 2012 Olympics. He was also involved in blocking the proposed Moynahan Station, a project which would have replaced Manhattan's aging Penn Station, as well as legislation that would stop city employees from collecting potentially-fraudulent duplicate retirement payments from multiple sources.
Silver's salary from the state is approximately $137,000.00 a year, but he also receives an undisclosed amount from tort-law firm Weitz & Luxemburg.
[edit] Criticism
As the chief officer of one house of a state legislature known for its political inertia (the 2005 New York state budget was the first in 20 years to pass the Assembly on time), Silver has often been criticized as characteristic of the inside power structure of New York State government. He is one of the so-called "three men in a room" who exercise nearly all control over government business in the state. The other two are Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno and Governor George Pataki.
At times, Silver has been criticized as being aloof. A year 2000 editorial, written in response by the failed coup against his power in 2000, in The Buffalo News attributed that aloofness to having too much power:
- The problem–which also exists in the State Senate–can be boiled down to a single overarching issue: The Assembly speaker has too much power. He controls everything, from the legislation that can be voted on to how his normally docile members vote on it. He decides what the Assembly will accept in a state budget. He negotiates secretly with the other two leaders to hammer out important, expensive and far-reaching laws. And he ignores the wishes of less exalted lawmakers.
In 2005, commentator Bill O'Reilly of the Fox News Channel lambasted Silver for blocking legislation that would mandate restrictions on child molesters after their sentences are finished (including possibly forcing them to become permanent residents in psychiatric wards). "He stopped legislation that would have tracked the most dangerous sex offenders with electronic devices, and that would have mandated that communities be notified of sex offenders," O'Reilly said. "Everyone should know that Sheldon Silver is blocking legislation that would protect children and be tougher on sex offenders. That's why we call this man the worst politician in office today."
[edit] See also
[edit] Sources
- ↑ - McKinley Jr., James C.. "Silver Is an Albany Strongman, And It's Not Because He's Flashy." The New York Times. February 11, 2003.
- ↑ Doa, James. "Man in the News; Groomed for Leadership in Assembly: Sheldon Silver." The New York Times. January 25, 1994.
- ↑ Kurtz, Howard. "Barge Seen as Remedy to Overcrowded N.Y. Jails; Court Freezes Plan to Move Inmates to Former British Troop Ship Anchored in East River." The Washington Post. November 27, 1987.
- ↑ Johnson, Kirk. "Ruling Allows Immediate Use Of Barge as Jail." The New York Times. February 27, 1988.
- ↑ Verhovek, Sam Howe. "Manhattan Assemblyman Wins Ways and Means Chairmanship." The New York Times, January 8, 1992
- ↑ Finder, Alan. "Giuliani Names Albany Adviser As Budget Chief." The New York Times. December 9, 1993.
- ↑ "Capital Punishment, 1995-2005." The New York Daily News, editorial. April 13, 2005.
- ↑ Hu, Winnie. "Pataki Calls Special Session On Gun Laws." The New York Times, December 17, 2005.
- ↑ "The Winner and Still King." The Buffalo News, editorial. May 25, 2000
- ↑ ibid
- ↑ McGuire, Brian. "Silver Dismisses O'Reilly's Charge That He Is the 'Worst Politician in America'" The New York Sun. July 20, 2005.
[edit] External links
| Preceded by: Saul Weprin |
Speaker of the New York State Assembly 1994– |
Succeeded by: Incumbent |
