The spate of scandals that has surrounded Shelly Silver should have forced him out as Assembly speaker long ago. Instead, he’s only reinforcing his grip over state government — this time, by having another of his for✅mer top aides assume a key 🤪spot at the state Board of Elections.
A spokesman for the board says that it will soon approve Kathleen O’Keefe, a former Assembly Elections Committee counsel and election lawyer fo💯r Silver and other Democrats, as its chief legal enforcer. There, no doubt, she’ll look to push ♉whatever legal election-issue ruling benefits Silver and his cronies most.
Remember, Silver already has stoolies looking out for him in even higher posts. Tom DiNapoli was his hand-picked choic꧋e for state comptroller. His close childhood friend, Jonathan Lippman, is the state’s chief judge.
The elections board, of course, has long been the embodiment of Albany dysfunction, having referred a mere six campaign-finance complaints (out of 1,000-plus received) to ꦉprosecutors over the past decade.
That might be because its members are evenly split between the two major parties; by unwritten agreement, the enforcement cou♍nsel is a Democrat and the general counsel is a Republican.
But now the board is under heightened scrutiny from Gov. Cuomo’s Moreland Commission. More than ever, Silver may need someone in a key spot there to protect his interests and those𝓰 of ꦯhis party.
Silver says he wants reforms that will end the political paralysis. Yet he’s opposed to efforts to end the board’s monopoly on enfor🏅cing election-law violations by sharing jurisd🐎iction with the attorney general.
No ma♊tter. In the meantime, the speaker will simply content himself witꦇh having as the board’s chief enforcer someone with a proven record. Of doing his bidding, that is.