Observer » Sr.

Former New York Times Publisher Arthur O. Sulzberger, Sr. Dies

Steve Huff — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 11:01:11 -0400

Former New York Times publisher and chairman Arthur Ochs "Punch" Sulzberger, Sr., who ran the paper from 1963 to 1992, has died. The Times reports Mr. Sulzberger passed away at his Southampton home on Saturday. The senior Sulzberger piloted the paper through the rough seas of the late 1960s and early 1970s and was primarily responsible for pulling the trigger on one of the biggest exposés of the Vietnam War, the Pentagon Papers:

Mr. Sulzberger’s insistence on independence was shown in his decision in 1971 to publish a secret government history of the Vietnam War known as the Pentagon Papers. It was a defining moment for him and, in the view of many journalists and historians, his finest.

The publication of the Pentagon Papers led to a major Supreme Court ruling in favor of press freedom and in 1972 netted the Times a Pulitzer Prize.

Though Mr. Sulzberger passed publishing duties at the Times to his son Arthur Jr. in 1992, he stayed on as chairman for five more years, officially retiring in 1997. The Times reports he died after a lengthy illness.

Mr. Sulzberger was 86.

Ruben Diaz, After the Landslide

Azi Paybarah — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:25:00 -0400

Today, it should be noted, is the special election for Bronx borough president, and Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr. is expected to win by a landslide.
Diaz will fill out the remainder of the term of his predecessor, Adolfo Carrion, and then almost surely run for re-election (and almost surely win if he does) this November. The race was, at one point, going to be competitive, before Diaz's major opponents decided not to enter the race.
Diaz is turning 36 this Sunday, and already has a decade of experience in Albany. And the borough presidency, barring disaster, will give him a useful springboard.

Ruben Diaz, After the Landslide

Azi Paybarah — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 18:47:53 -0400

Today, it should be noted, is the special election for Bronx borough president, and Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr. is expected to win by a landslide.

Diaz will fill out the remainder of the term of his predecessor, Adolfo Carrion, and then almost surely run for re-election (and almost surely win if he does) this November. The race was, at one point, going to be competitive, before Diaz's major opponents decided not to enter the race.

Diaz is turning 36 this Sunday, and already has a decade of experience in Albany. And the borough presidency, barring disaster, will give him a useful springboard.

Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic consultant who has worked with Diaz, said, “He is young, he is bright, he is a hard worker and he comes from a county where change is the fact of life at the moment.”

When asked if he could be a citywide candidate in four years, Sheinkopf said “Yeah.” A mayoral candidate, perhaps? “Absolutely.”

Diaz has strong support in the Bronx political establishment, which owes its existence--in its current form--to his family. (He and his father, the contrarian State Senator Ruben Diaz Sr., backed a coup that put Carl Heastie in power as the county Democratic Chair.)

The history of borough presidents running for higher office is well-established. David Dinkins of Manhattan was elected mayor. His successor, C. Virginia Fields, ran for the office, too. Scott Stringer, the current Manhattan borough president, is considering a run for U.S. Senate in 2010.

Fernando Ferrer, former borough president of the Bronx, ran for mayor three times. His successor at borough hall, Carrion, was running for city comptroller before he was offered a job as Barack Obama's director of Urban Affairs.

December 1, 2008

Katharine Jose — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 11:42:26 -0400

--by Jimmy Vielkind and Azi Paybarah

Term-Limits Hearing: Vallone on Vallone, Parsons on the ‘Perilous’ Economy

Katharine Jose — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:33:44 -0400

More from Glenna:
The start of the second day of the hearings on the City Council's term-limits legislation began more quietly than the first, with about 50 attendees filling a smaller hearing room.
The first group to give testimony today was pro-legislation, and among its notable members was Time Warner chairman Richard D. Parsons. Parsons called the circumstances of the economy "frightening, perilous or even dangerous" and argued it could soon make the 1970s crisis "look like a day at the beach."

Peter Vallone Sr., former speaker of the Council, cited times during his tenure that an experienced group of lawmakers could stand up to the mayor in a way that a bunch of freshman are less likely to. The mentality of term limits, he said, is that old politicians are like "dirty diapers."

His son, Councilman Peter Vallone Jr., is in the chambers sitting at the Council table, and immediately expressed regret that the question cannot be put to voters. He asked his father why it is more appropriate for the Council to act now, instead of waiting for a referendum. The elder Vallone spoke again on the virtues of legislative action.

Councilwoman Letitia James asked Parsons how the next election can be a fair fight if Bloomberg, who has "unmatched resources" and the "power of incumbency," is a candidate. Parsons pointed out that another billionaire, Tom Golisano, is opposing the mayor's legislation.

A Lawmaker and His Lobbyist Brother

Azi Paybarah — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 18:24:21 -0400

Buried deep in Staten Island Advance reporter Sally Goldenberg's piece about the plastic bag recycling bill working its way through the City Council is this line: "The council employs the Albany lobbying firm of Brown McMahon & Weinraub LLC, of which [Council sanitation committee chair Michael] McMahon's brother, Thomas, is a principal. The lobbying firm has earned $18,000 this year for its efforts."
I asked Michael about it.

“He has a client who has a position on the bill," he told me, referring to his brother. "They did not request the bill. They were not involved in the drafting of the bill. The first time I heard they had a position on the bill is when they came to the hearing.”

“I see no conflict," he added. However, to dispel any appearance of impropriety at the proper time I will disclose this relationship, which I learned of yesterday. But I see no conflict.”

McMahon also said “the ethics council of the New York City Council has deemed it not to be a conflict of interest.”

I asked when they decided that.

“They tell me that all the time," he said. "I mean, we quite often take votes against--you know, I’m not the only Council member whose family members are lobbyists. You may have heard of Peter Vallone, Sr.?”

The Vallone Empire Branches Out

Azi Paybarah — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:22:48 -0400

Can the Vallone Dynasty expand to Bayside?

Paul Vallone confirmed he is planning to run for the City Council in the eastern Queens district that includes Bayside and parts of north Flushing. (He filed his paperwork with the city Campaign Finance Board about two weeks ago.)

“Yeah it is interesting,” Paul told me just now. “It’s going to be the first Vallone not in Astoria. It’s like a fish out of water.”

Paul, 40, a lawyer working in Astoria, added, “I’m not going to be the guy to open up an apartment someplace just so I can run here. My home is there now, so.

“I’m the type where, you’re almost a little hesitant. The Astoria community, I have been embraced by them, as my family has. And it’s surprising to some people, quite a few people, that I’m not running here. And the Bayside, Douglaston, College Point community knows the Vallones, and knows of me, but really wasn’t expecting this. So, it’s kind of a shock on both fronts.”

Astoria has been Vallone Country, for anyone not familiar with the history, for generations. Charles F. Vallone was a judge in the area who started a bunch of civic organizations and was, at the time, a Man to See to get things done.

Next came Peter Vallone, who was elected to the City Council, became speaker, and ran unsuccessfully for governor and mayor. Then came Peter Vallone, Jr., who was elected to the Council in 2002 and is eyeing a run for Borough President.

The Bayside District Paul may run in is currently represented by Democrat Tony Avella, who is term-limited in 2009 and was among the few Democrats to vote against the major property tax increase Michael Bloomberg pushed through in early 2002. That Bayside seat was, prior to Avella, occupied by a Republican.

Ruben Diaz Skipping ‘Futuro’ Event to Avoid Spitzer

Azi Paybarah — Thu, 08 Nov 2007 19:14:20 -0400

One Hispanic lawmaker said he’s not going to the Somos El Futuro conference this weekend in Puerto Rico, in part, because he’s angry at Eliot Spitzer for his new driver’s license policy allowing illegal immigrants to apply for driver’s licenses but not other forms of government ID.

“I don’t want the governor coming back and saying we all support him,” said state Senator Ruben Diaz, Sr. of the Bronx.

“I’m very upset with the governor. I’m angry. He failed me and he failed the immigrants.”

For the record, a number of other elected officials and operatives have already left the city to head down to the event, and I'm not aware of Diaz's decision being part of any larger anti-Spitzer boycott.

Weiner Guards Giuliani’s Border Tradition

Azi Paybarah — Tue, 29 May 2007 18:08:56 -0400

Yesterday, one of the quirkiest traditions returned to a major Memorial Day Parade that starts a few blocks inside Nassau County before winding its way through the Little Neck-Douglaston section of Queens.

“I refused to march on the Nassau side,” Weiner told me. He stood on the border, next to the 'Welcome to Nassau' sign and waited for the parade to get into New York City territory before joining in. A person who has been marching in that parade for a couple of years told me that the most notable politician to do that in the past was Rudy Giuliani.

Also attending the parade were regular marchers Mike Bloomberg Frank Padavan, Chuck Schumer, Christine Quinn, Bill Thompson, Adolfo Carrion, Eric Gioia, Melinda Katz, David and Mark Weprin, and Peter Vallone, Sr.