Morning Read: 'Failed by a Kangaroo System Daily'

In yet another sign the mayoral race is getting fully underway, Council Speaker Christine Quinn hired a campaign manager, Matt

(photo: webmedia.newseum.org)
(photo: webmedia.newseum.org)

In yet another sign the mayoral race is getting fully underway, Council Speaker Christine Quinn hired a campaign manager, Matt Tepper, a former staffer on then-Senator Hillary Clinton’s presidential campaign who went on to work on races like Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s 2010 reelection bid and  Cy Vance’s campaign for Manhattan District Attorney.

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Sheepshead Bites took a dive into the campaign to replace term-limited Councilman Domenic Recchia, especially the impact of redistricting on the race. The latest draft map has frustrated at least a couple of the contenders, but John Lisyanskiy, a staffer for Ms. Quinn, and Todd Dobrin are full-steam ahead.

A lot of people were watching Governor Andrew Cuomo‘s State of the State address yesterday, many of whom have opinions about it and issued press releases expressing said opinions.

One particularly skeptical statement came this morning from GOP Senator Greg Ball:

“The Governor’s comments that ‘no one needs 10 bullets to kill a deer’ illustrate a basic lack of understanding and respect for our Second Amendment. The Constitution doesn’t simply apply during deer season and it wasn’t just created for hunters. While I will do everything I can to partner and protect our communities, we must be honest and take a real look at our state’s mental health services, where violent, mentally unstable souls are failed by a kangaroo system daily. The Governor may choose to play politics on this one, and I know the polls are on his side, but if he really wants to save lives, he needs to focus on illegal guns, keeping firearms out of the hands of violent criminals and surgically examine the state’s handling of the violent and mentally unstable, who are sadly falling through the cracks every single day.”

And, unlike the supportive Daily News, the New York Posts editorial page blasted the speech:

“Two years of measured, if not altogether moderate, state governance went up in a hot-air balloon yesterday as Gov. Cuomo sharply entered the national political debate — stage left. In an oddly animated, touch-all-the-liberal-bases, 78-minute-long iteration of his annual State of the State Address, Cuomo promised first and foremost to make New York a gun-control model for the nation. This is problematic on several levels.”

Interestingly, many of Mr. Cuomo’s proposals echo the policy advocacies of Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

One proposal, expansive new gun laws, initially seemed so close to completion that it could have been announced right after the speech, but the last “5 percent” of a bipartisan deal continues to stall in the State Legislature. “We’re close enough that it’s possible,” explained Assemblyman Joe Lentol.

Miss the speech? Watch the full item in all its glory:
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pTMUTvf4rfg&w=560&h=315]

Morning Read: 'Failed by a Kangaroo System Daily'