Sheldon Silver - Criticism

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. During the administration of Governor George Pataki, Silver was criticized for participating in a "three men in a room" system of government in which Silver, the governor, and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno exercised nearly all control over government business in the state.

Silver has taken major contributions from the Dolan family, owners of Cablevision, the Knicks, the Rangers, and Madison Square Garden, and then personally brought a stop to the development of the West Side Stadium for the Jets, which Cablevision strongly opposed because it would pull revenue from Madison Square Garden.

At times, Silver has been criticized as being aloof. In 2000, an editorial written in response to the failed 2000 coup against his power 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.

Silver has long been criticized for his employment with Weitz & Luxenberg, one of the state's larger litigation firms. This has led some to accuse Silver of having a conflict of interest, as he has consistently blocked medical malpractice and other tort reform in Albany. Weitz & Luxenberg insists that Silver's ties with the firm are "negligible" but Silver has refused to disclose the details of his employment or the salary he receives from the law firm.

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).

In May, 2006, when legislators proposed a law to eliminate the state's 5-year statute of limitations on rape charges, Silver tied the legislation to a proposal to eliminate a 10-year statute on filing civil lawsuits. In the ensuing controversy, then gubernatorial candidate Elliot Spitzer sided against Silver saying "...the two should not be held hostage, one to the other."

A former top aide to Silver, J. Michael Boxley, has been accused of raping two women while he was working for the speaker. Silver was said to have assisted in failing to properly investigate the Crothers case and of tolerating a culture of sexual harassment in the Assembly. In 2006, Mr. Silver and the Assembly leadership agreed to pay $500,000 to settle a lawsuit regarding this matter.

After the resignation of State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi in December 2006, Silver and Governor Eliot Spitzer attempted to work on a compromise on the appointment of a new Comptroller. According to the New York State constitution, the full legislature (Assembly and Senate) takes a majority vote for the replacement of certain Statewide offices. However, Silver has enough Democrats in his conference to pass anything he wants in a joint session without any Senate votes at all, giving him enormous power. The alleged deal was that a Blue Ribbon panel would formulate a list of up to five nominees. The panel, partially consisting of three former comptrollers, Edward V. Regan, H. Carl McCall, and former New York City Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin, ultimately put forward three candidates, none of whom were members of the State legislature. They were: Nassau County Comptroller, Howard S. Weitzman, commissioner of the New York City Department of Finance, Martha E. Stark, and William J. Mulrow, an investment banker who ran for state comptroller in 2002.

Silver, expressing disappointment in what he deemed as a broken promise by Spitzer, organized the legislature to approve sitting Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli as the new state comptroller.

Spitzer attacked Silver and the Legislature for their maneuver, until he resigned from office due to a prostitution scandal.