Amigos,
Forget for a minute that Darrel Aubertine is pandering to the North Country's ATV crowd because it was a spectacular week for us here at UGOB! (For more on Aubertine's flip-flop on the ATV issue see tomorrow's WDTs.)
What is more important is that we have been relishing our latest victory - the firing of Darrel Aubertine's sister, Deb Wiley!
We just want our readers to know that we will be putting up a serious fight to ensure that Aubertine's sister does not get paid for the week she was illegally and unethically employed.
We are also seeking a copy of Wiley's resignation letter from Aubertine's office. There have been some rumors/speculation that Wiley never resigned and that Aubertine's Chief of Staff, Ed Gaffney, had to step into the middle of things earlier this week. (Apparently, Darrel didn't have the balls to fire his own sister because of their close relationship; Darrel fought the initial decision until Gaffney got intimately involved.)
If these rumors are true then it raises some serious concerns as to the way in which this case was handled; Aubertine may have flat out lied to the citizens of the 48th District if Wiley was in fact fired. There are some interesting twists to this story as we will see in the days to come.
On a side note, Aubertine is doing everything he can to spin the story and change the subject. Hence, his latest flip-flop on the ATV issue will appear in tomorrow's Watertown Daily Times. How can anybody trust this guy?
We will keep ya'll posted! Thanks for coming back for the inside scoop.
Showing posts with label ethics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label ethics. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Nepotism in New York, part 2
Big story in today's Watertown Daily Times.
It appears that Mr. Aubertine was so excited to be the new Senator of his district that he left his ethics at home... The Watertown Daily Times reported first, and we here at UGOB raised questions next, that Aubertine has hired his sister and that it could raise state ethics questions. Interesting how Aubertine voted for the bill in the NYS Assembly which prohibits the hiring of family members. Is this story over or does it have some legs?
What a difficult week for Mangione to balance! Our next question is: Can you knowingly hire a communications director that does illegal drugs? Is there a law/ethics rule against that?
At any rate, we'll take the credit here for our posting on Wednesday, April 23. Good thing the Albany Correspondent was on top of the ball, Jude Seymour was just going to gloss over it.
UPDATE: We try to stay as balanced as we can here at UGOB! Today, the managing editor of the Watertown Daily Times, Mr. Bob Gorman, notified us that Jude Seymour does not cover the Albany political beat. That distinction goes to the reporter who did end up covering the story, Tom Wanamaker. We apologize that we "speculated" Jude Seymour was glossing over Mr. Aubertine's ethics violation.
We are confident that the Watertown Daily Times will see to it that Debra Wiley does not get paid by the New York State taxpayers for the week she did work as Mr. Aubertine's constituent relations pro.
Aubertine's sister quits as liaison
RESIGNATION ACCEPTED: Reform that the senator voted for in Assembly prohibits hiring family members
By TOM WANAMAKER
TIMES ALBANY CORRESPONDENT
TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2008
ALBANY — State Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, said Monday night that his sister, Debra A. Wiley, Cape Vincent, has resigned her position as a constituent liaison in his office.
Ms. Wiley was appointed to the post last week, but a statement issued by Sen. Aubertine's communications director, Drew G. Mangione, said questions on whether the appointment followed state law prompted the senator to investigate the propriety of the move. The questions were posed Monday by the Watertown Daily Times.
In a statement, Mr. Mangione said: "Earlier today, Senator Aubertine became aware of a situation involving the employment of his sister, Debra A. Wiley, in his Senate office. After reviewing the appropriate policies, Debra has submitted her resignation and our office has accepted it."
Ethics reform legislation enacted in the early months of former Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer's administration generally prohibits the hiring of family members by sitting members of the state Legislature.
Section 73, subdivision 14 of New York's public officers law, adopted in March 2007, reads, in part: "No statewide elected official, state officer or employee, member of the Legislature or legislative employee may participate in any decision to hire, promote, discipline or discharge a relative for any compensated position at, for, or within any state agency, public authority, or the Legislature."
Exceptions may be granted for people with "a physical impairment," or for "the temporary hiring of legislative pages, interns and messengers."
The measure passed the Assembly on Feb. 14, 2007. It passed the Senate on March 7, 2007, and was signed into law by Gov. Spitzer on March 26, 2007.
Then representing the 118th Assembly district, Mr. Aubertine voted in favor of the measure.
"This was the proper course of action once we became aware of the potential conflict in this situation. Sen. Aubertine has been a longtime supporter of government reform and accountability and will continue to fight for strong ethics laws in Albany," the statement concluded.
Mr. Aubertine represents the 48th Senate District, which includes Jefferson and Oswego counties and part of St. Lawrence County. He took office March 3 after defeating Assemblyman William A. Barclay in a special election Feb. 26. The election was held to replace former Sen. James W. Wright, who resigned.
Times state editor Perry White contributed to this report.
It appears that Mr. Aubertine was so excited to be the new Senator of his district that he left his ethics at home... The Watertown Daily Times reported first, and we here at UGOB raised questions next, that Aubertine has hired his sister and that it could raise state ethics questions. Interesting how Aubertine voted for the bill in the NYS Assembly which prohibits the hiring of family members. Is this story over or does it have some legs?
What a difficult week for Mangione to balance! Our next question is: Can you knowingly hire a communications director that does illegal drugs? Is there a law/ethics rule against that?
At any rate, we'll take the credit here for our posting on Wednesday, April 23. Good thing the Albany Correspondent was on top of the ball, Jude Seymour was just going to gloss over it.
UPDATE: We try to stay as balanced as we can here at UGOB! Today, the managing editor of the Watertown Daily Times, Mr. Bob Gorman, notified us that Jude Seymour does not cover the Albany political beat. That distinction goes to the reporter who did end up covering the story, Tom Wanamaker. We apologize that we "speculated" Jude Seymour was glossing over Mr. Aubertine's ethics violation.
We are confident that the Watertown Daily Times will see to it that Debra Wiley does not get paid by the New York State taxpayers for the week she did work as Mr. Aubertine's constituent relations pro.
Aubertine's sister quits as liaison
RESIGNATION ACCEPTED: Reform that the senator voted for in Assembly prohibits hiring family members
By TOM WANAMAKER
TIMES ALBANY CORRESPONDENT
TUESDAY, APRIL 29, 2008
ALBANY — State Sen. Darrel J. Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, said Monday night that his sister, Debra A. Wiley, Cape Vincent, has resigned her position as a constituent liaison in his office.
Ms. Wiley was appointed to the post last week, but a statement issued by Sen. Aubertine's communications director, Drew G. Mangione, said questions on whether the appointment followed state law prompted the senator to investigate the propriety of the move. The questions were posed Monday by the Watertown Daily Times.
In a statement, Mr. Mangione said: "Earlier today, Senator Aubertine became aware of a situation involving the employment of his sister, Debra A. Wiley, in his Senate office. After reviewing the appropriate policies, Debra has submitted her resignation and our office has accepted it."
Ethics reform legislation enacted in the early months of former Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer's administration generally prohibits the hiring of family members by sitting members of the state Legislature.
Section 73, subdivision 14 of New York's public officers law, adopted in March 2007, reads, in part: "No statewide elected official, state officer or employee, member of the Legislature or legislative employee may participate in any decision to hire, promote, discipline or discharge a relative for any compensated position at, for, or within any state agency, public authority, or the Legislature."
Exceptions may be granted for people with "a physical impairment," or for "the temporary hiring of legislative pages, interns and messengers."
The measure passed the Assembly on Feb. 14, 2007. It passed the Senate on March 7, 2007, and was signed into law by Gov. Spitzer on March 26, 2007.
Then representing the 118th Assembly district, Mr. Aubertine voted in favor of the measure.
"This was the proper course of action once we became aware of the potential conflict in this situation. Sen. Aubertine has been a longtime supporter of government reform and accountability and will continue to fight for strong ethics laws in Albany," the statement concluded.
Mr. Aubertine represents the 48th Senate District, which includes Jefferson and Oswego counties and part of St. Lawrence County. He took office March 3 after defeating Assemblyman William A. Barclay in a special election Feb. 26. The election was held to replace former Sen. James W. Wright, who resigned.
Times state editor Perry White contributed to this report.
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