Sunday, December 31, 2006
Pataki Sneaks a few more appointments in
Never in all my years of state service have I seen a Governor pack in political cronies and hacks like this guy has.....right to the bitter end......state agencies all across the state are loaded with these "non civil service" overpaid and unqualified "civil" servants.......What Liz Benjamin reports below..has been going on for years....goodbye Pataki....actually good riddance..........andy
Really Last-Minute Appointments (Updated)
Gov. George Pataki, with one foot out the door, appointed a number of longtime allies, donors and several of his few remaining staffers to lucrative government posts on Friday, none of which require Senate confirmation.
Pataki named his chief of staff, John Cahill, to the State Commission of Investigation - a position that pays $101,500 a year and lasts, in this case, until April 2010.
Pataki also reappointed SIC Chairman Alfred Lerner, a former state assemblyman and onetime Appellate Court justice, until April 2010.
Michael J. Elmendorf II, Pataki’s director of intergovernmental affairs and the godson of Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings, landed a spot on the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, which pays $90,800, until November 2008. Earlier this year, Elmendorf was reappointed to an unpaid post on the Great Lakes Protection Fund’s Board of Directors.
Pataki also named Michael Greasan to the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board for a term that lasts until November 2012.
Michael Fragin, who served as Pataki’s Jewish liaison, worked for NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg in 2005 and for President Bush’s re-election effort in 2004, was appointed to the Long Island Power Authority Board to fill the term of Pat Foye, who was tapped by Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer to serve as co-chairman of ESDC. This is an unpaid post.
Pataki and Fragin’s father, Gary, were roommates at Columbia University. (Pataki graduated from the law school in 1970).
Pataki named six people - including his communications director Dave Catalfamo - to unpaid posts at the United Nations Development Corp. Catalfamo’s term ends November 2009. The others include:
Harrison LeFrak (term ends 11/2007), Mark Broxmeyer, co-founder and partner at Fairfield Properties, a real state company, and a Pataki donor (11/2008), Nancy Holwell (11/2008), Peter Johnson Jr. (11/2007), Mary Newman (11/2008).
Lou Ciminelli, former chairman of the New York Power Authority Board, snagged a position on the Niagara Greenway Commission Board. This is also an unpaid seat with a term that lasts until May 2009.
Pataki’s office also announced that the State Police will provide transitional security for soon-to-be former governor until the end of January.
At that time, according to Pataki spokesman Michael Marr, making what is likely his final statement on behalf of this governor: “The security risk will be evaluated by outside law enforcement entities.”
The arrangement was reviewed by the state Ethics Commission to ensure that it was in keeping with the Public Officers Law and has been approved , Marr said.
Really Last-Minute Appointments (Updated)
Gov. George Pataki, with one foot out the door, appointed a number of longtime allies, donors and several of his few remaining staffers to lucrative government posts on Friday, none of which require Senate confirmation.
Pataki named his chief of staff, John Cahill, to the State Commission of Investigation - a position that pays $101,500 a year and lasts, in this case, until April 2010.
Pataki also reappointed SIC Chairman Alfred Lerner, a former state assemblyman and onetime Appellate Court justice, until April 2010.
Michael J. Elmendorf II, Pataki’s director of intergovernmental affairs and the godson of Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings, landed a spot on the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board, which pays $90,800, until November 2008. Earlier this year, Elmendorf was reappointed to an unpaid post on the Great Lakes Protection Fund’s Board of Directors.
Pataki also named Michael Greasan to the Unemployment Insurance Appeals Board for a term that lasts until November 2012.
Michael Fragin, who served as Pataki’s Jewish liaison, worked for NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg in 2005 and for President Bush’s re-election effort in 2004, was appointed to the Long Island Power Authority Board to fill the term of Pat Foye, who was tapped by Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer to serve as co-chairman of ESDC. This is an unpaid post.
Pataki and Fragin’s father, Gary, were roommates at Columbia University. (Pataki graduated from the law school in 1970).
Pataki named six people - including his communications director Dave Catalfamo - to unpaid posts at the United Nations Development Corp. Catalfamo’s term ends November 2009. The others include:
Harrison LeFrak (term ends 11/2007), Mark Broxmeyer, co-founder and partner at Fairfield Properties, a real state company, and a Pataki donor (11/2008), Nancy Holwell (11/2008), Peter Johnson Jr. (11/2007), Mary Newman (11/2008).
Lou Ciminelli, former chairman of the New York Power Authority Board, snagged a position on the Niagara Greenway Commission Board. This is also an unpaid seat with a term that lasts until May 2009.
Pataki’s office also announced that the State Police will provide transitional security for soon-to-be former governor until the end of January.
At that time, according to Pataki spokesman Michael Marr, making what is likely his final statement on behalf of this governor: “The security risk will be evaluated by outside law enforcement entities.”
The arrangement was reviewed by the state Ethics Commission to ensure that it was in keeping with the Public Officers Law and has been approved , Marr said.
