Squadron Resigning From New York Senate

By on August 9, 2017 8:49 am in 11201, Brooklyn Heights, Government, News, Politics

In an opinion column in today’s Daily News State Senator Daniel Squadron, whose district includes Brooklyn Heights along with Cobble Hill, Carroll Gardens (where he resides with his wife and children) and much of lower Manhattan, announced his resignation from the New York Senate, where he has served since 2009. His resignation is effective this Friday, August 11. His replacement will be elected this November; meanwhile, he said, the balance between his party, the Democrats, and the GOP in the Senate will not be affected.

His decision came because of his frustration with “structural barriers, including ‘three men in a room’ decisionmaking, loophole-riddled campaign finance rules and a governor-controlled budget process.” While he called New York “a particularly seedy example” of government overwhelmed by moneyed interests and a culture of corruption, he noted that other states have similar problems. Following his resignation, he plans to join with entrepreneur Adam Pritzker and Jeffrey Sachs of Columbia University to “launch a national effort focused on addressing this crisis — joining others already doing important work toward 2018 and beyond.”

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  • Reggie

    Troll-like answer. Tell me who you think are the three best senators in New York State.

  • JL Lewis

    Take a listen to Mickie Muster from…Sweden!!!! It’s totally amazing, and not a little vexing that the one major artist who really does Jerry as right as possible isn’t an American but from somewhere else! He often teams up with Jerry’s sister who now does a VERY credible JLL performance.

  • JL Lewis

    The Danny Squadron viewpoint/overview:

    Assault Rifles=near ultimate evil
    Regina Myers=…..no problem

  • Slyone

    On term limits, I am unconvinced that they really matter. With or w/out terms limits, you have electeds abusing power and you have electeds doing impressive work. On balance and given the system we have, while I agree that up-to-date experience with life outside political office makes for a better officeholder, people in office still have all kinds of personal and professional experiences that inform their leadership, and I do think elected leaders gain experience and wisdom by virtue of their experience as elected leaders. I don’t think terms limits help minimize the influence of special interests — I actually think they make that worse. And the line between special interests and the public interest often depends on your perspective. I know that incumbents win too easily because of name recognition alone, but I guess I feel that’s the lesser of evils? I go back and forth.

    On campaign finance, in my ideal world, we’d have some low level of public financing of elections and real limits on how campaigns communicate and advertise in a way that simplifies and levels the playing field and maybe focuses debates on issues instead of glossy messaging. But I doubt that’s legal, and I don’t know if it would end up causing even fewer people to be vote, which would be a bad thing.

  • Slyone

    I don’t know everything he has done, but on public schools, he has been a force for good, in my opinion. He sits down with constituents to discuss strategy, and connects them with others and experts in other parts of his district so they can work together. He pushed bills to improve the school planning process (to address overcrowding). But he also recognizes the limits of legislation to solve problems, I think. His annual issues convention is premised on the idea that empowering constituents is an important part of political leadership. And I found him to be a helpful partner in thinking through and taking action on public school issues in our neighborhood.

  • Mary Kim

    As I read, with dismay, about the horrors happening in Virginia, I am just as disgusted that you live among us. You are so pathetic, Jeff Smith. As many times as this blog has banned you, you find new ways to sneak in and post your hateful racist and anti-semitic comments. “An escapee from Ocean Parkway?” Squadron has done thousands more things than you for the good of this community. What have you ever done? You can find as many new ways to disparage everyone who’s not white, male and christian, but you will always be a sad shell of a human who has nothing but hate to cling to.

  • JL Lewis

    Pass the SSRI’s…if what is being said is the stone cold truth why is that improper? Sen. Squadron exhibits a pattern of behavior which is highly identifiable. His whole arrogant disregard for his constituents even basic interests is well, typical….look, I’m only a piano plunking fool, but I can recognize what’s happened in the last few years. And Danny’s throwing us under the bus on key issues greatly facilitated our decline. one question, to my knowledge Mr Smith has lived here a LONG time how long have you or Mr Squadron been associated with the Heights? Now one more word out of you and I and my trusty understudy from Sweden will seronade you (and the rest of the Heights) at 3 AM…

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    And of course Jerry Lee Lewis was a hard core racist…

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    The simplistic view of a simpleton.

  • JL Lewis

    Anyone who knows Jerry or has even been a fan for a while knows that his views and feelings are, like most Southerners, very complex. Someone who has no or little actuial understanding of the South…well, The subject here is Sen Squadron please stay on topic.

  • Andrew Porter

    I *have* noticed an increase in abandoned buildings, whore houses, drug dens, street shootings of late. Just thought I’d wandered into an alternate reality based on your perceptions of the Heights…

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    LOL, I have a very good understanding of the south, having spent a lot of time down there. I also know racist views are not complex, they are usually harbored by those with low self-esteem, weak-minded, unworldly view and are basically scaredy-pants, paranoid and afraid. Your “writings” reveal much of that as your mentality.

  • http://selfabsorbedboomer.blogspot.com/ Claude Scales

    I saw Jerry Lee live in 1979. He was preceded on the bill by Otis Blackwell, an African American R&B artist and prolific songwriter, whose songs were recorded by Elvis, among others. When Jerry Lee came on stage, he praised Otis, saying he was honored to be performing with him. This doesn’t disprove the thesis that he harbored racist feelings, but at least, to me, makes him seem less “hard core.”

    BTW, he’s still alive; a testimony, no doubt, to medical science.

  • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UlsiLOnWCoI Arch Stanton

    Humm, I may have seen that tour, I don’t remember that kind of detail though, Anyway, I guess I overstated the racism, it sounds like his views made some positive improvements, in latter years.

  • You know who this is…..

    This, even by BH standards is amazing! Jerry’s music is classic boogie boogie piano which he was exposed to in Hainey’s big house in Ferriday. He and his cousins Mickey Gilley and Jimmy Swaggert used to sneak into Black churches to listen to the gospel music. Go on YouTube and listen to his song “black mama” about a while orphan adopted by a black woman. On the other hand, of course he recognizes the cultural, and behavioral differences between groups in society.

  • Well, you know who this is…

    So your brilliant thesis is that there has been no or insignificant, decline in the fortunes of the Heights over the last decade. Typical Andy panda snide driveby…..;

  • T.K. Small

    The other day, just after I had learned of the Squadron resignation, I bumped into the former occupant of this Senate seat, Martin Connor. As a joke, I asked whether he was going to run again? We had a laugh and spoke a little about the political realities of this district. In his opinion, this district is now controlled by the Manhattan side of the equation. So, don’t hold out too much of of getting better representation or redress of neighborhood problems.

    On a side note, I ran against Martin Connor in 1994 and take full credit for softening him up, which led to Squadron’s unexpected victory some years later. I still think my campaign slogan of “Think Big, Vote Small” should have been enough to overcome my lack of financing or experience deficit.

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