Election Night Open Thread: Rivera KOs Espada

Photo:
Three of these ##http://www.streetsblog.org/2009/03/17/caption-contest-re-name-this-foursome/##four grinning guys## are up for election tonight. Photo: ##http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2009/03/four-amigos-together-again.html##Daily Politics##


The early returns are in, and Pedro Espada is going to have to make up some ground to retain his seat in the State Senate. Other incumbents don’t seem to be in as much jeopardy.

Update: It’s official. Espada has conceded the race to challenger Gustavo Rivera.

It also looks like congestion pricing antagonist and former Westchester Assembly Member Richard Brodsky will not be serving as New York Attorney General.

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Caption Contest: Re-name This Foursome

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Hat tip to Liz Benjamin at the Daily Politics for this snapshot of four state senators who’ve helped concoct a stopgap, toll-less MTA funding plan that does nothing to address the imminent decline of New York’s transit system. Lest they be accused of completely shortchanging the future, they say maintenance and expansion can be taken […]

The Four Stooges

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OK, we have a winner of yesterday’s photo caption contest. Democratic State Senators Hiram Monserrate, Carl Kruger, Pedro Espada, Jr. and Ruben Diaz, Sr. will henceforth be known as "The Fare Hike Four." While we’re at it, we figure if the State Senate is going to treat New York City’s transit riders like clowns and […]

Without Espada or Challenger Rivera, District 33 Debates Transportation

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Last night’s 33rd Senate District transportation debate pitted two candidates against each other who are unlikely to ever appear on the same ballot: Democrat Daniel Padernacht and Green John Reynolds. Padernacht is running a distant third place in polling for the September 14 primary, after incumbent Pedro Espada Jr. and challenger Gustavo Rivera. Neither Espada […]

Three Transit Villains Exit the Stage in 2010 Primaries

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The votes have been counted in the 2010 primaries, humbling three of the state legislators who killed major transit funding initiatives the past few years. Richard Brodsky, ringleader of the anti-congestion pricing contingent in Albany, vacated his Assembly seat in a bid for Attorney General. He lost convincingly last night. Bridge toll obstructionist Pedro Espada, […]

Fare Hike Four Looking Out for Number One

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If you’re tracking the progress of MTA rescue talks, Jimmy Vielkind’s Albany dispatches at the Politicker are a must-read. I had to highlight this exchange he had yesterday with Fare Hike Four member Pedro Espada, Jr., which pretty much sums up the current predicament: I asked for this thoughts. "I’m elated," he said. "Today’s a […]