Well It's Official

[htrjv]

Mr. Grannis has been confirmed as the new DEC Commissioner. Voting was 5 for (all Dems), 3 against, 3 abstaining (according to the latest NYSRPA report).  I guess we'll have to wait and see how he will conduct business at DEC.

[Mikey]

Yep, this will be a wait an see proposition but I don't think grannis will be able to implement any anti-gun/hunting agenda the dumbos would want him to.  Let's not forget that Spitzer had to come out publically to support him over the outcry and loud vocalization of grannis' possible appointment.  I can tellya from 30 years in government that when a new governor comes out to support a commissioner appointee and at the same time stresses his intention to support hunting and fishing to help bring back the upstate economy, said commissioner is gonna have to play be the governor's rules, not his own or he gets bounced, period.  This has happened before with other governor's appointees. 

Yes, we should be concerned but we should also keep our eyes open.  If the hunting and fishing groups in NYS don't like what grannis starts doing you can believe that our vocal opposition will have a serious effect on his programs.  Spitzer may be a liberal democrat but those folks don't like loud vocal outcrys coming up from behind them and commissioners come and go at the pleasure of the governor.  If grannis gets out of hand, he will go.  JMHO.  Mikey.

[rebAL]

I don't understand;  I thought the NYS Senate at large was to vote.  Ar you sure it's a done deal?

[HillBillyFarmer]

That's some pretty sound logic Mikey, lets just hope he doesn't get out of hand and if he does he gets booted before to much damage is done.

[htrjv]

rebAL, send me a PM and I will send you the notice from NYSRPA, that I received about this subject.  Joe

[ironglow]

  I called my state senator's office..Sen Cathy Young..

  She wrote me back a letter agreeing with my voiced complaints and showing me a couple other times Grannis was anti common sense.  She promised a no vote.

   My senator is a great one ..a farm raised gal with Dad & Bros that hunted and fished when she was a sprout...

[htrjv]

Here's the latest info From NYSRPA.  Link appears below.

http://blogs. timesunion. com/capitol/ ?p=4216

Today's "secret" vote by the Senate Environmental Conservation
Committee on Assemblyman Alexander "Pete" Grannis' appointment to be
DEC commissioner was:

Yes: Six Democrats (Johnson, C.; Oppenheimer, Sabini, Parker, Savino,
Serrano) and two Republicans (Marcellio and Bonacic).

Yes with no recommendation: Two Republicans (Leibell and Johnson, O).

No: Three Republicans (Little, Young, Griffo).

That second option means senators voted in favor of moving the
appointment along to its next stop (Senate Finance), but did not give
a thumbs up or down to the candidate.

[rebAL]

As I see it, it's still not a done deal and needs both Senate finance approval & Senate at large approval.  If you haven't written your NYS Senator yet, or even if you did- Do it again.  I did.  I fear Senate will use Grannis as bargaining chip in budget approval process as a negotiating ploy.  Don't forget to also write Joe Bruno.  It may be for nothing if they play politics with his nomination, but at least they'll know that we know.

[rebAL]

I don't think grannis will be able to implement any anti-gun/hunting agenda   I can tellya from 30 years in government that when a new governor comes out to support a commissioner appointee and at the same time stresses his intention to support hunting and fishing to help bring back the upstate economy,   Mikey.

  I have to disagree Mikey.  IMHO when Spitzer says he supports hunting & fishing that means he will do whatever he has to in order to sell more licenses;  I don't think fish & wildlife management has anything to do with it.  He wants our $$$ but that's it.  I believe he will take that money & use it for environmental purposes, not fish & wildlife management.  That's why IMO, F&W should be a separate dept. from environmental conservation.

[Leatherstocking]

rebAl - I have to agree with ya' - unless Grannis does something really dumb (like some of the things Mike Zagata did with state vehicles etc) Grannis is here to stay. I wish Zagata was back - despite some of his silly missteps, he had the potential to be the best DEC comish the state has ever had.

[htrjv]

Hi ALL - I attended my annual Master Instructor's meeting today with DEC.  Guess what?  Yes, we discussed Mr. Grannis' appointment.  I want to share a perspective that was offered by the attending DEC personnel.

Which is the lesser of the two evils?  Appointing Mr. Grannis to the DEC Commissioner position, or allowing Mr. Grannis to assume the leadership role on the Assembly's Environmental Conversation Committee?  The consensus, of those attending, was, it is better to have Mr. Grannis appointed to the DEC Commissioner's position, where he has a limited effectual role, versus having him lead an Assembly Committee, where he can adversely effect the Sportsmen and women of our state.

What do you think?

Joe

[Leatherstocking]

Joe - I can understand that persepective; however, we all must also remember that Grannis reports to Judy Enck and that it will really be Spitzer and Enck calling the shots with Grannis as their puppet. So I agree that he will have limited effect as DEC commissioner, but we must still beware Enck and Spitzer. Spitzer is a control freak and he figures he already has the assembly under his thumb, so it doesn't matter if Grannis is there. Put him in DEC so as to further his objective of bringing that organization another few steps away from the fish and wildlife agency that it was originally founded to be.

[rebAL]

Last night's news reported Grannis cleared Senate finance committee;  Now it's just up to NYS Senate at large.

[htrjv]

I guess we'll now see what the true colors of Mr. Grannis.  Joe

One significant vote has been taken by the
GOP-controlled state Senate so far today: The one
confirming Alexander “Pete” Grannis as the state’s DEC commissioner.

Grannis wore his flying duck tie for the occasion
- the same tie he wore Tuesday when he got the
nod from the Senate EnCon Committee, only to be
stalled in the Finance Committee due to budget wrangling.

Eighteen senators - 17 Republicans and one
Democrat - voted no today. They were:

DeFrancisco, Farley, Griffo, Lanza, Leibell,
Libous, Little, Maltese, Maziarz, Nozzolio, Rath,
Robach, Seward, Valesky, Volker, Winner, Wright, and Young.

Because it was a voice vote, there’s no way to
tally the yeses, according to the Senate journal clerk.

Sen. Vincent Leibell, R-Brewster, voted ”aye
without recommendations” on Grannis during
today’s Senate Finance Committee meeting, which
means he approved moving the nomination forward,
but did not take a position on the nominee. As
noted above, he voted “no” during the full Senate vote.

Sen. Serphin Maltese, R-Queens, was the only
downstater to give a thumbs down to Grannis. Sen.
Dave Valesky, D-Syracuse, was the lone Democrat voting “no.”

Both of these votes make sense, politically
speaking. Maltese is very conservative, which
runs counter to Grannis’ legislative record and
his support from “liberal” groups like the animal rights folks.

As for Valesky, his district is home to many
sportsmen, I’m told. The GOP holds a slight
enrollment edge in the 49th SD, too.

Sen. Carl Marcellino, a Long Island Republican
who chairs the Senate EnCon Committee, said
Grannis has a tough task ahead of him.

“The DEC’s image, as you heard in Finance and was
touched on during the EnCon hearings, needs to
change,” Marcellino said. “There are regions of
this state that look upon the department that you
will be heading as the enemy. That’s not good.

“Everybody laughs. But it really isn’t funny when
people look at the government as their enemy…we
need to work together to change that.”

Sen. Bill Larkin, R-Cornwall-on- Hudson, stepped up to defend Grannis.

“He’s not being nominated to be the Pope,” Larkin
said. “He’s being nominated to take an agency and deal with it”

“I heard someone in the hallway say: I voted
against (state Comptroller Thomas) DiNapoli, but
I called him twice, and guess what? he called me
back!…(Grannis) knows us. he knows that we have
problems that we’ve dealt with…He’s going to work
with us. because if he don’t, he’ll hear from us.
Congratulations, Peter, you’ve earned it.”

[ironglow]

  OK..

   You guys in Cattaraugus county area remember..next election..
   
    Sen. Cathy Young voted "NO"..just as she promised us she would..

[Airedale From NY]

I sent Valesky a good long letter reminding him who the people are he is representing and we were going to be watching him on this one. He said he was not a yes man and he proved it. To be honest I was surprised.

Al