FLASH UPDATE: THE "MARTY GOLDEN SHOWS UP LATE TO BOB CAPANO'S PARTY" EDITION

AT LAST, "SOMEBODY" WOKE STATE SENATOR MARTIN GOLDEN FROM HIS VERY DEEP, VERY WAY UP THE HUDSON RIP VAN WINKLE SLEEP --- AND THAT "SOMEBODY" SURE LOOKS LIKE IT WAS BOB CAPANO....

CAPANO'S QUICK OPPOSITION TO CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER'S PROPOSALS OBVIOUSLY DRAGGED A RELUCTANT AND LAGGARDLY STATE SENATOR GOLDEN INTO THE FIGHT

BOTH MARTY G & BOB C WERE QUOTED AS NAYSAYERS IN A BAY RIDGE JOURNAL ARTICLE ABOUT CITY COUNCIL SPEAKER MELISSA MARK-VIVERITO'S MOST RECENT PROPOSALS TO SET FREE AND KEEP FREE CRIMINALS THAT PREY ON THEIR NEIGHBORS ALL AROUND THE CITY 

In Kip's Bay Ridge, as shown in the "Bay Ridge Journal" blog,  here's what SSMG most recently had to say about CCSMM-V's recent  "State of the CIty" propoeals:  "State Senator Marty Golden, a former police officer and a public safety advocate, said in a media statement yesterday that the speaker's proposed criminal justice reforms, including vacating 700,000 warrants and decriminalizing some low-level offenses, would threaten public safety...."  (See "Mark-Viverito's Rikers Troll Draws out Local Conservatives" by Kip, 2/14/16,  Bay Ridge Journal [http://bayridgejournal.blogspot.com/2016/02/mark-viveritos-rikers-troll-draws-out.html]).

GOLDEN'S 2/12/16 "STATEMENT" POSTED ON FACEBOOK

What appeared in the BR Journal as State Senator Golden's "media statement" seemed quite terse, so I went to look up the State Senator's actual "media statement."   That was NOT as easy as I might have hoped.  State Senator Golden's website isn't nearly as complete or user friendly as in the past. Plus on 2/14/16,  Golden's  "Newsroom" tab on his existing  website is weeks out of date:   both the "All News" and "Press Release" sub-tabs contained the same 2/1/16 item about Hurricane Sandy relief ---  and nothing about City Council Melissa Mark-Viverito's recent "State of the City" proposals.  So where is this "media statement"?    Eventually, I did find somethings on one of Marty's Facebook pages;  and here's what those "somethings" are:

"A primary focus of every elected official should be the support of measures that help keep their constituents safe. New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark Viverito appears to think otherwise....   The Speaker's desire to reform the criminal justice system includes measures that will only endanger the public. The components of her plan include vacating 700,000 warrants, overlooking certain offenses and misguided attempt to close Rikers Island. The Speaker's dream will be nothing short of a nightmare for law-abiding citizens....   It should not be a mystery to anyone that we live in a society where dangerous people commit crimes and threaten a society. Criminals and violent offenders need to be jailed in a facility far away from homes, businesses and schools. Until the day when jails are not needed, we must do everything to protect all of our citizens.[Marty Golden with Marty Golden. February 12 at 9:57am · New York, NY ];  and a later 2/12 Facebook post said this:  " SENATOR MARTY GOLDEN OPPOSES THE CLOSING OF RIKERS ISLAND....   Brooklyn– State Senator Martin J. Golden (R-C-I, Brooklyn) today is opposing New York City Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s plan to someday close Rikers Island as part of her Criminal Justice Reform plan...."  [ "See More" (would not link)] [Marty Golden February 12 at 5:30pm].

COVERAGE OF BOB CAPANO'S REMARKS

Here's how Kip reported on Bob Capano's opposition to the Council Speaker's proposals:  "....  Golden's fellow Republican/Conservative Bob Capano, running an early bird one-man campaign for term-limited City Council Member Vinnie Gentile's seat in the 43rd District, characterized the speaker's proposed criminal justice reforms as 'far left.'...   According to Capano, "common sense" demands that her fellow Democrats oppose Mark-Viverito's 'ridiculous' plan to clear open warrants. Instead of clearing old warrants, Capano, said, the speaker should be urging the subjects of those open warrants to turn themselves in....   Capano likewise opposes Mark-Viverito's proposal to decriminalize many of the low-level offenses on which those old warrants have been issued, contending that the policies behind the backlog have made communities safer for the past 20 years....  The Mark-Viverito's policies, Capano asserted, will bring the return of the 'bad old days' of Conservative bogeyman David Dinkins, the city's first black mayor...."  

So why did Bob's remarks get a better play than Marty's ???

NOT ONLY DID BOB CAPANO BEAT STATE SENATOR GOLDEN TO THE PUNCH ON THIS ISSUE,  CAPANO'S EARLY MOVES FORCED GOLDEN'S HAND

As a famous Civil War general once said, "You got to be the fustest with the mostest...";  and this time out, Bobby C certainly was.

Clearly there seems to be some distance between State Senator Martin Golden and the staff fingers that're supposed to be on the pulse of things going on in Golden's district.  It is no longer only being whispered that Marty Golden's focus is well up the Hudson in Albany.  However, this Melissa Mark-Viverito rebuff by Capano showed how Golden was pretty much asleep at the switch.

Police issues used to be 100% in Marty's wheelhouse; and the City Council Speaker's proposals were certainly very well publicized. However, if it weren't for all the credit that Bob Capano were getting, it's doubtful that there even would have been any statement by Golden on the proposals advanced by Melissa Mark-Viveito  ---  AT ALL.