State pols seeking Council seats have bad attendance records

over 6 years in NY Daily

Four State Assembly members are vying for seats in the City Council — but they haven’t had great track records showing up for votes at their current gigs, attendance records show.

The four Democrats were among the 25 members with the highest percentage of missed votes, according to an attendance analysis by State Watch that was shared with the Daily News by John Doyle, who is up against Assemblyman Mark Gjonaj for a Bronx Council seat. Gjonaj missed 158 votes — or 15%, according to State Watch.

A Politico analysis of attendance records offered the same number of excused missed votes.

“His attendance record this year has been extremely poor, because he’s focused on running for this office,” Doyle, a former staffer to State Sen. Jeff Klein, told the News. “Again: Your job is to pass bills.”

Doyle intends to make his opponent’s attendance an issue — with plans to put out this week a web video showing Gjonaj deny the attendance record at a candidate’s forum in Throggs Neck, when yet another contender for the seat, Victor Ortiz, said he’d missed 14% of his votes.

"I assure you I did not miss 14%," Gjonaj responded, according to a clip included in Doyle’s video. The video also features Gjonaj, while running for Assembly, criticizing his predecessor for missing 12% of her votes. Alec Tabak/for New York Daily News Assemblyman Francisco Moya missed 188 votes or 18%. He is taking on disgraced ex-pol Hiram Monserrate.

Assembly members often take dozens of votes in one day, particularly late in session when bills are finalized and passed — so a member might only miss a few days but be absent for many votes.

Asked about Gjonaj’s attendance record, a spokeswoman said he’d been dealing with the death of a friend.

"Towards the end of this session, Mark Gjonaj missed three days to bury his close friend and chief counsel, Will Madonna,” Jennifer Blatus said. “Representing the interests and needs of the district is his top priority. In this specific case, he took time to honor a man he had known for more than 10 years.”

Gjonaj is one of a slew of state lawmakers seeking City Council gigs — which comes with a much shorter commute and a much bigger paycheck. Dick Dadey, head of good government group Citizens Union, cited many factors.

“The near double the compensation, the easier the commute, the more visible the Council is than the state Legislature,” he said. “And the state Legislature’s authority has unfortunately declined and its prestige has wilted a bit.” Mike Groll/AP Assemblyman Felix Ortiz is also among the top 25 members of the chamber with lousy attendance records. He missed 134 votes or 13%.

Assemblyman Robert Rodriguez, who is seeking Council Speaker Melissa Mark-Viverito’s seat in East Harlem and the Bronx, missed 497 votes — or 49%, per State Watch. (Politico counted 496.) Blatus, also a spokeswoman for Rodriguez, cited his work securing funding for local projects and said he’d faced health and family issues.

"This past year, Robert and his wife announced they were expecting their second child and have had to deal with health-related challenges along the way,” she said. “In spite of this, Robert has been able to remain committed to his constituents and deliver a strong record of accomplishment.”

Francisco Moya, seeking the Queens seat being left by Councilwoman Julissa Ferreras, missed 188 votes, or 18%. He told the News he’d missed sessions for important issues in the district, including events about a 19-year-old Ecuadorian student being detained by ICE. Moya is the first Ecuadorian-American elected official in the country.

But Moya’s attendance record is likely to draw less attention than his opponent’s criminal record — he’s running against Hiram Monserrate, who served time in prison for misappropriating $109,000 in city grants the last time he was in the City Council. Monserrate was also once an Albany lawmaker — he was state senator when he was accused of slashing his girlfriend’s face and was caught on video dragging her out of his apartment.

Moya said he wasn’t trying to flee Albany — saying he had no plans to run until Ferreras opted not to.

“Once I knew who the opponent was going to be there was no way I could allow a violent criminal like Hiram Monserrate to come back to government,” he said.

Monserrate shot back that he’d apologized for his mistakes and accused Moya of being “the most ineffective member of the New York State Assembly.”

A fourth Assembly member seeking a Council seat, Felix Ortiz, missed 134 votes, or 13%. His office didn’t return a message seeking comment.

Dadey said that it’s understandable Assembly members — especially those running for Council — may have to be in the city on days when the body is in session. But he noted there’s plenty of time post-session for events.

“And they’ve got a job, first and foremost: to represent their constituents in Albany,” he said.

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