Diaz Sr. urges Skelos to open a dialogue

Last week, state Senator Rev. Ruben Diaz Sr. urged his fellow Hispanic colleagues in government to boycott Republican Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos' Hispanic gathering, Unidad Latina Legislative Conference. Diaz says that no Hispanic legislators attended the conference, though the GOP says a number of them did.

The letter, released today, is directed at Skelos and calls for him to open up a dialogue with Hispanic lawmakers to start better serving their needs, which were ignored during the state budget agreement, Diaz said.

According to Capitol Confidential, the GOP says Diaz has his facts wrong.

Senate GOP spokesman Scott Reif told the Times Union blog that Assembly members Guillermo Linares, Naomi Rivera and Nicole Malliotakis were on hand, as well as former Assemblyman Roberto Ramirez, the first Puerto Rican Democrat county leader in the state, “along with dozens of Hispanic business and community leaders.”

Reif’s full response to CapCon:

This is absolutely not true, and Senator Diaz should be ashamed of himself for putting politics ahead of what’s best for New York’s Hispanic community.  Sponsored by Senator Skelos and the well-respected Hispanic Federation, Unidad Latina was attended by hundreds of people, Senators and Assemblymembers from both political parties, and many Hispanic lawmakers.  And, despite Senator Diaz’ best efforts to bully people into not attending, this conference was an enormous success which gave serious legislators an opportunity to make contacts, to listen and to learn, and to advocate for issues important to the Hispanic community.  The Senate Democrats should spend less time trying to tear people down and more time trying to bring people together, as Senate Republicans have been doing.

Here's a sample of the letter from Diaz. Jump below for the full piece.

"I hope (and in speaking for myself) you will understand that until you build a dialogue with the six Hispanic Senators who serve as your colleagues in the New York State Senate, some of us will have a reason not to participate in your publicity events."

GOP contender Herman Cain donated $250 to Rep. Serrano

Did the pizza man want to open up a Bronx location in 1993?

Probably not, but that didn't stop GOP presidential candidate and former Godfather Pizza CEO Herman Cain from donating $250 to Bronx Rep. Jose Serrano that year. As Yahoo! reported, Cain claims all five Democrats he gave money in the mid-90s to were "moderate Democrats." The other donations were made to politicians in Nebraska, where the pizza chain is based.

"They were business decisions and personal decisions," Cain told The Ticket (Yahoo!) when asked about the donations to Democrats. "One was a restaurateur. One was a personal friend. All moderate Democrats."

Except, as The National Review points out by highlighting his National Journal profile, Serrano isn't exactly moderate, at least over the past 10 years. The bold is the Review's:

In opposition to Cuban Hispanics in Congress, Serrano has been Fidel Castro’s greatest champion in the House. He has sought repeal of economic sanctions against Cuba. When questions arose about Castro’s future after major surgery in July 2006, Serrano issued a press release telling President George W. Bush, “Hands Off Cuba.” When Castro’s brother, Raúl Castro, took control, Serrano said that it was “long past time to end the charade and begin dialogue and engagement with Cuba.” Another of his issues is statehood for Puerto Rico, which he calls an American “colony.” He backs a long-stalled referendum to determine the status of the island. In 2000, Serrano was arrested at the White House while protesting the Navy’s bombing range at Vieques, Puerto Rico. He also took credit for working with Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez and Citizen Energy Corp. to strike a deal to bring cheaper oil to the South Bronx. He has criticized the reluctance of House Democratic leaders to pass immigration reform.
In New York politics, Serrano backed former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer for mayor in 2001 and 2005. He backed civil-rights activist Al Sharpton for president in 2004.

Jump below for the rest, included Serrano's response, via the Observer.

Diaz Sr. urges Espaillat to ignore Skelos (UPDATE)

Outspoken state Senator Ruben Diaz Sr. sent a letter to his fellow Democrat, state Senator Adriano Espaillat, asking him to not attend a Hispanic legislative conference that GOP Majority Leader Dean Skelos is planning.

Diaz asks that Espaillat--who chairs the Senate's Puerto Rican/Latino Caucus--and the rest of the Hispanic community boycott the conference to show Skelos they do not approve of the way he voted on the budget.

Here's a little snippet of the letter. Jump below for the full letter, as well as Espaillat's response.

I believe that many will agree with me that this event has been whipped up by Senator Dean Skelos to win the affection of Hispanic New Yorkers and is insulting  and  disrespectful  to  the  New  York State Puerto Rican/Latino Caucus and to New York’s Hispanic community.

(UPDATE) Also below is a statement from fellow Bronx state Senator Gustavo Rivera, who will not be attending the conference.