Saturday, September 5, 2009

Demand for resignation: Fellow Dem pol calls Sen. Pedro Espada a "thug" and "embarrassment

Saturday, September 5th 2009, 4:00 AM

Senator Pedro Espada was called a 'thug' in a call to resign by an upstate Democrat.
M. Benjamin for News
Senator Pedro Espada was called a 'thug' in a call to resign by an upstate Democrat.

ALBANY - Them's fightin' words!

Bronx state Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. was branded a "thug" and an "an embarrassment" Friday by an upstate colleague who demanded he resign.

Assemblyman Mark Schroeder, a fellow Democrat, said Espada's antics have stirred outrage all the way to his Buffalo district.

"I view the word thug as someone who is totally dishonest and I believe he was dishonest right from the beginning," Schroeder told the Daily News yesterday.

Schroeder called for Espada to resign and for Senate Democrats to replace him as majority leader with an upstate lawmaker.

"Every statewide leadership position in state government is filled by downstaters," said Schroeder.

Espada had no comment.

Espada was a key figure in the June 8 leadership coup that deadlocked the Senate for a month. He initially sided with Republicans but switched back to the Democrats, who named him majority leader.

Weeks after the coup, it was revealed that his son was given a $120,000-a-year job with the Senate. There have also been investigations into possible misuse of state grants, failure to file financial statements and whether he lives in his district.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2009/09/05/2009-09-05_pedro_the_thugs_gotta_go_says_pol.html#ixzz0QF521cMJ