Thursday, March 27, 2008

Marcellino Uses Campaign Funds for Car Payments; Has Bad Fuel Mileage to Boot

From Newsday:"But Sen. Carl Marcellino (R-Syosset) insists the $441 per month his campaign pays for his leased Chevrolet Trailblazer is a necessity. "At the end of the year I'm well over 60,000 miles on that car," he said. "I go to parades, Little League games, various and sundry dinners -- pick 'em -- that are all related to the job."

Hey Carl, alot of people use their own cars for work every day and don't get reimbursed. And is a Trailblazer necessary?
What about the enviroment Carl? Why not a more fuel-efficient car??
The Trailblazer at best get on average 18 MPG in the best conditions.
And for some reason the New York League of Conservation Voters gives Carl a
Environmental Star of 2007 award. Carl says "It is a pleasure to be recognized by the New York League of Conservation Voters as one of their Environmental Stars. I look forward to continuing to work in a bipartisan manner to protect the health of New Yorkers, safeguard and improve the quality of our environment and preserve our natural resources. Thank you for this honor."
If Marcellino is driving 60,000 miles a year, that's almost 3500 gallons of gas. Does the NYLCV know about Marcellino's big truck? He could get Toyota Prius Hybrid for less than $441/month and save on the gas.
I wonder if Carl is paying for the gas with his campaigns funds too. Maybe he's paying out of his own pockect which would accoun for why he wanted a gas tax cap. If he's paying close to $10,000 a year for gas he must be hurting.

Let's all applaud Carl Marcellino for being an Enviromental Hypocrite.

UPDATE:
I forgot to add this from the article "It's one thing to rent a car while you need it during the election cycle," said Russ Haven of the New York Public Interest Research Group. "But for the other 18 months of their term, they should pay for that out of their own pocket."
Indeed.

7 comments:

Unknown said...

In your blog post you say,"for some reason the New York League of Conservation Voters gives Carl a Environmental Star of 2007 award."

Here is the reason, which can be found at:
http://www.nylcv.org/newsletter/2007/jun/articles/environmental_stars_of_2007

The 2007 legislative session ended in Albany with several victories for New York's environment. But little progress would have been possible if it weren't for the leadership of six elected officials from around the state who went above and beyond to ensure that New Yorkers can enjoy cleaner air, more open space and a better quality of life.

Those six legislators -- working on both sides of the aisle and in both houses of the Legislature -- have been named Environmental Stars of 2007 by the New York League of Conservation Voters.

One of six leaders was Senator Marcellino.

As the Chair of the Senate Environmental Conservation Committee, Marcellino sponsored legislation to create Global Warming Index Labels, the New York Sea Level Rise Task Force, the New York Climate Change Task Force, the New York Invasive Species Council and led the fight to expand the Environmental Protection Fund by $50 million. By forging a good working relationship with his counterpart on the Assembly's Environmental Conservation Committee, Marcellino was able to craft and execute an effective environmental agenda.

Anonymous said...

NYLCV says Marcellino "went above and beyond to ensure that New Yorkers can enjoy cleaner air, more open space and a better quality of life."

Yeah sure, doing 60,000 mile a year in a fuel inefficient car. So much for cleaner air right?
Does personal hypocricy matter? You don't address that at all.
I've actually questioned a member of the of the LI NYLCV about a politician who got their endorsement but uses a fuel inefficient gov't car for no reason. The answer? A shrug and 'Who cares.'
Does the NYLCV have any principles or is it more concerned with stroking politicians egos to get an agenda passed?
Practice what you preach or not.

Anonymous said...

Our mission to evaluate a candidate's willingness and capacity to pass important bills into law and fund key environmental programs that will combat climate change and protect our planet.

On the issue of what car they drive, if they recycle, or other matters of "personal hypocrisy," we leave that to the New York League of Personal Hypocrisy Voters.

Anonymous said...

Wow, NYLCV is getting a bit testy.
So NYLCV has no principles, just an agenda. Got it.

Anonymous said...

To learn more about NYLCV's policy priorities for the state legislature, "Blueprint for a Greener State," please visit: http://www.nylcv.org/newsroom/releases/3244

All are welcome to read it, including Anonymous people who lack a sense of humor. :-)

Anonymous said...

Congestion pricing will not do any of what NYLCV says it wll do. To implement the plan, NYC will spend more than it will get from the Feds.
Less cars? That is doubtful. People aren't driving into the city during the day for their leisure. They are driving because they HAVE to drive in. You would be suprised I guess to find out that not everyone can take mass transit.
This is a tax on non-manhattan residents and nothing more.
Will mass transit reliability improve? Nope.
Will mass transit prices be lowered? Nope.

Also, you care what other people drive and where but not politicians you support.

Anonymous said...

While you are checking campaign funs for cars, you might want to check and see if these legislators who have their campaigns pay for their cars and thier gas also billed the state legislature for mileage reimbursement to and from Albany each week using these same vehicles.

Seems to me this is the ultimate double-dip! Free car, free gas and mileage reimbursement besides.