So we are going to get a budget. Now what?

I have it on good authority that New York State will have a budget, nearly 100 days late, by the end of today. Seems like I was lied to by my good authority.

However, After hundreds of days bickering and looking like imbeciles, will anything get done over the summer before an election? I find it extremely doubtful. With the lackluster leadership we have in Albany we are in for a putrid summer of hand-holding, special interest fund raising and broken campaign promises.

While I do support both of my local state level representatives, I really hope that we see some fresh faces in Albany come January 2011. Silver, Espada, Sampson and the rest of that lot of so-called leaders need to be exposed. Thankfully, the Governor has chosen not to run again.

As my lovely wife likes to say, if anyone else in the world did their job as poorly as these fools, they would be fired. She even said that this craziness has made her consider running for office. I too am almost ready to do that, but like I said before, I support my local representatives.

However, as I noted after my trip to Albany, we really do need some serious leadership changes. Sen. Liz Krueger could lead that change. Her seniority, no-nonsense approach and willingness to work with anyone represent a resounding change from the hissy-fit mentality of our current Senate leaders. Assembly Member Micah Kellner, a friend and neighbor, is still a junior member of the Assembly but he continues to work hard for our community. I still have high hopes that he may one day take on the status quo, but for now he is constrained by the horrific excuse for a leader that occupies Legislative Office Building 932 in Albany.

So we get a budget today…we hope. It is nearly 100 days late. Odds are nothing will change. New York deserves accountable representation in Albany. We are a big state, with a ton of pressing economic and social issues to deal with right now. Jobs will continue to be lost, equality will continue to be ignored and schools will continue to stagnate unless someone stands up and say enough. I am just a schlub with a blog. We need someone with some power to say something AND do something. Who is it going to be?