Dear Member of Citizens Union or Supporter of Citizens Union Foundation,
I am happy to share with you the amicus brief that Citizens Union, along with our partner Common Cause/NY, filed last week in the lawsuit Skelos v. Paterson dealing with the authority of Governor David Paterson to appoint a lieutenant governor. The case will be heard tomorrow - Tuesday, August 18th - in the Supreme Court of the State of New York, Appellate Division: Second Judicial Department.
As you know, Citizens Union, Common Cause/NY and Assemblymember Mike Gianaris in early July laid out to the public a legal case and political rationale as to why the governor should and can appoint a lt. governor, both to clarify the line of succession to the office of Governor, and to resolve the bitter partisan chaos that had gripped the State Senate and brought our state government to a standstill.
With the assistance of its former chair Richard J. Davis, CU was very fortunate to have secured the pro bono services of the law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP and to have the support of three of the firm's lawyers in the preparation of the brief, Caitlin J. Halligan Gregory Silbert, and Dotan Weinman. The brief was enhanced greatly by the thinking and writing of CUF's own Vice Chair, Richard Briffault, a Columbia Law School Professor who is a well known expert in local and state law. Providing research and further analysis were CU's own legislative counsel DeNora Getachew and Public Policy and Research Associate Rachael Fauss.
The argument we put forward is thoughtful,constructive and, in fact, innovative - all within the context of solid and grounded legal reasoning. We believe that our view and position will prevail. I encourage you to read the brief and see for yourself the considerate construction of our argument.
Work like this again reminds me of the important support members and supporters like you provide to CU and CUF. Without your gifts and financial support, we would not be the effective civic organization and government watchdog that we are today, so thank you very much.
Best,
Dick Dadey
Executive Director