Maggie Brooks
Encyclopedia
Maggie A. Brooks is a broadcasting personality and politician most notable for having served as the first female County Executive
of Monroe County, New York
.
Brooks graduated from Ithaca College
with a degree in Political Science
in 1977. Her first job out of college was as a general assignment reporter for WHAM (AM)
in Rochester, New York
. In 1980, she became an anchor television reporter for WHEC-TV
and later moved into a reporter position. In 1994, she took a job as vice president of programming for Companion Radio in Penfield, New York
.
In 1995, she began her political career by winning a seat on the Monroe County legislature, representing an election district centered on West Irondequoit
. A year later, then-governor George Pataki
appointed her county clerk to fill the vacancy left by the former clerk who had resigned to head up the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles
. Voters subsequently elected her to the clerkship in 1997 and reelected her in 2001.
In 2003, she successfully ran for Monroe County executive against then-city mayor William A. Johnson, Jr.
.
Brooks was considered a potential Republican candidate for lieutenant governor
in 2006, as a running mate
for former Massachusetts Gov.
William Weld
. Weld instead chose New York Secretary of State Christopher Jacobs
as his running mate, but later withdrew from the race for the Republican nomination. Brooks is also a contender to be Rick Lazio
's running mate in 2010. She has also been mentioned as a potential candidate to run for the seat representing New York's 29th congressional district
in 2010, to fill the seat vacated by the Eric Massa
who resigned.
. The library had a pornography filtering policy that allowed for Internet filtering software
to be temporarily disabled for individual adult patrons by request. In spite of the filtering policy already in place, and "despite objections from the Rochester (N.Y.) Public Library board, the Monroe County Library System adopted ... a policy to use filtering software to block all websites deemed pornographic...." Later, the board accepted the new policy, and a conservative activist group gave an award to Brooks.
In September 2007, Brooks announced her F.A.I.R. plan, which stands for fairness, accountability, innovation and results. The plan had two main pieces: the first took advantage of a new option enacted at the state level as part of the Medicaid Cap legislation called the "sales tax intercept". This required enactment a local law allowing New York State to "intercept" a portion of Monroe County's sales tax revenue in exchange for the elimination of the county's Medicaid payments to the state; the second was a corresponding reduction in sales tax revenue the county distributed to suburban Monroe County school districts. The county relied on language in a sales tax sharing agreement called the Morin-Ryan Act that required sales tax be distributed by formula based on what the county actually received. The intercept option actually reduced the amount of sales tax revenue received by the county as the local share of Medicaid was captured prior to distribution. Therefore the amount shared was illegally reduced based on the statutory (Morin-Ryan) formula.
The school districts claimed Brooks' plan violated the Morin-Ryan Act between the county and all the municipalities and school districts therein. The Morin-Ryan Act established how Monroe County's sales tax was to be allocated, and the School District decided to file suit. After suffering a loss in the New York Supreme Court, the state's trial level court, the districts appealed and succeeded in overturning the F.A.I.R. plan. The Brooks Administration chose not to pursue an appeal to the State's highest court, instead opting to settle the school district's suit. In the end, the Brooks Administration agreed to pay back all of the illegally withheld sales tax revenue, plus interest and legal fees.
The ROBUTRAD workers were also alleged to have been making campaign donation to Brooks and other Republicans using funds they were stealing from the County. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090602/NEWS01/906020306/1002/NEWS/Former+Monroe+County+official+s+influence+over+trades+workers+under+review
Around the same time that the federal government is thought to have begun their investigation, the Deputy County Executive, James Smith, resigned his position. Brooks has repeatedly said Smith's resignation had nothing to do with ROBUTRAD, but it is clear that authorities are investigating possible ties between Smith and ROBUTRAD. In his position as Deputy County Executive, Smith was the number 2 official in Monroe County and essentially in charge of the day to day operations of County Government. http://rochesterturning.com/2009/04/12/smith-consulted-a-criminal-lawyer-before-departing-as-maggies-2/
The audit also raised concerns about potential bid rigging in the 2004 award of the nearly $100 million contract, noting the Brooks' Deputy County Executive at the time--Richard Mackey--would soon after retire from county government to take a paid consulting position with UTC.
County executive
A county executive is the head of the executive branch of government in a county. This position is common in the United States.The executive may be an elected or an appointed position...
of Monroe County, New York
Monroe County, New York
Monroe County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2010 census, the population was 744,344. It is named after James Monroe, fifth President of the United States of America. Its county seat is the city of Rochester....
.
Brooks graduated from Ithaca College
Ithaca College
Ithaca College is a private college located on the South Hill of Ithaca, New York. The school was founded by William Egbert in 1892 as a conservatory of music. The college has a strong liberal arts core, but also offers several pre-professional programs and some graduate programs. The college is...
with a degree in Political Science
Political science
Political Science is a social science discipline concerned with the study of the state, government and politics. Aristotle defined it as the study of the state. It deals extensively with the theory and practice of politics, and the analysis of political systems and political behavior...
in 1977. Her first job out of college was as a general assignment reporter for WHAM (AM)
WHAM (AM)
WHAM is a clear-channel talk radio station in Rochester, New York, owned by Clear Channel Communications. Its 50,000-watt transmitter is located in Chili, New York, and the station broadcasts on 1180 kHz.The station first went on the air in 1922...
in Rochester, New York
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
. In 1980, she became an anchor television reporter for WHEC-TV
WHEC-TV
WHEC-TV, channel 10, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Rochester, New York, USA. WHEC-TV is owned by Saint Paul, Minnesota-based Hubbard Broadcasting, and broadcasts from a studio/office facility on East Avenue in Downtown Rochester...
and later moved into a reporter position. In 1994, she took a job as vice president of programming for Companion Radio in Penfield, New York
Penfield, New York
Penfield is a town in Monroe County, New York, United States. The population was 36,242 at the 2010 census.The town was incorporated in 1810 by the proprietor, Daniel Penfield, who purchased the town lands in 1795 and moved to the area in 1809. Penfield is a suburb of Rochester, New York...
.
In 1995, she began her political career by winning a seat on the Monroe County legislature, representing an election district centered on West Irondequoit
Irondequoit, New York
Irondequoit is a town in Monroe County, New York, USA. As of the 2010 census, the coterminous town-CDP had a total population of 51,692...
. A year later, then-governor George Pataki
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
appointed her county clerk to fill the vacancy left by the former clerk who had resigned to head up the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles
Department of Motor Vehicles
In the United States of America, a Department of Motor Vehicles is a state-level government agency that administers vehicle registration and driver licensing. Similar departments exist in Canada...
. Voters subsequently elected her to the clerkship in 1997 and reelected her in 2001.
In 2003, she successfully ran for Monroe County executive against then-city mayor William A. Johnson, Jr.
William A. Johnson, Jr.
William A. "Bill" Johnson, Jr. was the first African-American elected mayor of the City of Rochester, New York. Elected in November 1993, Johnson was the 64th mayor of the city and was re-elected in 1997 and 2001...
.
Brooks was considered a potential Republican candidate for lieutenant governor
Lieutenant Governor of New York
The Lieutenant Governor of New York is a constitutional office in the executive branch of the government of New York State. It is the second highest ranking official in state government. The lieutenant governor is elected on a ticket with the governor for a four year term...
in 2006, as a running mate
Running mate
A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position but can also properly be used when referring to both candidates, such as "Michael Dukakis and Lloyd Bentsen were...
for former Massachusetts Gov.
Governor of Massachusetts
The Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the executive magistrate of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States. The current governor is Democrat Deval Patrick.-Constitutional role:...
William Weld
William Weld
William Floyd Weld is a former governor of the US state of Massachusetts. He served as that state's 68th governor from 1991 to 1997. From 1981 to 1988, he was a federal prosecutor in the United States Justice Department...
. Weld instead chose New York Secretary of State Christopher Jacobs
Christopher Jacobs (politician)
Christopher L. Jacobs was Secretary of State of New York and was twice a candidate for the Republican nomination for Lieutenant Governor of New York as the running mate of both former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld in 2006 and Steve Levy in 2010...
as his running mate, but later withdrew from the race for the Republican nomination. Brooks is also a contender to be Rick Lazio
Rick Lazio
Enrico Anthony "Rick" Lazio is a former U.S. Representative from the state of New York. Lazio became well known nationally when he ran against Hillary Rodham Clinton for the U.S. Senate in New York's 2000 Senate election...
's running mate in 2010. She has also been mentioned as a potential candidate to run for the seat representing New York's 29th congressional district
New York's 29th congressional district
The Twenty-ninth district of New York is a congressional district for the United States House of Representatives which covers a portion of the Appalachian mountains in New York known as the "Southern Tier." It is represented by Tom Reed...
in 2010, to fill the seat vacated by the Eric Massa
Eric Massa
-March to the Primaries:Freshman incumbent Randy Kuhl had been elected to Congress with slightly over 50% of the popular vote in a three way race in 2004. In early 2005, former U.S. Naval officer Eric J.J. Massa, a long-time friend of 2004 presidential candidate General Wesley Clark filed to run...
who resigned.
Years as county executive
In February 2007, Brooks acted to remove funding from the Central Rochester Public Library because the computers were being used to access pornography and could potentially be viewed by children. This action followed from an investigative report on Internet pornography that aired on local affiliate News 10 NBCWHEC-TV
WHEC-TV, channel 10, is an NBC-affiliated television station located in Rochester, New York, USA. WHEC-TV is owned by Saint Paul, Minnesota-based Hubbard Broadcasting, and broadcasts from a studio/office facility on East Avenue in Downtown Rochester...
. The library had a pornography filtering policy that allowed for Internet filtering software
Content-control software
Content-control software, also known as censorware or web filtering software, is a term for software designed and optimized for controlling what content is permitted to a reader, especially when it is used to restrict material delivered over the Web...
to be temporarily disabled for individual adult patrons by request. In spite of the filtering policy already in place, and "despite objections from the Rochester (N.Y.) Public Library board, the Monroe County Library System adopted ... a policy to use filtering software to block all websites deemed pornographic...." Later, the board accepted the new policy, and a conservative activist group gave an award to Brooks.
In September 2007, Brooks announced her F.A.I.R. plan, which stands for fairness, accountability, innovation and results. The plan had two main pieces: the first took advantage of a new option enacted at the state level as part of the Medicaid Cap legislation called the "sales tax intercept". This required enactment a local law allowing New York State to "intercept" a portion of Monroe County's sales tax revenue in exchange for the elimination of the county's Medicaid payments to the state; the second was a corresponding reduction in sales tax revenue the county distributed to suburban Monroe County school districts. The county relied on language in a sales tax sharing agreement called the Morin-Ryan Act that required sales tax be distributed by formula based on what the county actually received. The intercept option actually reduced the amount of sales tax revenue received by the county as the local share of Medicaid was captured prior to distribution. Therefore the amount shared was illegally reduced based on the statutory (Morin-Ryan) formula.
The school districts claimed Brooks' plan violated the Morin-Ryan Act between the county and all the municipalities and school districts therein. The Morin-Ryan Act established how Monroe County's sales tax was to be allocated, and the School District decided to file suit. After suffering a loss in the New York Supreme Court, the state's trial level court, the districts appealed and succeeded in overturning the F.A.I.R. plan. The Brooks Administration chose not to pursue an appeal to the State's highest court, instead opting to settle the school district's suit. In the end, the Brooks Administration agreed to pay back all of the illegally withheld sales tax revenue, plus interest and legal fees.
ROBUTRAD
On June 18, 2009, Robert Morone was charged by the federal government with various fraud related charges. The federal criminal complaint against Morone detailed many of the unknown details of the scandal—which is commonly referred to as the ROBUTRAD scandal. Among the new revelations was that the Monroe County Republican Committee's Chief Fundraiser, Irene Matichyn, was a regular recipient of free home repairs and other services provided by the contract workers while they were being paid by the taxpayers. It was also revealed that Andrew Moore, the Executive Director of the Monroe County Republican Committee, may have coerced a contract worker into supporting a GOP candidate for local office under threat that the worker would lose his job if he did not support the candidate. In early September 2009, Moore was indicted by a Grand Jury on a felony count of rewarding official misconduct, as well as a few lesser charges of coercion and official misconduct. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090906/NEWS01/909060324/Robutrad+scandal+continues+to+widen In March 2010, all charges were dropped against Moore. http://fwix.com/rochester/share/a44db8b785/robutrad_charges_against_andy_moore_dismissedThe ROBUTRAD workers were also alleged to have been making campaign donation to Brooks and other Republicans using funds they were stealing from the County. http://www.democratandchronicle.com/article/20090602/NEWS01/906020306/1002/NEWS/Former+Monroe+County+official+s+influence+over+trades+workers+under+review
Around the same time that the federal government is thought to have begun their investigation, the Deputy County Executive, James Smith, resigned his position. Brooks has repeatedly said Smith's resignation had nothing to do with ROBUTRAD, but it is clear that authorities are investigating possible ties between Smith and ROBUTRAD. In his position as Deputy County Executive, Smith was the number 2 official in Monroe County and essentially in charge of the day to day operations of County Government. http://rochesterturning.com/2009/04/12/smith-consulted-a-criminal-lawyer-before-departing-as-maggies-2/
UTC Audit
An audit by the New York State Comptroller of Monroe County's relationship with Upstate Telecommunications Corporation (UTC) was released September 22, 2011. The audit identified several areas of concern, including the fact that Monroe County had paid UTC $8 million more than UTC had expended for their services rendered to the county. UTC was established by the Brooks Administration as a special non-profit corporation, which is separate from but controlled by county government.The audit also raised concerns about potential bid rigging in the 2004 award of the nearly $100 million contract, noting the Brooks' Deputy County Executive at the time--Richard Mackey--would soon after retire from county government to take a paid consulting position with UTC.