Speaker of the New York State Assembly Sheldon Silver speaks to members of the media in the State Capitol March 12, 2008 in Albany, New York. (Photo by Daniel Barry/Getty Images)
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Former New York City Mayor Ed Koch says his fellow Democrats should dump one of their leaders, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.
Silver is the only top lawmaker who refuses to sign onto Koch’s agenda for cleaning up Albany’s dysfunction and corruption.
Koch says Silver should be voted out of his seat, something he says won’t happen in his lower Manhattan district.
But Koch says Silver should be removed as the state’s most powerful legislative leader if he refuses to sign the reform pledge.
Silver didn’t immediately comment, but has said he has a policy against signing pledges. He’s also noted that his chamber has passed many reforms and is open to exploring Koch’s ideas.
Koch says Wednesday he still hopes his friend of 40 years will join him.
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