I stand before you today, in front of my 61 colleagues, facing a vote on expulsion. The basis for this, an act that took place even before I was swom in, Behavior that is unbecoming of a senator. Many question if the Senate even has the right to expel a sitting member, particularly one who is eligible to be seated. Ultimately, whatever action this body undertakes it should adhere to the principles of Faimess, Process and Rule of law. Let me remind everyone that a new election cycle is right around the corner. If my sins are of such magnitude that the voters of the 13th Senatorial District feel that they can no longer support my continued service-then so be it. It should be up to them to expel me, if they should so decide. but not up to this body. All of us here have the privilege to serve the people-and through their wisdom we continue, or are retired for others to get the chance. Moreover, there are legitimate questions under our State Constitution and Legal system if the Senate currently has the power to expel its members. But even if the Senate had the right, which I believe it does not, this process has deprived my constituent-voters and me of due process. It is clear that outside a felony conviction there are no standards or rules that delineate an act of expulsion. Prior to 1821, there were provisions involving the “purging of members”. However, in the 1821 Constitutional Convention those provisions were taken out, and with good reason. Respectfully, my colleagues we Don’t have the power to expel a member. This action would be unconstitutional, illegal and contrary to precedent. So what is it that we are doing here? We are all here doing the people’s business because of one salient reason: the people have afforded us the privilege of serving. Expulsion, therefore, is an extreme action that abrogates the rights of the people who exercised their democratic rights to designate someone to represent their interests. Now over the years we have witnessed on numerous occasions how some of the peoples” representatives have abused their privilege-lining their own pockets at the expense of the public interest that they had sworn to uphold. Just recently, a leader of this very body for over fifieen years, was convicted of corruption-using his office for personal gain at the expense of the tax payers of this great state. We have also seen a long list of others who were convicted or plead to misdemeanors; many negotiated these pleas to avoid felony convictions. And in allthat time no one stood up to say, “Enough’s enough,” even when the behavior became common knowledge. Before I arrived in Albany, two of your colleagues- one Democrat and one Republican-were convicted of using their office for corrupt purposes. Is it any wonder that we have earned the label of ’” Dysfunctional” that has bestowed upon us? Yet with all of this history of corrupt and suspect behavior, no senator has ever been forced to face the prospect of expulsion until now. Why now? What is happening at this time that makes the current effort to expel me so compelling? At every turn we as a body are facing charges of failing to adequately represent the public interest. Editorials written by billionaire publishers single out lists of elected officials who, it is alleged, have violated their oath of office. It is a climate that paints with a broad brush-but everyone in this body stands accused. In response, we rush to craft an ethics bill to signal to the public that we will begin to approach the people’s business differently. And, in a dramatic and public manner, comes the rush to expel Hiram Monserrate. Make no mistake about it, this is an effort by some in this body to publicly demonstrate that it is going to expiate all of its sins-and Hiram Monserrate is the perfect scapegoat for your absolution. Why perfect? Because in the way I acted, | opened myself up to appropriate scorn. I have begun a process of mandated self-examination-something that we all could probably use, but one I certainly can. My colleagues, it’s now been 14 months since I entered these chambers as a Senator. | have voted on hundreds if not thousands of bills. We have dealt with multi-billion dollar deficits, MTA bailouts, protected homeowners and yes even enacted some pretty significant rules reforms. During that same period my office has serviced thousands of constituents in my high needs district. Clearly, lam not being judged today for violating my oath of office or for being an effective legislator. But for whatever the reasons, my actions don’t rise to the level of expulsion-and the process that this body has used has not only deprived me of my due process rights, but will in fact disenfranchise voters of the majority minority district I represent,When the committee whose report is the basis of the expulsion action was constituted, the underlying charges were and are the basis of an appeal. This report which is full of material omissions, legal inaccuracies, and factual distortions — amounts to a self-serving document — designed to justify a result the Select Committee desired before even commencing its investigation. The Committee also never reviewed other vital evidence that was in possession of DA. Despite never hearing from the only two people involved in the incident of Dec. 18, 2008, t he committee proceeded anyway, and it’s report-written as a prosecutorial brief-lacks both balance and fairness. In this way, it is what the jury hears before the defense counsel even has a chance to speak. Yet this body is prepared to use this report and expel me from the senate. | therefore stand before you today to ask for your forbearance and forgiveness. | know that my behavior has brought unwelcome discredit to this chamber, and for that | am deeply sorry. But, as Reverend Jesse Jackson once said, “God isn’t through with me yet.” Let the people, come next fall, if they decide that I can no longer effectively serve them, let them be the final word in the matter of Hiram Monserrate. I thank you for the time and the opportunity to speak here on my own behalf; and for the privilege that I feel for being able to represent the people of Corona, Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, Woodside and Lefrak City USA.