FOR THE RECORD

The seven Senate amigos who gathered at City Hall July 23 to make their case on school governance seemed unsure as to their agenda: Was this an update for the press, a rally against Schools Chancellor Joel Klein and the Department of Education, or a plea to Mayor Bloomberg to start negotiations?

Senate Democratic conference leader John Sampson's last-minute cancellation left the event in the volatile hands of Hiram Monserrate, who, it must still be noted, was indicted in March on three counts of felony assault for allegedly slashing his girlfriend with a broken glass last December.

"I've got a whole fan club, what can I say?" he joked as the crowd behind him chanted in unison. But the assembled group of "parents" on the City Hall steps appeared to be culled mostly from a planned Teacher protest at Tweed against charter schools, which began an hour and a half later.

(Despite repeated statements that the Senators would hold their ground and that further parental input would be included in school governance legislation, a compromise deal was reached a day later.)

The meandering quality of some Senators' speeches attested to the confusion. Carl Kruger held up charts decrying DOE overspending and lack of financial oversight, seemingly forgetting that the Assembly legislation and a companion bill in his own house already provide for more oversight in those areas.

But the most-baffling comment of the day came, perhaps unsurprisingly, from Pedro Espada Jr., who kept quiet for most of the conference, but spoke up when fellow former defector Monserrate was asked about high public disapproval ratings for the State Senate. "Fifty percent of all New Yorkers want a bipartisan government. We have achieved that," he noted proudly, although a much-larger percentage of the state's citizens would prefer honest and competent government, two qualities not much associated with this group.

In the words of one reporter at the event, "with enemies like this, Mayor Bloomberg doesn't need friends."

Patrick J. Higgins, the founding president of the city Court Clerks union, has died at age 84 in Lyons Veterans Hospital in New Jersey, retired Court Clerks Association President Owen Flynn told us last week.

Mr. Higgins served as the head of the old Magistrate's Court Officers Association prior to his election in 1956 as president of what was then known as the Court Clerks Benevolent Association, Mr. Flynn said.

"They held it together with string and nail polish" he said of Mr. Higgins and his fellow officers during a period when the union experienced financial hardship. "He took out $12,000 from his own bank account to keep the union going."

While showing an unusual willingness to reach into his own pocket on the union's behalf, Mr. Higgins sought to discourage his members from doing favors for lawyers in return for tips that were commonly used to supplement salaries of less than $4,000 back then.

"He stood up and said, 'We're not bartenders; we're Court Clerks,' '' recalled Mr. Flynn, who headed the CCA for close to two decades. "He was what everyone would wish his union leader to be: a man of honesty and integrity."

After Governor Paterson flatly rejected an all-male slate of candidates to replace the outgoing Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye late last year, the Commission on Judicial Nomination, now led by Ms. Kaye, July 20 released proposed revisions to the nominating process that call for more diversity in the list of candidates the Governor is mandated to choose from.

"A diverse Judiciary ensures that a broad array of perspectives and experiences are brought to the bench; reinforces public trust and confidence in the fairness of the justice system and the administration of justice; and ultimately enhances the delivery of justice and the Judiciary's credibility and moral authority," the revised document stated.

Ms. Kaye said, "I am pleased that the Commission is releasing rule revisions that reflect the experience of the Commission gathered over the last 30 years as well as the insights of many others to assure that, for instance, the Commission will continue to serve the public interest well."

The proposed changes to the rules include formalization of a process for broad outreach to candidates, the addition of an explicit commitment to diversity, simplification of the application process and a requirement that the Commission's report to the Governor include more details about each nominee.