He was the most silent senator in the Legislature, NYPIRG says.
Sen. Michael Nozzolio listens -- quietly -- during a Finance Committee meeting May 11 in the State Capitol Building in Albany. Nozzolio spoke the fewest words in session of any state senator.Present. No. Present.
Those were the only three words Sen. Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, spoke on the Senate floor this year during the first four months of session.
Nozzolio was the most silent senator in the Legislature, according to a recent analysis of floor proceedings by the New York Public Interest Research Group. The next quietest senators spoke 17 words each, NYPIRG found.
Keeping in character, Nozzolio did not respond to calls for comment.
By comparison, the most loquacious senator — Sen. Eric Schneiderman, D-Manhattan — spoke 13,874 words.
Sens. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse, and David Valesky, D-Oneida, topped the list for chattiest Central New York senators. DeFrancisco — the most verbose of any of his Republican colleagues — uttered 9,887 words during session. Valesky said 2,121 words.
Sen. Darrel Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, emerged as the most silent Central New York Democrat. He spoke a mere 179 words, according to NYPIRG.
This is the first year NYPIRG has analyzed the number of words senators spoke.