Republicans:
Other potential candidates:
So here's a story that looks worth reading.:
The Times-Union has a police report on a domestic incident involving US Rep. John Sweeney, the 20th CD Republican who's being challenged by Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand. The Daily News has its own version of the story.
Sweeney seems to be questioning the authenticity of the report.
The Village Voice weighs in with a story in the wake of the Hevesi scandal describing how Gov. George Pataki "never skimped on providing help and protection for his own family." The piece also critiques the role and connections of the Pataki-allied ethics chairman who was behind the report on Hevesi.
Judge the merits of the story for yourself.
WASHINGTON — It turns out that lobbying is the King family business.
Not only does Rep. Peter King’s son Sean work for former Sen. Alfonse D’Amato’s influential lobbying firm Park Strategies, but King’s daughter and sister also work in lobbying.
Daughter Erin King Sweeney manages government affairs, which oversees lobbying operations, for Swiss International Air Lines, in Uniondale
And his sister, Barbara King, is a registered lobbyist for Continuum Health Partners Inc., which operates Beth Israel Medical Center, St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center and Long Island College Hospital.
Among those supporting Alan Hevesi in his time of trouble are a few folks who have gotten support from the comptroller.
The latest campaign finance filing shows a $50,000 donation on Oct. 20, for example, from securities lawyer Arthur N. Abbey and spouse. Abbey's firm was chosen by the comptroller's office in 2004 to represent the state retirement fund in a potentially lucrative class-action lawsuit against drugmaker Merck.
So there's another $50,000 that can be added to the $100,000 spotted by the Daily News from firms that get fees to help manage the retirement fund... and another $12,000 spotted by the New York Times in donations from a California venture capital firm that gets fees from the fund.
The piling on Alan Hevesi continued today, with Suffolk Republicans rallying with challenger J. Christopher Callaghan in front of the state office building in Hauppauge. Only GOP committee chairman Harry Withers spoke at the event but a news release from the Callaghan campaign includes some strong words from local officials:
* Assemblyman James Conte (R-Huntington Station): “It’s an outrage that the state’s top fiscal officer is involved in such a scandal. Government must be held accountable and to let this obvious abuse of taxpayer dollars to go without recourse is unimaginable. Mr. Hevesi should resign immediately.”
* Suffolk Comptroller Joseph Sawicki Jr. (who has been crossed endorsed Suffolk Democrats): “Just because you return the money you stole from the taxpayers of New York doesn’t mean that the crime didn’t happen. Hevesi must be held accountable and he should resign or face impeachment.”
* Suffolk County Clerk Judy Pascale: “It is clearly time for change in the comptroller’s race. Hevesi has a good record but no record would be good enough to overshadow the disturbing findings of the New York State Ethics Commission. Hevesi should step down immediately and accept responsibility for his actions."
James T. Madore
Once this election is over, the harsh realities of government take the spotlight.
In Newsday today, we look towards the tough stuff -- taxes, the economy, and the explosive question of gay marriage.
A week after Alan Hevesi got broadsided by the Ethics Commission, Democrats seem to have come up with a party line.
Yesterday, Hillary Clinton said she would vote for Hevesi "because the alternative is just not acceptable." Chuck Schumer said you couldn't just "flick away" Hevesi's misconduct, but later said, "Personally, I plan to vote for Alan. In this case there is no viable alternative. His opponent is just not up to the task of managing the pension fund, and Alan has proved his competence on that front."
Today, much the same from former comptroller Carl McCall: “I’ve been Comptroller; I know what the job takes. Chris Callaghan does not have what it takes. I know Comptroller Hevesi can do the job because he has already done the job. And his opponent, Chris Callaghan is not qualified. There’s simply no choice. I’m voting for Alan Hevesi.”
And also, from NYC Comptroller Bill Thompson: “As City Comptroller, I understand the importance of the office of State Comptroller. Chris Callaghan is simply not up to the job. He’s not qualified to manage New York’s $140 billion pension fund. Comptroller Hevesi’s record as both New York City Comptroller and State Comptroller is something to be proud of. I am voting for Alan Hevesi.”
For those Democrats who think Hevesi is a despicable crook, this might be compelling logic if they had some assurance that he would be removed and replaced by a person who was honest like Callaghan, but also more competent and a Democrat. Unfortunately, none of the Democrats urging a vote for Hevesi have promised to push for his ouster if he is elected, nor has the party's supposed champion of ethics, Eliot Spitzer.
Spitzer pulled his endorsement from Hevesi, but has assiduously avoided talk of resignation or removal. And today, campaigning in Yonkers, he tells reporters it's basically no one's business what he plans to do about Hevesi if both are elected, courtesy of the Journal News: “I’ve said everything that I will say about that race and the unfortunate events that have overtaken it and we’ll see what happens on Election Day.”
It's apparently one of the changes Spitzer is bringing to Albany, part of his new construct of how democracy should work: When it comes to petty little matters like an elected official misusing state assets, elect me first. Then I'll tell you what I plan to do.
Republicans seem to be paying more attention to Chris Callaghan than John Faso these days, but the Republican gubernatorial nominee has released two ads that will begin airing later this week.
The first commercial is on income taxes. Faso, seated in a chair, says, “Taxes in New York are 53 percent above the national average and people are leaving this state. The solution: cut taxes to make New York more competitive. Under my plan a couple making less than $50,000 will pay no tax. Everyone earning more will see a 25 percent tax cut. And we’ll eliminate capital gains taxes to help create new jobs. You can bank on the fact that Eliot Spitzer will raise your taxes. I will cut them. I’m John Faso and I ask for your vote.”
Here Faso appears to be referring to a phrase from a Spitzer “To Do List” ad in which the Democratic nominee ends by saying, “There’s one thing we’re not going to raise, your taxes. You can take that to the bank.”
Dueling endorsements greet the Suffolk morning.
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-Brooklyn) is due at Democratic Party headquarters at 9 a.m. in Bohemia to back Senate contenders Brooke Ellison and Jimmy Dahroug, as well as County Clerk candidate Vivian Viloria Fisher and Assembly candidate Barbara LoMorriello.
Schumer will then move to MacArthur Airport for a second endorsement news conference with Philip Nolan, the Democratic candidate for Islip supervisor.
Just up the road in Hauppauge, meanwhile, more than a dozen Suffolk GOP officials are due to rally around the GOP’s newest political celebrity, Comptroller candidate Christopher Callaghan, who became a serious contender following disclosures that incumbent Democrat Alan Hevesi violated the law by misusing the labor of state employees to drive his wife around.
Among those expected to boost Callaghan are state Senators Owen Johnson, Caesar Trunzo and Kenneth LaValle, along with GOP Assembly members and county Clerk Judith Pascale, Treasurer Angie Carpenter and County Comptroller Joseph Sawicki, who is running for re-election with Demcoratic backing.
Rick Brand
Democrat Andrew Cuomo already has nearly $600,000 more on hand than Republican Jeanine Pirro in the race for state Attorney General but he’s leaving nothing to chance, tapping his party’s best fundraiser, former President Bill Clinton, to spur more contributions.
Clinton headlined a nighttime reception Monday for Cuomo in the Rainbow Room atop the NBC Studios tower in Manhattan’s Rockefeller Center. About 250 people were expected with Clinton, touting his former cabinet secretary’s record of cleaning up the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Cuomo campaign spokeswoman Wendy Katz said the reception’s timing was aimed at raising money and energizing Democratic voters. “No one gets out the vote better than President Clinton!” she said.
James T. Madore
Alan Hevesi, who is actually now campaigning because that other guy is surging in the polls, has been trying to deflect attention from his mounting scandal by claiming that Republican J. Christopher Callaghan, the former Saratoga County Treasurer, is not qualified to be the state’s top fiscal watchdog.
Here’s Callaghan’s bio for your review. According to the web site, he “served as Budget Officer for the Town of Waterford from 1980 to 1986, and as a management analyst in the Saratoga County Administrator's Office from 1983 to 1997. In 1997, Governor George E. Pataki appointed Callaghan to be Saratoga County Treasurer.” He is also president of the New York State Association of County Treasurers and Finance Officers, and a member of the National Association of County Treasurers and Finance Officers.
Pataki defended Callaghan’s credentials during a press event in Albany today.
“He has a very good financial background certainly more than Comptroller Hevesi did when he first got elected New York City comptroller.”
Pataki appears to be accurate on this point. Before he became city comptroller Hevesi served as a state assemblyman from 1971 to 1993. Sure, he helped craft and voted on state budgets, but his resume didn’t feature any work in the trenches as a financial officer. Hevesi has a doctorate in public law and government from Columbia.
Alan Hevesi's 11-day pre-general campaign finance filing has finally popped up at the Board of Elections.
It shows, as expected, that as of last Monday -- when his ethics crisis began in earnest -- he had a warchest that dwarfed Chris Callaghan, with $4.6 million on hand compared to a mere $66,447 for the Republican challenger. During the previous three weeks, Hevesi had spent $1.54 million and raised $351,455. Callaghan spent $38,000 and raised $61,000.
Since Monday, Hevesi has filed 24-hour notices on another $43,000 in contributions. Amid saturation coverage of the chauffeur scandal in the NY media, $41,500 has come from out-of-state donors. The only exception: $1500 from the New York State AFL-CIO. Callaghan has no 24-hour notices filed, but has a big fundraiser scheduled tonight in Manhattan, with Pataki's fundraiser helping out.
In the only other competitive race, Democrat Andrew Cuomo had $1.7 million on hand as of Oct. 23, and Jeanine Pirro reported $1.1 million in their face-off for attorney general. Since then, however, Andrew has been the champion of the 24-hour notices, raking in more than $500,000 compared to just $19,200 for Pirro from those civic-minded folks who wait until the end to place their bets.
And guess which one of them has a 20-point lead in the polls?
Everybody loves a winner, and everyone wants to be friends with likely new AG Cuomo -- from an outfit called Antares Investment Partners LLC ($5000) to Deerfield Yankee Candle Acquisition LLC ($12,500), well-known PI lawyer Arthur Luxenberg ($5000), and LAWPAC, the trial lawyers' political action committee. The Ninth Decade Fund, the PAC of a Philadelphia lawfirm that lobbies in NY for MGM on racing and other issues, gave $5000.
More: Oakdale Mall LLC, an affiliate of real estate giant Vornado, gave $25,000. Two entities controlled by the brother of one-time primary opponent Mark Green, SL Green Leasing LLC and SL Green Management LLC, gave a total of $50,000. The Democratic Attorney Generals Assn. in Denver kicked in $33,900.
Want the inside info on key high-stakes battles that will drive the agenda of the next governor?
Don't wait around to hear the pundits and professors pontificate on election night TV.
Get tomorrow's news now -- the first subtantive glances at the coming storms over schools, mass transit and health care, in Newsday and on newsday.com.
All the pieces are from reporters who cover these vital beats, with the background to tell the story.
And there will be more -- tune in tomorrow for the looks ahead on your taxes, the economy, and one of the most emotional political and cultural issues of the day.
A week after the state Ethics Commission referred the Hevesi chauffeur scandal to the legislature, and Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton -- she who helped lead us into Iraq, and now is thinkin' she might be the one to lead us out starting in 2008 -- still hasn't made up her mind about where to lead on a guy who thinks the role of state workers is to make his life easier.
"I have said repeatedly that Alan Hevesi has been a friend of mine," she says in a NY Post report. "I think he did some very good things as comptroller and he did something very wrong. There is a process in place to deal with that that I think should be looked to and let unfold."
Just what we need in the White House. Someone who will look to the process and let it unfold....
UPDATE: Sen. Schumer is also upset with Hevesi, but like the rest of the leading NY Integricrats, he can't quite bring himself to utter the word resignation. Says you can't just "flick it away," and then, apparently, flicks it away.
UPDATED UPDATE: Now, Schumer has made the apparent flicking into official flicking. A few hours after saying "you can't just flick it away," he sent out a clarification: “Personally, I plan to vote for Alan. In this case there is no viable alternative – his opponent is just not up to the task of managing the pension fund, and Alan has proved his competence on that front.”
We kid you not. See Capitol Confidential.
We were puzzled by the Post’s story today on how presidential maybe-could-be-wannabe Barack Obama has out-spent Hillary Rodham Clinton $500,000 to $400,000 in contributions to individual local Congressional candidates in ’06.
Technically true, but it misses the point. Clinton has chipped in $2.1 million to Chuck Schumer’s Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee for the current cycle. The DSCC which has used the cash to buy gobs of airtime in battleground races during the crucial last days of the campaign.
Obama, by comparison, has only given about $250,000 to the DSCC.
Add up the numbers and it brings the total to $2.5 million for Clinton vs. about $650,000 for Obama – a roughly fourfold advantage for the senator from New York.
Glenn Thrush
Over the weekend we published an exclusive interview with Albany District Attorney David Soares as he considers whether to indict state Comptroller Alan Hevesi. Soares is prohibited from discussing the details of the case, but he had choice words for Hevesi's claim that a criminal investigation is politically driiven.
He also had this to say about politicians who steal taxpayers' money. "The idea that we in public office are living a life of luxury or using the public's money to obtain any personal benefit, it's distasteful, offensive and criminal," he said.
Campaigns for the State Assembly this year might be going to the dogs.
My Dog Votes, a small business that sells t-shirts, bumper stickers, hats and other memorabilia, is attempting to inform dog owners about where the candidates stand on canine-friendly legislation. The company, working with the Dog Federation of New York, has sent a survey to all incumbents and challengers in Assembly races to gauge their positions on issues such as banning pit bulls and other so-called dangerous breeds.
Seven incumbents and one challenger have completed the 63-question Internet survey so far; none of the respondents is from Long Island but four are from either Queens or Manhattan. The Assembly has 150 members.
James T. Madore
Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy participated in “Broken Borders” a CNN town hall in San Antonio about illegal immigration that aired on the network over the weekend. Anchor Lou Dobbs explored the impact of the issue on local governments and national security. Levy, who has been outspoken about undocumented workers, had this to say near the end of the broadcast.
“The federal government’s abdication of its responsibility has placed a tremendous burden on local property taxpayers: jails, schools, 63 people stuffed in a 900 square-foot house, the emergency rooms bursting at the seams. And let’s not forget this fact also, businesses, Lou, that are trying to play by the rules are getting undercut by those businesses that cheat and our government is aiding and abetting those cheaters. We are taught from the time we’re five-years-old to play by the rules and those that do play by the rules are suffering because our government is allowing this to happen. It’s an outrage.”
Which was the most fevered lunge for self-promotion by a power player?
1. Vice-President Dick Cheney agreeing with a talk-show host that “it’s a no-brainer” to use the torture tactic of simulated drowning against terror suspects.
2. Attorney General Eliot Spitzer calling Comptroller Alan Hevesi an honest and stupendous public servant - and soon after withdrawing his endorsement for re-election.
3. U.S. Senate candidate John Spencer reportedly saying his opponent Hillary Rodham Clinton had “millions of dollars” of “work” done to improve her looks.
CLICK HERE to vote
State Comptroller Alan Hevesi has three ads up attacking GOP challenger J. Christopher Callaghan. His campaign didn't provide video but here are the transcripts.
"Cited"
Who's Chris Callaghan?
Callaghan was cited for a "lack of proper accounting records" and "significant weakness" in management.
Callaghan couldn't run an office of 12 people, he can't run New York's hundred billion dollar pension fund.
Callaghan. Wrong for Comptroller.
"Taxes"
Who's Chris Callaghan?
Callaghan's the politician who wants to raise your taxes 7 billion dollars per year for the next 20 years.
Callaghan says, its "fiscal responsibility" to raise your taxes by billions.
Callaghan. Wrong on taxes. Wrong for Comptroller.
"Pension"
Who's Chris Callaghan?
Callaghan wants to privatize the state's pension fund—just like George Bush wants to privatize Social Security—and Callaghan wants to raise your taxes by billions.
Callaghan. Wrong for seniors. Wrong on taxes. Wrong for Comptroller.
Meanwhile, the morning papers also have news of a couple other Hevesi problems.
For those with nothing better to do this rainy Saturday, check out this Buffalo News story about how Hevesi's top aide used a state car and driver to chauffeur a former Mod-Squad star, and this Newsday story about how Hevesi himself employed six drivers in his security detail -- more than any other state or local official surveyed.
While you're at it, you might also note that eyepopping $327,000 Tom Suozzi spent on two drivers last year. That would be $163,500 per driver. Maybe he ought to take care of bloated costs for personal aid instead of spending all that time speechifying about Medic-aid.
Gov. Pataki appointed David Kelley to investigate Hevesi yesterday, and when you look at the morning papers you see how everyone pulled out their respected-former-federal-prosecutor dot bios. A Democrat! A former cop and firefighter! Prosecuted Ramzi Yousef! And Martha Stewart! And Bernie Ebbers!
But somehow, one career highlight gets less-mentioned. John Walker Lindh, the California Muslim who was available when Bush, Ashcroft and company needed a scapegoat after Sept. 11. His crime was .... carrying a rifle for the Taliban to fight the Northern Alliance when, unbeknownst to him, the U.S. decided to declare war on the Taliban? Kelley was the co-lead prosecutor who helped put Lindh in prison for 20 years.
No doubt he's especially proud of that one. A real high point in the history of the American justice system.
Gov. Pataki's decision to begin considering Hevesi's removal has hurled us into the law books to the obscure section of the public officers law that covers removals. It says he can be removed upon two-thirds vote of the senate for "misconduct or malversation in office."
We never heard that word before, and are looking for a definition. But we're thinking it means the talk that Eliot Spitzer and Denny Farrell had a few days ago about Hevesi and the problems he's created for the Democratic ticket. (OK, literalists: We made that whole sentence up).
UPDATE: According to Merriam Webster Online, it means 1 : misbehavior and especially corruption in an office, trust, or commission. 2 : corrupt administration
After the jump, the whole section.
There are now not one, but two anonymous blogs devoted to partisan monitoring of the Congressional race between incumbent Republican Peter King and Nassau legislator David Mejias.
The new site, Dave Mejias Watch, launched a few days ago, mimics the original Peter King Watch, which has been around a long time. Both sites are devoted pretty much to smearing their targets.
We should note, in publicizing this new site, that a main theme of Mejias Watch is the conviction that Newsday's coverage of the race is intended to defeat Congressman King. So we will resist speculating on why this site was launched two weeks before the election.
Michael Rothfeld
And now, even Jeanine Pirro has joined the fray. She has an ad tying Cuomo to Hevesi -- why did he praise chauffeur-man? why hasn't he called for Hevesi's resignation?
Can John Spencer be far behind?
Now state Republicans have released a new TV commercial for Chris Callaghan, or rather, against Alan Hevesi.
The negative ad, with Hevesi frozen in a smile and wave, doesn't show a picture of the bow-tied Callaghan or even mention him until the last second.
Michael Rothfeld
A very entertaining new TV commercial just arrived from John Faso, the Republican candidate for governor, in which he intersperses images of his opponent, Democratic AG Eliot Spitzer, and Comptroller Alan Hevesi.
The link is here.
Eliot is cast in an ominous yellowish hue, while Alan -- in slow motion -- licks his upper lip with his tongue, a pretty bizarre touch that can only be meant to disgust the viewer.
The commercial then quotes from the state Ethics report, says Hevesi stole tens of thosuands of taxpayer dollars, and zooms in on Spitzer from the first guv's debate calling Hevesi an "honest, stupendous public servant." It hammers him for refusing to investigate the chauffeur-gate scandal or asking Hevesi to resign, and accuses Spitzer of "stupendously protecting his cronies at our expense."
In fact, Spitzer's office eventually started looking at the amount Hevesi has repaid the state for his wife's driver, and yesterday he revoked his endorsement, although he still hasn't asked Alan to resign.
As for Faso, who tried twice and failed to become state comptroller, how he must be wishing he could put on a bow tie right now and insert himself on the ballot for the man from Saratoga, Chris Callaghan.
Michael Rothfeld
So in a few short weeks since Hevesi's chauffeur scandal broke, Spitzer has gone from calling Hevesi honest, to saying he needed more information, to reconsidering, to -- yesterday -- withdrawing his support. "The outcome of the Ethics Commission investigation presents information that compromises Alan Hevesi's ability to fulfill his responsibilities," is what Spitzer said yesterday.
What, then, explains his unwillingness to call for Hevesi to resign or be removed? Does the Spitzer camp have any principled argument for why the champion of integrity and ethics thinks that a man whose ability to fulfill his responsibilities is compromised should continue to fulfill his responsibilities? Or is this the part where principles stop and Spitzer just does what's politically good for him and his party by giving the disgraced comptroller a chance to win and hold the office for the Democrats?
If he's really that cynical, here's some refreshing news: Maybe the voters aren't. A Daily News poll shows that Hevesi is in total free-fall.
Alan Hevesi has responded to Eliot Spitzer's dis-endorsement:
“I have a great deal of respect for Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and believe he will make an excellent governor and implement essential reforms. I also believe 5 million New Yorkers should select the next state comptroller on Nov. 7.”
The Journal News, by the way, says Spitzer is drafting a letter to Hevesi. Unclear if it will be released, but it could provide more elaboration on Spitzer's reasoning than the statement his campaign issued today.
There are two elected officials in Republican Italo Zanzi’s first television commercial, which began airing today on a dozen cable channels.
Zanzi’s opponent, two-term Rep. Tim Bishop (D-Southampton), is featured prominently as his stance on illegal immigration is criticized.
However, near the end of the TV spot is a shot of Zanzi speaking to a dark-haired man in a suit inside what appears to be a catering hall or restaurant. The man isn’t identified and only the back of his head is visible. But Zanzi campaign spokesman Frank Tassone confirmed today that the individual is Suffolk Legis. Daniel P. Losquadro (R-Shoreham).
Losquadro, the legislature’s minority leader, was an early supporter of Zanzi, 32, who is making his first run for public office after a career as a business executive for Major League Baseball. “I’ve been a proponent of encouraging more young people to get involved in the political arena,” said Losquadro, adding he urged Zanzi to take on Bishop.
Zanzi’s TV spot will run on News12 Long Island, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC and other cable outlets from now until Election Day. Tassone confirmed that the campaign intends to spend $35,000 on the ad buy.
Zanzi's ad can be reviewed at http://www.zanzi2006.com/article.php?id=1161872695
UPDATE: The Zanzi campaign today told Spin Cycle it is working on a second TV commercial to air before Election Day. The new spot together with the one running now will utilize the same ad buy budget, estimated at about $36,000, according to campaign spokesman Frank Tassone.
James T. Madore
The Houston Chronicle has a catchy item today that either helps or hurts Rudy Giuliani's chances south of the Mason-Dixon line, depending on your perspective. It's a feature on cousins (and marrying your own relatives) and mentions that the former mayor's first wife Regina Peruggi was also his second cousin. Also on the all-in-the-family All Star team: Jerry Lee Lewis and Albert Einstein, who also married cousins.
Glenn Thrush
Hey, here's a good idea for a website: Let's get each candidate, like Faso and Spitzer, to give us responses on a bunch of different issues, then put audio clips of each one on each issue next to each other on a handy dandy website.
Too bad. Somebody already did it. Check out this WNYC site if you want to compare and contrast the two who would be governor: The Hot Seat 2006
So, Spitzer makes up his mind. He dis-endorses Hevesi, but won't support Callaghan.
Here's the full statement:
"Recent developments in the Comptroller’s race are deeply troubling. The outcome of the Ethics Commission investigation presents information that compromises Alan Hevesi's ability to fulfill his responsibilities.
"J. Christopher Callaghan’s experience and substantive positions lead me to believe he is not qualified to be Comptroller. Therefore, I can no longer support either candidate in the state Comptroller’s race. I am confident that State Senate proceedings will carefully evaluate the facts and recommend appropriate action. In the event that Mr. Hevesi is removed from office through such a proceeding, it is the obligation of state leaders to act in a bipartisan manner to find a highly-qualified replacement."
UPDATE: We described this as a contest between party and principle here and here and here. So how did it come out?
Looks to us like Spitzer didn't blow off principle. He stood for it. But by reaching out to reject Callaghan instead of being silent on Callaghan, he makes it likely that Hevesi will still get re-elected. By not calling on Hevesi to resign and withdraw, he also makes it more likely Hevesi will get re-elected. And if you parse the statement carefully, Spitzer never quite says that HE thinks removal is the appropriate sanction for Hevesi.
That means that one way or another, the Dems will likely end up controlling the office for the next four years -- maybe through someone they pick after Hevesi is re-elected and removed, conceivably through Hevesi himself. Plus, Spitzer frees the Senate Dems to dump on Hevesi, which will enhance their chances of making gains in the Senate.
Of course, Spitzer takes the risk that -- whatever he says about Callaghan -- Hevesi is so disgraced that the Republican ends up winning. But there's a good chance that it ends up being a win-win -- for party, and principle. Isn't there? Or are we missing something?
According to Nassau Police, vandals took a large sign for congressional candidate David Mejias from his mother's lawn in Farmingdale last night and then plastered Elsa Mejias' car with bumper stickers for incumbent U.S. Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford.)
Mejias, a Nassau County Legislator from North Massapequa, said "I've been in some pretty brutal campaigns but this is ridiculous."
Robert Garfinkle is on his way out as Suffolk's Repubican Elections Commissioner.
Suffolk GOP leaders voted 8-1 to replace Garfinkle with 30-year board veteran Cathy Richter Geirer of Southold.
Withers say there was a "disconnect" between Garfinkle and the party after the Huntington lawyer balked at naming Withers ally Gerry Hemindinger as a deputy in July.
Suffolk Republican leaders are meeting this morning and party sources say the agenda is to pick a new elections commissioner to replace rebellious Robert Garfinkle, who last summer refused install a deputy commissioner that Suffolk GOP boss Harry Withers wanted.
The selection of a new commissioner is a test of strength for Withers, whose party lost control of the county legislature last year for the first time since Watergate scandal in the 1970's and party officials are looking to avoid further losses this year.
Although Withers originally said he would deal with the issue after the election, party officials were expected to act now so that the resolution could be filed with the county legislature so it could be dealt with by early December. The current term of Garfinkle, who comes out of the Huntington GOP, is due to expire at yeasr's end.
But the move to replace Garfinkle comes the same day that Huntington Republicans are planning a $200 a head fundraiser where Daniel Losquadro (R-Shoreham) is scheduled to be the headlined speaker. Several sources say that Losquadro is sympathetic to Garfinkle's reappointment.
Party sources say the leading contender for commissioner is Cathy Geiger, currently assistant commissioner, the fourth top spot at the agency. However, the sources say Geiger does not get along with Robert Neville, the Souithld GOP leader, who also works at the board.
Garfinkle first crossed Wtihers by failing to appoint fellow Babylon resident, Jerry Hemindinger, a deputy commissioner of jurors to replace Linda Powell, former wife of ex-Suffolk GOP chairman John Powell, after she was fired in July. He also balked at naming Bill Ellis, Smithtown GOP chairman to another opening at the board.
The one word that best describes Alan Hevesi's approach to last night? Brazen.
He dominated both Mr. Carter and Mr. Callaghan. He stayed on offense, and actually acted like the outraged, aggrieved party. He pretends that he's the one who gets to decide whether his wife faced a security threat -- even though state law doesn't give him that authority, even though the state police told him she didn't, even though he never sought protection at home or at any time other than when she needed a driver for a medical appointment or some other personal task, even though the guy assigned to help her had no security background, even though he's never even produced a security assessment from his own staff, and even though he wouldn't have had to pay the $82,000 that he's paid if there actually was a security issue.
Anyone who bothers to read the report and findings of the state Ethics Commission knows that Hevesi is just blowing smoke, and he has no answer. So what is he doing? He seems to think voters will hear three words -- protect and sick and wife -- and be too disinterested and stupid to figure the rest out. Then he'll say to Spitzer and Silver and the press and all his critics, "The people have spoken!!"
Is Hillary Clinton sure she wants to stand by this guy?
UPDATE: For those who want to dissipate Hevesi's disinformation, here's a link to the Ethics Commission report.
When the son of the chairman of a powerful congressional committee joins a lobbying firm that represents well-heeled clients seeking influence and contracts from that committee, it tends to raise eyebrows.
But Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford), chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, said his son Sean’s job with the politically connected lobbying firm of Park Strategies shouldn’t.
“He has no dealing with my office. He has no clients that deal with my office,” said King, who’s running for re-election against Nassau Legis. David Mejias. “He deals primarily in overseas investment, and has nothing to do with my office.”
Sean King, who has an MBA from Notre Dame, joined Park Strategies as a vice president after five years at the Commerce Department, where he served as senior adviser for Asia in the U.S. & Foreign Commercial Service, according to his father and a bio on the firm’s Web site. Sean King’s job was first reported yesterday on a New York Observer blog.
Sean King worked for Park Strategies founder Alfonse D’Amato in the mid-1990s when D’Amato was a senator.
And it was a natural — D’Amato and King have been close for more than three decades. D’Amato is King’s political mentor.
Park Strategies has lucrative contracts with many big businesses to lobby on defense and homeland security spending. In the first half of this year, for example, computer firm SAP America Inc. paid the firm $140,000.
D’Amato’s son Christopher said the “core focus” for Sean is to develop business relationships and transactions with Taiwan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan and China — his speciality at Commerce.
“I can tell you categorically that Sean has never engaged in nor has ever been asked to engage in any lobbying,” Christopher D’Amato said.
Sean was not available, the congressman and D’Amato’s son said, because he is in Taiwan on business.
But Christopher D’Amato admitted being surprised that Sean King is listed in a lobbying registration form as one of Park Strategies’ lobbyists for SAP America. “It is possible his name was included on that registration in error.”
Tom Brune
Frank MacKay, state Independence Party chairman, clashed with Fran Siems, who until recently was his Islip party chair, in a phone call over comments she made to the press after he named Republican Pamela Greene as the party choice for town supervisor.
In a transcript obtrained by Newsday, MacKay called Siems " very very stupid," "just a dumb person" making "moronic statements/" and warned that from now on she is his "political enemy. "
MacKay's comments came after Siems, responding to press inquiries that said she had not been consulted on Greene's endorsement, questioned whether MacKay had any interest in allowing the party grassroots to make decisions.
Rick Brand
Republican Congressional challenger Italo Zanzi will launch an on-air attack against Democratic Rep. Timothy Bishop, focusing on the latter's stand on Illegal immigration.
The $35,000 ad buy on a dozen cable outlets, including News 12, CNN and Lifetime, blasts Bishop for what Zanzi labeled a "flip-flop" on border patrol legislation and favoring amnesty for illegal aliens.
Jon Schneider, Bishop's spokesman, maintains that Bishop has not changed positions and Zanzi is making false attacks. "It's just more of the same and it's just as wrong today as the first time he said it," Schneider said.
Bishop, he said, has consistently voted to increase funding for border security and opposes amnesty.
Bishop opened his TV campaign Tuesday with a $50,000 a week buy trumpeting his legislative priorities of protecting the environment, curbing prescription drug costs and fighting to lower gas prices and increase research for new energy sources.
Rick Brand
Gov. Pataki is now moving on Hevesi. The chamber has released this from Communications director David Catalfamo:
“The Governor has formally requested the Ethics Commission to forward the thousands of pages of supporting documents in the Hevesi case to our office and those documents are currently under review. Simultaneously, we are reviewing potential candidates with unimpeachable credentials to present the case to the Senate, in the event there is a decision to move forward with the removal process. The Governor is expected to render a decision with respect to initiating removal proceedings by Friday, October 27th.”
It seems to mean he will call for removal by the end of the week. He'll need a two-thirds vote in the Senate to adopt the recommendation. The Republicans can't do that alone -- they'll need seven Democratic votes. But the Democratic caucus -- led by Spitzer running mate David Paterson -- will either have to go on record defending Hevesi even as they try to make gains in contested districts, or dump Hevesi.
Suffolk Democrats have moved the site of Thursday's planned rally, to be headlined by former President Bill Clinton, from Babylon town hall to the Long Island Jet Center at Republic Airport to avoid politicking at a government building.
"It's a perception thing," said Robert Stricoff, Babylon Democratic chairman, who earlier in the week announced the rally using the town hall site and indicated there was no problem using a taxpayer-owned facility. Although party officials had planned to reimburse the town for any public expenses, he said that after further consideration, "we didn't want to put such a political event on public property."
The event, expected to draw 500 to 1,000 party faithful, will also be held at 1:30 p.m., earlier than originally scheduled.
Rick Brand
Three informed sources tell us Nassau Comptroller Howard Weitzman -- an anticipated county executive candidate -- has inquired around about the alternative promotional scenario of replacing his friend Alan as state comptroller should there be a vacancy after election day ....
Of course, the list of would-be and potential comptrollers is already long: Richard Brodsky, Denise O'Donnell, David Weprin, Denny Farrell, Bill Mulrow, Bill Thompson, et. al ....
Michael Rothfeld
The responses of Eliot Spitzer and Hillary Clinton to the Hevesi chauffeur fiasco yesterday provided some interesting contrasts.
Spitzer, after some early equivocating, said he was going to reconsider and re-evaluate -- talk to Hevesi, listen to the debate, try to figure out whether Hevesi was trying to skirt the law or was just dumb and sloppy. That's the kind of legalistic approach you'd expect from a prosecutor. We'll find in the coming days -- based on what he does, how close to the election he does it, how he justifies it, and how vociferous he is -- whether he's really interested in raising Albany's ethical norms, or wants to pretend he's acting on principle while he works to protect his party's hold on the Comptroller's office.
Hillary, on the other hand, didn't even pretend that she was engaged in some merit-based evaluation of Hevesi's conduct, or that she cared. For her, it was all a question of loyalty. She called Hevesi a "friend" who had made a mistake. Asked if she'd share a stage with him, she said, "You know, I don't desert my friends."
Two things kick in here. First, Hillary is a fairly attuned politician, so the question isn't really about Hevesi, or the facts, or what he did to the taxpayers --every question is ultimately about her. When asked if she'd share a stage, she doesn't talk about what he did -- criticizing it or defending it -- but herself: "I don't desert my friends." It's a response designed to tell us that Hillary is a loyal person, deserving of respect. It's kind of like Bush and Rumsfeld -- the issue for the president is his image as a loyal guy, not the chaos created by Rumsfeld's performance in Iraq.
Second, unlike Spitzer, she's spent her life as, more often than not, a target -- and never a prosecutor. Her husband had an affair with an intern, lied to a federal judge under oath about it -- and through it all, Bill and Hillary convinced the entire Democratic party to suspend its values and stand with them. They doled out pardons to friendly felons, donors, and Hillary vote-deliverers -- and again, convinced millions to overlook their mendacity.
Having relied on the forbearance of others in the name of loyalty, it's her natural response. Why on earth would you get rid of A Member of the Leadership Class Like Me and Bill just because they did something wrong? Principles?
Democrat Andrew Cuomo, the frontrunner in the state attorney general’s race, this afternoon called the ethics commission report on state comptroller Alan Hevesi's inappropriate use of a state worker to drive his wife around “very, very troubling." Cuomo also said of Hevesi, "This is a man who I've known many years and I'm surprised and shocked at his behavior."
Asked how the scandal would affect Hevesi's job performance, Cuomo said, 'I think it severely compromises his position."
James T. Madore
Well, now the race between party and principle seems to be tightening up.
From his five-qualifiers comment this morning that sounded like a play for time, Eliot Spitzer this afternoon has been quite direct about Alan Hevesi. The message, at a campaign appearance in the 20th CD: "At this point I am re-evaluating my endorsement."
Spitzer also has committed finish his re-evaluation and re-consideration before election day.
Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has vetoed a measure that would ban county employees from smoking outside government buildings, saying it "goes beyond the rule of reason."
In his veto message Friday, Levy said: "Expanding the restructions on smoking to the outdoors exceeds the point of reason and requires people to either go into the parking lot, street, or car in the middle of the day, even though they are not exposing non-smokers to the same risks as smoking indoors causes."
Edward Dumas, Levy's spokesman -- and a smoker who takes a periodic outdoor smoking break -- said he did not lobby the boss for a veto. "I did not in any way attempt to sway the county executive on this bill," he said.
The measure sponsored by Presiding Officer William Lindsay (D-Holbrook) was initially approved in an 18-0 vote and will come up for an override on Nov 20.
Rick Brand
Former President Bill Clinton returns to Babylon for the first time since 1991 on Thursday when he headlines a rally to stump for his wife's Senate bid and for other local candidates.
Democratic Party officials estimate that Clinton will draw 500 to 1,000 supporters at the event sponsored by Supervisor Steve Bellone and Suffolk Democratic Chairman Richard Schaffer, although Sen. Hillary Clinton herself is not scheduled to appear.
The last time Clinton stumped in Babylon was in 1991 when he was still governor of Arkansas and he appeared at the AME Church in Copiague, said Bob Stricoff, Babylon Democratic chairman. "We hope it will energize the base in a year where the base may be taking a victory for granted."
Rick Brand
E-mail
Facebook
Digg
Delicious