Before unveiling new rules allowing undocumented immigrants to get drivers’ licenses, Gov. Eliot Spitzer last month put out feelers with Long Island elected officials on what proved to be an inevitable backlash.
“We talked about how he would handle the aftermath,” said Democratic Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, who got a call from Democrat Spitzer on the issue last month. Levy added: “I don't think they thought that the fallout would be this intense outside New York City.”
Spitzer had a similar talk with Rep. Peter King (R-Seaford) a few months ago, but the outreach doesn’t seem to have had much impact. County clerks — who dispense licenses outside New York City — blasted the idea, and many said they won’t enforce it. Republican state Senators who oppose the move plan a hearing on the issue today.
Spitzer shouldn’t be shocked by the reaction, said King, who added thataside from a few phone calls, “he didn’t seem to do much to prepare the battlefield for it.”
Michael Amon