Congestion Pricing, Paul Newell, and the Facebook Page of Kevin Sheekey

Here is something I just noticed.

Minutes after Kevin Sheekey went on NY1 and blasted Sheldon Silver for not having the "courage" to vote on the mayor’s congestion pricing plan, Sheekey officially made a new Facebook friend: Paul Newell, one of two Democrats seeking to oust Sheldon Silver in the September primary.

The chain of events goes like this. Congestion pricing died on April 7, at 3:02 p.m; Sheekey began publicly ripping into Silver on April 7, during the 7 p.m. broadcast on NY1; Newell and Sheekey became friends on Facebook on April 7, at 8:42 p.m.

At the (serious) risk of reading to much into this, the timing of their connection is kind of fascinating. (It wouldn't be the first time Sheekey expressed his opinion through his social networking profile.)

But if Newell and Sheekey do have any grand plans to topple Silver, they're keeping it quiet. Hours before the two connected on Facebook, Newell declined to say whether he's been in touch with any of Bloomberg's people about his race. After Sheekey's appearance on NY1, he took a pass a criticizing Silver much more.