Newark Mayor Cory Booker will be the featured guest at an event to raise money for Lt. Governor David Paterson’s new political committee at the Penn Club on West 44th Street on May 22.

I called the contact listed on Paterson's invite to find out more about his new committee, and to see if this meant the end of the one he shared with Spitzer for last year's election. I was referred to Paterson's legislative offices where his press secretary, Maritere Arce, said she would get back to me later with more details.

Honorary hosts of the Paterson birthday party will be Governor Eliot Spitzer, Comptroller Tom DiNapoli , Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and every Democratic state senator. Notably, all the assembly members are missing.

None of the institutional players like Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, state party Chairman Herman Denny Farrell, are on stage. That's a bit different from the scene 12 years ago when George Pataki won, surrounded by people like Charles Gargano, Al D'Amato and state Senator Roy Goodman of Manhattan.