In this clip from the DFNYC-Young Manhattan Democrats debate last Sunday, both Paul Newell and Luke Henry are asked if they would step aside to improve the other's chances against the incumbent they hope to unseat: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Both say no.

Henry, an attorney, also says he's the more viable candidate because he has more lawyers and money. Community organizer Newell says that “there is no question” that “the winds of change are blowing” in the district.

Of course, the argument between Silver's challengers about viability is purely relative. And perhaps one of them might feel more compelled to step aside if either had a a discernable route to victory. Consensus, needless to say, is that the don't.

As consultant Joe Mercurio told me, “I can’t even envision a way to beat Sheldon Silver."  read more »

One benefit to running against a longtime incumbent, as one of Sheldon Silver’s Democratic primary opponents shows, is that you can raise money in eye-catching amounts, like $32 (for the number of years Silver has been in office), or $354 (which is the number of millions NYC lost when they shot down congestion pricing).

Also, notably, I'd be willing to bet that the Assembly speaker has spent comparatively little time at Piano's, the Lower East Side music venue where, according to this flier, Paul Newell is holding his May 22 event.

Democracy for New York City, the progressive group related to Howard Dean's Democracy for America, is holding a forum on Sunday, May 18 for the candidates in two upcoming elections: the one for Sheldon Silver's Assembly seat, and the challenge to State Senator Marty Connor.
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David Brock's group Progressive Media has scaled back its planned $40 million effort because the Obama campaign disapproves of 527s. [The Fix]

Obama said George W. Bush's comments about appeasement were a false attack. [AP]

Kirsten Gillibrand had a boy. [Capitol Confidential]  read more »

The executive director of the Working Families Party, Dan Cantor, showed support for Sheldon Silver in an interview with OpenLeft published today, calling attacks from the left on the incumbent Democrat “intellectually shallow and politically naive.”  read more »

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.  read more »

Sheldon Silver is giving money to the Stonewall Democratic Club for the first time. In the past, the 32-year-incumbent and Orthodox Jew has not conspicuously supported the causes embraced by many gay activists in his district--or at least he didn't before bringing gay marriage legislation to a vote in the Assembly last June.

Silver paid $500 for a ticket to the May 15 annual fund-raiser for Stonewall, which is based in his district and considered one of the major Democratic clubs for the gay community. He is also expected to attend.

According to a search of campaign finance records, Silver has never given a contribution to the group before. Nor has he given to Lambda Independent Democrats.

The May 15 fund-raiser is the first major event the group has hosted since the Assembly passed the same-sex marriage bill last year. It's also in the run-up to the September primaries, which Silver is taking more seriously than usual as he faces two spirited challengers.  read more »

With all the talk about Sheldon Silver's efforts during the congestion pricing fight to keep his members happy, it's easy to overlook the fact that he's been quietly tending to his other constituents—the ones who will, barring a shock upset, vote to return him to his seat on the Lower East Side later this year.

A reader passed along this ad for Silver, which appeared in this week’s issue of Downtown Express.

A spokesman for Silver’s campaign said it was paid for by the campaign and ads like this have appeared throughout the past decade. (His campaign finances show he has run ads as early as February in any given year.)

Silver is facing two Democratic primary challengers this year, and may have inspired a billionaire mayor (and his top political aide) to look at the race anew.

Here's spokesman Jonathan Rosen's e-mailed explanation:  read more »

One of Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's challengers in the Democratic primary this year, Luke Henry, released his tax information this morning and called on the 32-year incumbent to disclose more about his outside sources of income.

The other challenger in the race, Paul Newell, a community organizer, released his tax information last month.  read more »