David Paterson

You may have missed this one, but there was a major Democratic upset in Mt. Vernon yesterday, where one of the longest-serving black mayors in the state, Ernest Davis, lost his bid for a fourth term to insurgent County Legislator Clinton Young, 48 to 52 percent.

Davis was dogged by stories of fiscal mismanagement while trying to run for an always-hard-to-achieve fourth term. While Davis was endorsed by Lt. Governor David Paterson, Young grabbed the support of local hero and movie star-activist Denzel Washington.

Also, Serapher Halevi, the head of the Mt. Vernon Democratic Party who was running on Davis’ slate, lost her bid to fill Young’s legislative seat.

Mt. Vernon is the third fifth-largest city in New York and is a significant power base for black politics outside New York City (along with Rochester, Hempstead and Buffalo). So expect to see some new-kid-on-the-block profiles of Young soon.

More on the races here and here.

After marching in the West Indian Day Parade in Brooklyn, Michael Bloomberg visited a PS 241 in Brooklyn to talk about the opening of schools tomorrow. There, I got a chance to ask him about remarks Lt. Governor David Paterson made at a breakfast for parade organizers today in support of non-citizen voting.

"It's a priviledge of citizenship," Bloomberg said. "If you want to vote, you should become a citizen."

He went on to say, "If voting were given to everybody, what's the point of becoming a citizen? It is really the real difference between being a citizen and not being a citizen and I think we should preserve that difference."

Michael Bloomberg got a laugh today by suggesting to organizers of the West Indian Parade that he's the only one in his administration who can legitimately lay claim to being a West Indian, considering all the time he spends in Bermuda.

But it was David Paterson who made news by seeming to advocate non-citizen voting. He said that 22 states used to allow voting for non-citizen permanent residents, but none do now. America "used to be a land of opportunity," Paterson said, and he hoped it would be again.

When I asked him about the comments later, Paterson said, "I never spoke to anyone in the administration about it." Paterson said he brought up the fact that 22 states used to allow legal permanent residents to vote "as an historical fact." I asked whether this was something that could be changed in Albany. "I tried it fifteen years ago," he said, "and nobody was interested."

UPDATE: When asked about Paterson's remarks, Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson said, "This is not something under consideration" and that it was not a policy statement.

When Charie Rangel blew out his birthday cake last year, he had two wishes: "That we win back the House and I become Chairman of the Ways and Means committee."

That's according to an early invitation obtained by The Observer to his 77th birthday gala, set for August 8 at Tavern on the Green.

His dreams having finally come true, Mr. Rangel is apparently celebrating what one New York City contributor to his campaign is calling "possibly the largest congressional fund-raiser in the history of New York."

The evening's special guest will be Rangel endorsee Hillary Clinton, but she won't be alone: the source told The Observer (and Rangel campaign finance executive director Walter Swett confirmed) that David Paterson, Sheldon Silver, Malcolm Smith and Tom DiNapoli will be joined at the event by playwright-poet-activist-actress Ruby Dee. Chevy Chase will be in attendance and Aretha Franklin is also likely, according to Swett. No word yet if Eliot Spitzer will be on board for the festivities. (And it's probably not the right time to ask.)

Chairs are asked to raise $20,000 and the lowest fund-raiser level -- patrons -- are expected to bring in $1,000. According to the invitation, proceeds will go to Rangel's National Leadership PAC to ensure the expansion of the Democratic majority in Congress.

"Most of all," Rangel writes in the invite, "we celebrate living in the greatest democracy on earth, a country where dreams can come true and a high school dropout from Lenox Avenue can get a second chance from the GI Bill and make something of himself."

In this day of stealth campaigns and non-stop politicking, it’s easy to see endorsements in just about anything.

Case in point: At a fund-raiser for Lieutenant Governor David Paterson on Tuesday, Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith had some very kind words for City Comptroller Bill Thompson, whose interest in running for mayor is well-known.

Smith had jokingly offered to endorse Thompson for mayor that night, according to a source, who said of Smith‘s remark‘s, “It definitely sounded like a resounding endorsement to me.”

I ran into Malcolm Smith last night outside a fund-raiser for the state Senate Democratic Campaign Committee and asked him about it.

"Somebody yelled it out," Smith told me. "They were trying to drag it out of me."

To be clear, Smith said he made no endorsement in that race, but seemed amused at being asked.

Read into that what you will.

Just because you're a lieutenant governor -- an office that Al Del Bello famously left on the grounds that it was too boring -- doesn't mean you can't get big Democrats to attend your fund-raiser, as this photo from last night proves.

A reader notes that Howard Dean, the DNC chairman, was in town doing his own fund-raising and Paterson's event just happened to fit into his schedule. Paterson has also made visits to Dean's office in Washington on more than one occasion.

So, what's the significance behind David Paterson's major fund-raiser last night at the Penn Club on West 44th Street, where the minimum contribution requested was $500?

The money raised is for his new committee, Paterson for New York.

Which tends to indicate, once again, that his energies aren't exactly being directed towards ensuring a long and prosperous future at Eliot Spitzer's side.

 read more »

The Lieutenant Governor explores ‘possibilities’ after Spitzer.  read more »

Legislation sometimes has a funny way of working its way through the system just in time to attract attention from someone's political event.

At 11:30 a.m., Hillary Clinton is going to receive the endorsement of Governor Eliot Spitzer, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Lt. Governor David Paterson and a host of other Democrats.

About an hour later, the Senate Republicans will hold a press conference about their effort to re-instate the death penalty for cop killers. The bill is expected to pass that house later this afternoon. The death penalty is something Spitzer supports in "appropriate circumstances" but which Cuomo and others flatly oppose.

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.

Senator Bill Perkins may be endorsing a different presidential candidate than New York Congressional dean Charlie Rangel, but they can still celebrate together.

Rangel, a Clinton supporter, is billed as a “special guest” at a birthday event on Sunday for Perkins, who is backing Barack Obama.

“It’s a birthday celebration,” Rangel spokesman Emile Milne told me. “His birthday didn’t change.”

Others expected to attend include Lt. Governor David Paterson, Senate Democratic leader Malcolm Smith and Assemblyman Herman “Denny” Farrell.

The party is from 4 - 6 p.m. at Carne.

Eliot Spitzer just sent out an announcement in which groups dedicated to fighting diabetes, cancer, leukemia, heart disease and other illnesses in which they "endorse" his plan to reduce health care spending on hospitals and other providers.

"I am proud to stand shoulder-to-shoulder with those who know that state health care spending should be patient-centered," Spitzer said.

That's patient-centered, as opposed to, presumably, institution-centered.

The full statement is after the jump.  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

There's been some healthy discussion around the state Capitol about Eliot Spitzer's salty chat with an Assembly Republican in which he reportedly referred to himself as a "fucking steamroller."

The quote, which nobody is denying, is actually in keeping with Spitzer's combative style.

Lt. Governor David Paterson has also taken up the cudgel, saying in his last budget presentation that legislators should "confess" for the previous budgets they helped pass.

I caught up with Paterson, who was until recently a state Senator, and asked if he was serious about the "confession" remark.

"I'm real serious," Paterson told me in the concourse of the Capitol. "I mean, look at the results. We have poor performance scores in education in almost all our major cities. We're not graduating at the level we could be. We spend twice the national average for health care. This is not exactly a healthy state. And I think that one of the real honest ways to reignite the public trust is to recognize that you're part of a process. I voted for a lot of those budgets, so I'll take responsibility right now."

And how would a lawmaker actually going about confessing?

"I just did."

-- Azi Paybarah

Isac Weinberger called earlier to relay a story with a happy ending.

He was upset, apparently, that a party honoring David Paterson was planned for a Friday night. It meant that he, as an observant Satmar, couldn't go.

So, he says, he brought the issue to Paterson's attention yesterday after the swearing in ceremony in Albany.

"Four years ago you made it Saturday night," Isac recalls telling him. "You want that I should not be able to go?"

Paterson responded, according to Isac, by saying that Eliot Spitzer had been responsible for picking the date, and by promising to organize a separate reception with Jewish leaders.

Problem solved.

"I've known him for years," said Isac. "He recognizes me by voice."

-- Jason Horowitz

George Pataki will tour the capitol because, astonishingly, he hasn't seen enough of the place yet.

When Pataki leaves, some transportation upgrades won't be finished.

Ben challenges an aspect of today's Times story on Basil and David Paterson.

A lot of tourists have come to New York.

The lawyer monitoring the Independence Party's reorganization in Westchester will cost the IP $350 per hour.

Mystery Pollster looks at President Ford's approval ratings.

Amy Taylor on DMIblog wonders, purposefully, if workplace raids "are part of a larger conservative agenda aimed at creating a climate of fear to undermine union organizing efforts."

Greg Sargent sticks stubbornly to the notion that the war in Iraq doesn't help President Bush.

The Economist measures your happiness.

And pictured above is Mike Bloomberg with a very small bridge.

-- Azi Paybarah

The newest member of City Comptroller Bill Thompson's press staff is Ebony Meeks, daughter of Queens Congressman Greg Meeks.

She had worked on David Paterson's [corrected] last campaign, according to the comptroller's spokesman Jeff Simmons, and did a "fantastic job."

"She has experience pitching stories, setting up interview, researching and enjoyed working with the media on a daily basis," he said.

According to Simmons, two other people applied for the job after seeing it advertised on the comptroller's web site, but unlike Meeks, they had not worked on the campaign and weren't as well qualified.

Update: Meeks worked on Paterson's campaign, not Thompson's, Simmons said. More importantly, the two other people who applied for the job "didn't have the experience or credentials." Meeks has a degree in journalism from Howard University. -- Azi Paybarah

Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson released a statement applauding today's court decision which lowered the level of state required funding for city schools, saying, "this decision will help us resolve the litigation."

Spitzer also said he'll propose "significant additional funding on a statewide basis," when presents his first budget in February.

But does this ruling give him an out?

When I asked if the governor-elect will voluntarily bring state school funding for city schools up to $4.7 to $5.6 billion range originally mandated by a lower court -- as he promised he would during the campaign -- spokesperson Christine Anderson declined to put a number on what Spitzer now plans to spend.  read more »

Certainly, the groups that brought the lawsuit won't let Spitzer get away with any back-sliding without putting up a fight: CFE lawsuit advocates just released a statement reminding anyone who will listen that he "has said that figure should be between $4 and $6 billion for New York City and up to $8.5 billion statewide to provide quality teachers, universal pre-kindergarten, smaller classes and strategies that will prepare our school children for the 21st century."

-- Azi Paybarah

It seems, in a weird way, like David Paterson may be more involved in trying to take back the state Senate after leaving it than he ever was when he was there. (Paterson was criticized for not doing more to facilitate credible challenges for Republican seats while he was campaigning as Eliot Spitzer's running mate.)

Today, he was named to an advisory board for a group called the Blue Tiger Democrats, an organization dedicated to grassroots party building.

According to their website, "New York's organizations have been neglected for far too long. It is one of the reasons that the Republicans still control the State Senate."

They also say:

"While Progressive givers from New York contribute substantially to national Democratic and Progressive causes, they have not focused much attention or given much financial support to local, city, and county organizations throughout the state. By supporting the Blue Tiger General New York Fund, you will be providing incentive for young, passionate New Yorkers to get active by giving them productive things to do within their local organizations."

-- Azi Paybarah

The rumor that Eliot Spitzer has approached Freddy Ferrer about an appointment as Secretary of State has been making the rounds for weeks now. We first heard about it on Oct 25th, and when I asked Ferrer in an email, he wrote back that day with a clear cut "no."

On the 29th, the New York Post ran a story suggesting otherwise. Ferrer wrote me to deny the story.

"With respect to today's story, the answer is still 'no,'" he wrote. "No one from the Post ever called or contacted me about this."

Today New York Magazine has David Paterson saying "it's still live" and adds some interesting backstory as to why the appointment is a plausible one.

This time, so far, Ferrer isn't responding to a request for comment.

--Jason Horowitz

The respectable party last night was at the Sheraton.

But the truly great victory celebration was in Harlem, where Charlie Rangel and a few close friends celebrated his ascension to the House Ways and Means chairmanship.

It turned out to be a seven-hour affair in a bar and lounge across the street from his offices in the Adam Clayton Powell building on 125th street. Rangel wore a typically well-tailored suit, with a gold Congressional clip on his burgundy tie and a white button on his lapel that said "Bush" with a black line through it.

"You have no idea what it is like to be held hostage by the Republicans in the House," he said. "The Republicans didn't understand what was going on. But the people got it!"

Between camera flashes and throaty cheers, Rangel took a weak stab at modesty.

"It's the most exciting thing to happen tonight," he said. "My chairmanship is like a grain of sand on a vast beach compared to the intelligence of all the voters."  read more »

Now comes the hard part for Eliot Spitzer: dealing with Sheldon Silver and Joe Bruno. As Horowitz reports, Spitzer and David Paterson think that the whole "three men in a room" thing is going to change drastically once they get into office. Other officials beg to differ.

Choire follows Hillary Clinton during her relaxed and highly intimate last week of campaigning and suggests that it was a self-imposed form of house arrest.

Rebecca Dana watches the Democratic rout on Election Night with Brit Hume and the gang at Fox.

John Koblin has a rueful explanation of Republican catastrophe in New York from a resigned John Spencer.

Steve Kornacki, who knows just a little too much about who's in and who's out with Nancy Pelosi, says that Charlie Rangel and other New Yorkers are now in great shape in the House, but at least two - Ed Towns and Joe Crowley - aren't.

Niall Stanage writes about the bright possibility that Eliot Spitzer will destroy the legislative redistricting process as we know it.

And Joe Conason thinks the campaign tactics of the national GOP merit a serious rebuke.

-- Josh Benson

Alan Hevesi is declaring victory on TV. In the ballroom here, David Paterson is yelling "Day One" over and over. --Jason Horowitz

Happy Election Day! This is all the event info we've received, so if something's missing, please email us or throw it in the comments section.

Eliot Spitzer votes at P.S. 6 in Manhattan.

David Paterson votes at P.S. 175 in Manhattan.

Andrew Cuomo votes at the High School for Leadership in Manhattan.

Alan Hevesi votes at P.S. 144 in Forest Hills.

Nick Spano votes at School 28 in Yonkers.

John Spencer votes at Saunders High School in Yonkers.

Jeanine Pirro votes at the Harrison Avenue School in Harrison.

The City Council holds a committee hearing on the proposed Beacon Schools concept paper and the Governmental Operations Committee considers a salary increase for the city's elected officials (on election day!).

Anthony Weiner campaigns with John Hall, Diane Farrell (opposing Chris Shays), and Steve Harrison and will appear on Fox News at 10 p.m. offering up his election analysis and commentary.

State Senator Ruben Diaz and the New York Hispanic Clergy Organization will campaign with Jeanine Pirro at the Parkchester Train Station.

Dave Mejias campaigns with Tom Suozzi in Glen Cove.

David Paterson campaigns with Andrea Stewart-Cousins in Yonkers.

Jeanine Pirro holds her Election Night event at the Women's National Republican Club.

Tim Bishop attends the Suffolk County Democratic Party Election Night celebration at the Islandia Marriott.

John Hall attends holds his election night celebration at Colonial Terrace in Cortlandt Manor.

Malachy McCourt and the Green Party hold their election night party at Rocky Sullivan's.

The Nassau County Democratic Party election night event will take place at Papa Razzi Restaurant in Westbury.

Eliot Spitzer, David Paterson, Hillary Clinton and Andrew Cuomo attend the Democratic election night party at the Sheraton.

And Alan Hevesi parties at the Madison Towers Hotel, at 22 East 38th Street [added].

Happy Voting!

—Nicole Brydson

While Eliot Spitzer stays mum, David Paterson seems to have become the Democratic ticket's point man for discussion of the possibility of removing Alan Hevesi from office.

Here's what he told me yesterday about the hypothetical mechanics of that process:

"Now that the prosecutor has said that there are no fixed rules for the interpretation of how a removal procedure should go, either we have to agree on them or we have to take the rules that exist in the impeachment proceedings, and those are the rules, generally, that I think will apply."

He said that as a potential juror, effectively, he has attempted to remain impartial, and has steered clear of discussing the facts of the case. He criticized other legislators, including Joe Bruno, for immediately calling for Hevesi's removal.

"I'm the one that is running for higher office here. You would think that if you wanted to manipulate politics I had the greatest benefit by doing it, but I haven't said anything about the facts," he said. "This is the reform that Albany needs, not just legislative reform but personal ethics, where you understand what your duty is as a public servant and you oblige it."

--Jason Horowitz

Bill Clinton celebrates his birthday, all weekend long.

On Saturday Hillary Clinton, David Paterson, Nita Lowey and Eliot Engel will join Andrea Stewart-Cousins for a rally at the Yonkers YWCA Auditorium.

John Faso campaigns upstate, making a stop at the 5th Annual Liverpool Village Halloween Festival.

Eric Massa attends a house party.

At 2 p.m. on Saturday there will a gubernatorial debate for third party candidates taking place at Katra, located at 217 Bowery, between Prince and Rivington Streets [added].

On Saturday and Sunday Democracy for New York carpools to campaign for Jimmy Dahroug for state senate in Suffolk County.

On Monday Christine Quinn and Randi Weingarten will be featured on a Drum Major Institute panel on pre-school education.

—Nicole Brydson

When Jeanine Pirro's marriage exploded into the papers amid news of a federal probe into her alleged effort to get wiretap her husband, David Paterson reacted by striking a sympathetic note for her as a fellow public servant.

The other day, I asked him if he didn't have similarly empathetic feelings about Alan Hevesi's chauffer indiscretion, given Hevesi's wife's genuinely serious health problems that may have played into the situation.

Paterson, whose running mate just divorced himself publicly from the Hevesi re-election campaign, made it clear that his sympathy this time has its limits:

"Do you factor it in in a sense of leniency? Yes. But do you hold public officials accountable? That's what we signed up for."

You can hear more of Paterson over here.

-- Azi Paybarah

Some of Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson's biggest contributors, like 1199/SEIU, the NYS Correction Officers Association PAC, and hedge fund guru Joel M. Greenblatt recently had their campaign contributions sent back to them. In total, the campaign sent back more than $260,000 according to their latest campaign filing.

That's because Spitzer 2006 was combined with Paterson 2006, Spitzer's spokeswoman Christine Anderson said. That means some people and PACs which contributed to both actually exceeded the state's amazingly high contribution limit of $50,100.

A list showing the campaign's other refunded contributions is here. Let us know if you see anything interesting.

-- Azi Paybarah

Here's the new post-primary ad from Eliot Spitzer, which contains images from from the elementary school of his running mate, David Paterson.

It shows the school's hallways, which have names like "Trustworthy Turnpike" and "Honesty Road."

"Starting in January, we'll be leading our state government on the same journey," Spitzer says.

-- Azi Paybarah

That was quick.

The state Democratic Party is treating John Faso like the fearsome candidate Republicans have been dreaming of, releasing a "Some votes you may not know about."

Come to think of it, it is sort of the same way Eliot Spitzer's running mate, David Paterson, was welcomed on the campaign trail.

When is crime a campaign issue? Maybe when campaign aides have to file police reports.

"We don't have polling numbers, we have Compstat," said State Senator John Sabini of Jackson Heights after a third police report was filed by his campaign.

On August 14, computers from Sabini's campaign office was stolen. On August 17, a 17-year-old girl campaigning for Sabini on 99th Street reported to police that a man approached her, made a lewd/threatening remark, and fled. On August 23, an 18-year-old volunteer was confronted by three men and punched while putting up posters before a debate with his challenger, City Councilman Hiram Monserrate of Corona.

Monserrate, a former police officer, said of the last incident: "As far as I understand, there was provocation on both ends regarding the affixing of posters." Although not accused of any wrongdoing, Monserrate said he would not condone any inappropriate behavior by his campaign workers.

But Moserrate downplayed the significance of reported incidents, saying, "There have been a bunch of incidents. They have vandalized my campaign headquarters. We have pictures of it. We have video of it. I have never engaged in trying to report it." He added, "I think Mr. Sabini's camp has been very sensational in their press releasing." [more comments after the jump]

For some reason, this feels like deja vu all over again.  read more »

In non-criminal news from this race: Sabini is getting endorsed from David Paterson and African-American leaders today, and Monserrate is getting endorsed by Fernando Ferrer, whom many electeds in that district supported for mayor.

-- Azi Paybarah

Yvette Clarke touts support from Liz Abzug, Betsy Gotbaum, C. Virginia Fields, Annabel Palma and Melissa Mark-Viverito among others on the steps of City Hall.

David Paterson and Eliot Spitzer will address advocates at St. Francis College about their plan to address domestic violence in New York State.

John Faso presents his homeland security agenda to law enforcement officials and emergency responders at the Embassy Suites in Manhattan before greeting evening rush commuters at Grand Central Terminal.

Marty Markowitz and Jerry Nadler endorse Alec Brook-Krasny for the 46th Assembly district on the steps of Brooklyn Borough Hall.

Christine Quinn and James Gennaro launch an initiative to increase green jobs and businesses on the steps of City Hall.

—Nicole Brydson

One other tidbit from last night's Charlie Rangel event:

After Hillary Clinton got through praisinged the leadership of "General Rangel," David Paterson -- the evening's acting M.C. -- said, "Thank you very much Madame President, er, I mean Madame Senator."

It's the sort of comment Hillary is obviously used to hearing by now.  read more »

She acknowledged Paterson's "joke" as she was walking away from the stage by raising her hand and slowly shaking her head. She didn't turn around.

--Jason Horowitz

Robert Jackson, council member on Manhattan's Upper Upper West Side, is about to give Bill Batson his first endorsement by an elected official in the race to succeed Roger Green in his Brooklyn Assembly seat. Jackson represents a district that Batson is familiar with -- he used to work for the area's state senator, David Paterson.

Batson and Jackson met via Batson's civil rights project titled, the American Civil Rights Education Service. "We sent over 800 young people down south to learn about the civil rights movement and he has been one of our major supporters," said Batson. "He is one of the people in government that I admire the most because he went from being a parent, to a plaintiff, to a public servant. It's a great kind of arch."

On the endorsement:

"I didn't really think of it at the time as something to stop knocking on doors to do, but we're going to do a press release."

Expect the official announcement shortly.

—Nicole Brydson

An update on officials who have sit Shiva for Boruch Wieder, the late son of mayor Abe Wieder: George Pataki and David Paterson have stopped by, and Eliot Spitzer is scheduled to do so at 4pm today. —Nicole Brydson

The Times covers Carl Andrews' show of support yesterday.

The Empire State Pride Agenda endorses Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson.

Ben Smith reports on Sheldon Silver's meeting with the Dolans and Mark Green under investigation.

The Albany Times Union follows up on Pat Healy's story yesterday on the soon to be publicized personal letters of KT McFarland.

—Nicole Brydson

In keeping with the minor obsession in our office over the distribution of organization support in the Harlem state senate race, here's the latest announcement from the Bill Perkins campaign:

Adding to the growing grassroots strength of the campaign across the District, ACORN PAC (A-PAC) and Three Parks Independent Democratic Club overwhelmingly voted to endorse former Councilmember Bill Perkins for State Senator to fill the seat being vacated by David Paterson.

The race to replace David Paterson in Harlem's historically significant state senate seat is shaping up as a contest of money versus organization - for now.

While C. Virginia fields managed to raise about $100,000 at a single fundraiser last week, Bill Perkins is continuing to pick up potentially valuable organizational endorsements.

The Perkins camp can now point to the Broadway Democratic Club's vote of 34 - 12 in his favor earlier this month, the Park River Independent Democratic Club's lopsided vote of 46 - 6 last Thursday, and an endorsement, announced today, from Democracy for New York City - the political action committee spawned by Howard Dean's presidential campaign.

Perkins has also won the backing of 1199 SEIU and UAW Region 9A, and as Ben pointed out earlier, he has a proven ability to turn out voters in the district on Election Day.

It's worth noting that the clubs that have endorsed Perkins so far are in the southern portion of the district, based in the Upper West Side and Morningside Heights and that, as a Fields advisor cautioned me, the endorsements from a handful of Harlem-based clubs are yet to come.

Anyone have any idea how those endorsements will go? Or how much any of them matter?

A curious fact: in Democratic-trending Nassau County, where all five State Senators are Republicans, there are no Democratic challengers in this year's election.

This has led one Senate Democratic insider to come up with a number of sinister-sounding conspiracy theories, all leading back to...

Tom Suozzi.

The insider, who complains of a general lack of communication from the Nassau County party officials with their Senate counterparts, thinks that Suozzi is either a) expressing anger with David Paterson over the Minority Leader's decision to run with Eliot Spitzer or b) signatory to a fiendish pact with the leadership of the Senate Republican majority made possible by a common dislike of Spitzer.

The unofficial response from a Suozzi advisor: "This is the latest in a long line of loopy conspiracy theories."

In the morning, Randi Weingarten will lead UFT members in a rally demanding smaller class size at P.S. 1 on Henry Street.

Then, the Directors of the Empire State Local development Corporation will meet at the headquarters of the Empire State Development Corporation.

David Paterson and Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat push for legislation to protect poor communities from beings unfairly impacted by hospital closings on the steps of City Hall.

The president and nurses from the New York State Public Employees Federation are scheduled to testify at an Assembly hearing on staffing shortages and mandatory overtime for nurses at 250 Broadway.

The State Assembly holds a hearing on the status of redevelopment in Lower Manhattan at 7 World Trade.

And Eliot Spitzer will be the keynote speaker at the Queens Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

—Nicole Brydson

From the people bringing you the C. Virginia Fields Comeback Campaign for State Senate, the following:

She raised around $100,000 yesterday at an event at the Yale Club, a sum that her handlers say will make her the money leader in the race to replace David Paterson.

Bill Perkins, the former councilman who is also running for the seat, has some significant organizational support of his own, including backing from Local 1199 as well as three current council members who represent part of the senate district.

The outcome of the contest featuring two well-known Harlem officials -- Fields, who left her borough presidency because of term limits, and Perkins, who left his council seat because of term limits -- will hardly produce a tectonic shift in the balance of power in Albany.

But the race is worth watching as part of the larger narrative of Harlem politics, where a younger generation has fought with mixed success to win power and influence from the generation of political lions like Carl McCall and Basil Paterson, both of whom occupied the seat now being contested.

When David Paterson won election to his father's old seat in 1985 at the age of 31, much was made of the notion that he was part of a new crop of emerging black leaders from a post-civil rights generation.

If history were linear, the seat he is abandoning to run for lieutenant governor might have fallen to Rodney Capel, the eminently likeable son of Charlie Rangel's chief of staff.

Capel toyed with the idea of running for it before withdrawing his name in March, citing "the large influence of money and challenges that face new leadership."

Sometimes, things just go in circles.

In this week's New York magazine, the Intelligencer features an item in which an Eliot Spitzer staffer whispers about running mate David Paterson.

On May 13, Paterson, the Democratic State Senate minority leader, also plans to open his own "Paterson 2006" campaign office in Harlem. "What the fuck? The lieutenant governor isn't opening a Spitzer-Paterson office, but a Paterson office," fumes one Spitzer confidant. "It's really crappy that they would put Eliot in that position."

Both Paterson and Spitzer spokespeople say the pair agreed to disagree on any differences in opinion they may have, so why the leak?

—Nicole Brydson

The Times reports that David Paterson will not go along with budget overrides without details; and Tom Suozzi asks Eliot Spitzer for twice-a-month debates.

The Daily News reports on Eliot Spitzer and Diana Taylor's joint press conference.

And the Sun takes a look at the latest in Albany.

—Nicole Brydson