Denny Farrell

"She is no stranger here," said Calvin Butts, the Pastor of the Abyssinian Baptist Church in Harlem, where a "homecoming" rally was held for Hillary Clinton on Saturday.

In a very specific way, at least, the origins of Clinton's Senate career can be traced back to the 125th Street offices of Charlie Rangel, who, Clinton lore has it, was the first person to suggest she run for office. Rangel is also credited with finding Bill Clinton his uptown headquarters.

On the rainy Saturday afternoon, Rangel sat on one side of the church's marble altar and Bill and Hillary sat on the other.

"He loves being home," Clinton said of Rangel when it was her turn to talk.

"It's great getting off that plane and being able to come back to Harlem. Isn't it, Charlie?"

The audience was thrilled to have Rangel and Hillary on the same stage.  read more »

Bill Thomson and Adolfo Carrion had a friendly chat during last night’s dinner for the Bronx Democratic County Organization at the Marina Del Rey.

At one point, I and two other reporters ran into Denny Farrell, who was hanging out with his daughter. He cheerily noted that earlier in the day he’d gotten another pro-congestion price mailing, making it three so far. “It must be good to be a billionaire,” he said. (The mayor, about whom Farrell was referring, has denied that he's providing any direct funding for the effort.) Then, Farrell rhetorically asked how many phone calls he’s gotten, smiled, and made a big zero with his fingers.

In introducing Christine Quinn, Assemblyman Jose Rivera, the county leader, said, “If I decide to go back to the City Council in ‘09, I want her to be my speaker again.”

Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz told me he won’t be in town when Sheldon Silver convenes his conference meeting in Manhattan on July 16.

Non-Bronx officials who made their way to the dinner include David Weprin, Melinda Katz and Simcha Felder - all comptroller candidates in 2009, Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Also floating around the room were former City Council Speaker Gifford Miller (no tie!) and Democratic Mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer.

And state Senator Efrain Gonzalez, who was indicted last year for misusing public money, was at the dinner before I arrived and stayed after I left, seemingly having a good time.

After more than two hours of testimony in front of some state Assembly members in midtown, it seems like Mike Bloomberg left with as much chance of winning approval for his congestion pricing proposal as he did when he walked in.

While concerns about civil rights issues raised by Assemblyman Richard Brodsky were laughed away, more pinpointed questions gained some traction: Cathy Nolan of Queens pointed to the fact that the bill included steep fines for late payments and granted the new financing agency the authority to charge some people for residential parking. Whether or not that stays in the bill, it showed some people in Albany are actually reading the fine print.

At no point during the hearing did Bloomberg or his deputies seem to come under any particular pressure. The mayor testified surrounded by supporters wearing green t-shirts with various environmental slogans, and dealt reasonably well with most of the questions he got.

Whether it affected the bill's chances in the Assembly either way is hard to tell. After the testimony, Assemblyman Herman “Denny” Farrell, who is close with Speaker Sheldon Silver, said he didn’t see an urgency in getting the proposal passed before session ended.

He also expressed skepticism about the idea that congestion pricing would start out as a pilot program, noting that pilots, once set in motion, are hard to stop. “You've got to also look at the politics," he said. "Could you kill it? That’s the question."

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.

Speaking on the floor of the Assembly Saturday night, Assemblyman Herman "Denny" Farrell of Manhattan defended this year's budget process, saying that it was open and publicly negotiated.

Which some people might disagree with.

-- Azi Paybarah

Andrew Cuomo had his public swearing-in ceremony yesterday at the Museum of Art, where he trotted out themes from his campaign including social justice, gun violence and governmental reform.

Cuomo added a special thank you to the audience:

"This was not an easy campaign. This was a hard campaign. I wasn't able to self-finance the campaign. I needed the generosity of over 4,000 donors to make this possible. I needed you to give me a second chance, and the benefit of the doubt that I could win a new campaign. And you did that and I can only say thank you with the best public service I can muster. "

(Historical footnote: Cuomo's much-praised predecessor in the attorney general post actually did self-finance a campaign for that office, and Cuomo absorbed some criticism for rolling over money from his failed gubernatorial campaign to help fund this year's race.)

Afterwards, Cuomo went to a closed-press reception with Chuck Schumer, Ed Koch, Denny Farrell and campaign co-chair Andrew Farkas where, according to one guest, he stood with invitees and posed for picture after picture for the better part of two hours.

-- Azi Paybarah

"Best shape we've been in in modern history."

That's how outgoing state Democratic Party chairman Herman "Denny" Farrell just described the state party's condition at the end of his five-year tenure.

(For the record, that's slightly different from how newly-elected party co-chair David Pollak, sees it.)

In a speech to party leaders at the Sheraton, Farrell noted that since he took over as state chair from Judith Hope on Dec. 3, 2001, the party has picked up five congressional seats and had a "dramatic increase in Democratic enrollment. "Together," he said, "we did it."

-- Azi Paybarah

Here is part of Denny Farrell's good-bye statement.

"As a result of our unparalleled victories and unity, and the fact that the party is the strongest its ever been, I believe we have accomplished the lofty goals set for us when I took this job.

"With that in mind, I am proud and humbled to announce that I have decided to step down as state chairman, effective January 1. I do intend to remain as Manhattan county leader and chair of the Assembly Ways and Means Committee.

"I know that whoever is chosen to be my successor will inherit a strong and united party, and will do a wonderful job."

If you have any details to add to the Farrell legacy that may not have made it into this official version, feel free.

Full statement after the jump.  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

On the last Sunday before he starts changing everything, Eliot Spitzer was at the St. Luke African Methodist Episcopal church on Amsterdam Avenue, standing in next to state Democratic Party chairman Denny Farrell.

While Spitzer had some kind words for Andrew Cuomo (who was there too with his daughter, Cara), it was Spitzer's praise for Farrell that was striking.

It's hard not to imagine Farrell, who was elected to the Assembly in 1974, as part of the Albany institution that Spitzer will be changing somehow.

Here's what Spitzer said:

"He's a remarkable leader. He is somebody, for many of us, is one of those people we go to for wisdom. He knows a lot of history. He's lived a lot of history. A lot more than I have, I'm glad to say. But he is someone who keeps us straight. And he knows what matters..."

The interesting thing is that Spitzer has been able to carry the "everything changes on Day 1" message while praising, and working pretty closely it seems, with many of the institutional players in Albany.

-- Azi Paybarah

John Faso's campaign is working hard to keep the flames of the the Farrell gaffe alive as long as possible.

Today he prepares to talk taxes again at a conference in Saratoga Springs.

"He will be focusing on a relief agenda for property tax payers, local governments, and Medicaid," said Susan Del Percio, Mr. Faso's spokeswoman.

"For John Faso, cutting taxes is a top priority, and you heard that for the Democratic Party leaders and Denny Farrell, that it is not their top priority."

We'll see when Eliot Spitzer rolls out his own tax plan, also in Saratoga, this afternoon.

"I think that one thing is certain," Del Percio said. "Whatever he ends up proposing, how is he going to pay for it? Cutting the property tax and increasing the income tax is just shifting the burden. How will he pay for it?"

- Jason Horowitz

The Times writes that it is Christine Quinn's chance to rein in council spending.

Denny Farrell's attack on John Faso backfires.

Ben Smith reports on Rev. Al's statements about David Yassky and Nicholas Minucci.

The Albany Times Union reports KT McFarland will stay in the Senate race, rebuffing Stephen Minarik.

—Nicole Brydson

Azi of the New York Press (and formerly, of Politicker intern fame) offers this Nassau nugget:

On NY1 last night, Democratic State Chairman Denny Farrell said he hasn't spoken to Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi in two years. So much for cell phones, right?

"I don't think it's a secret that Tom Suozzi is not the chairman's favorite person since Tom began pointing out the problems in our state government through his fixalbany.com campaign," said Suozzi campaign manager Kim Devlin, who learned of the comments when I called.

"However, Mr. Farrell must have forgotten when Tom called him earlier this year to congratulate him on his new daughter."  read more »

Ouch!

Before hanging up, Kim was heard telling an aide they have to start taping NY1 from now on. Good call.

Contra DNC chairman Howard Dean, New York State Democratic Party chairman Denny Farrell seems to think the war in Iraq is winnable, a sharp-eyed Eve Kessler notes:

Denny, on Cheney's speech at Fort Drum today: "...Americans are also looking for leadership and a plan for how we're going to win this war -- and on that count, the Vice President's call to just stay the course was sorely disappointing."  read more »

Dean, on WOAI radio in San Antonio Monday: "The idea that we are going to win this war is an idea that unfortunately is just plain wrong."

Here's a lifeline for Steve Minarik: He's not the only party chairman facing calls to resign these days.

Robert Ginsberg, a Manhattan State Committeeman and longtime critic of Democratic chairman Denny Farrell, is circulating a letter blaming Denny, in part, for Freddy's loss, and calling for his resignation.  read more »

"The recent mayoral election was the worst debacle in history for the Democratic Party candidate," he writes, almost accurately. "While certainly Freddy Ferrer was not blameless...equal blame must fall upon the State Democratic Party. We did absolutely nothing to help Freddy's campaign!"

More people turned up on the steps of City Hall this afternoon, by an unofficial count, than actually voted in Tuesday's Democratic Mayoral primary.

There was the usual, somewhat awkward, generally enthusiastic three-way endorsement of Freddy, following his praise of each of his rivals.

It was, said Denny Farrell, "The worst nightmare for the present Mayor," which overstated it of course, but wasn't entirely wrong. Freddy is politically stronger, and more on his game, than many expected.

Freddy, however, was on to other enemies: the run-off, he alleged, is being advanced "by people who want to foster division in this party."

(Which seemed a bit premature, as at the moment seems to be the product of voters who didn't vote for him, but never mind.)

Anyway, asked who exactly he was accusing (one assumes Republican Board of Elections chief John Ravitz) Freddy replied with a classic of his sometimes cryptic style: "If the shoe fits, anyone can wear it."  read more »

Asked what that meant, he offered to repeat it in Spanish.

I left last night's debate feeling no envy for reporters on daily deadlines, as it can be so hard to tease a clear storyline out of a generally mild, unfocused debate like that. Indeed, two competing ones seem to have emerged in this morning's papers: Everybody's picking on Freddy; and everybody's picking on Mike.

In any event, the series of rapid-fire questions did manage to knock the candidates a bit off their talking points and generate some real contrast; they revealed, among other things, that Gifford has thought a bit more about the logistics of actually being Mayor -- how do you get to City Hall? -- than the others, and that Anthony is less haunted by the specter of Rudy.

In the spin-room after the debate, Ferrer supporter Bill Lynch offered a firm prediction that his candidate would break 40%, Democratic Party chairman Denny Farrell kindly complimented this reporter's footwear, and word of Ferrer's elision of his daughter's Catholic High School -- I suspect we haven't heard the last of that -- circulated subrosa.

Mostly, however, it was Sharpton time. The Rev., meandering in, quickly attracted the biggest crowd of reporters and after a second or two on his "they all won" talking point, revived his on-again-off-again, involvement in this race. (Though who really believed he wouldn't be a player?)  read more »

Sharpton: I said I'm probably going to make an endorsement in the primary. Reporter: Not again! We gotta go through this again? Charles Barron: Yep. Here we go.