John Faso

Bill O’Reilly, the Republican spokesman, is leaving the communication firm he founded nine years to join a firm headed by former Rudy Giuliani aides George Lence and Cristyne Nicholas.

O’Reilly’s Midtown-based firm had lately specialized in Republican clients running against the Republican establishment: they handled conservative Republican John Faso’s 2006 gubernatorial campaign, when most of the George Pataki-centric party establishment was pulling for Bill Weld. That year, the firm also handled the campaign of K.T. McFarland, a latecomer to the Republican Senate primary race who ultimately lost, but not before she blasted Rupert Murdoch's media empire for their coverage of the race.

O’Reilly, a relative of William F. Buckley, is leaving the firm in the hands of its co-founder, Susan Del Percio.

O’Reilly’s email is after the jump.  read more »

Here's a clip of Fred Thompson taking a whack at Rudy Giuliani last night during his midtown appearance before an audience of New York Conservatives.

“I was conservative yesterday, I’m a conservative today and I will be a conservative tomorrow,” he said.

In attendance for the event were Al D’Amato, John Faso, John Catsimatidis, congressional candidate Kieran Lalor, financierBruce Bent and firefighter union head and noted Giuliani critic Steve Cassidy.

After the speech, Thompson shook hands and posed for photos, then ran out of the room, ignoring most reporters questions. A senior advisor to Thompson told me afterwards that the goal of the appearance was in part to “pierce the myth” that Giuliani “is a little bit liberal. He’s very liberal.”

A few minutes ago I ran into Eliot Spitzer's former gubernatorial challenger, John Faso.

Faso has had the unfortunate luck of running against two Democrats who became embroiled in ethical flaps after it would have been of any political use to him. First, he came within about 162,000 votes of of beating Alan Hevesi in 2002. By the 2006 re-election, Hevesi was engulfed in a scandal about using state employees to chauffeur his ailing wife. That year, Faso ran against Spitzer, who now has his own problems.

Faso, now a lobbyist with Manatt, Phelps and Phillips. was heading into City Hall but stopped here to chat with Mickey Carroll of Quinnipiac and City Hall gadfly Rafael Martinez Alequin.

Alequin, never one to miss an opportunity, asked Faso if he was going to run for office again, to which Faso jokingly replied, "I'm running for my life."

I doubt this will alter Mike McIntire's work on the Joe Bruno beat, but the senator just hired a new city-based Deputy Director for Public Affairs.

Her name is Jessica Proud. Most recently, Proud ran GOTV for state Senate candidate Maureen O'Connell in Nassau and, before that, she worked as a regional coordinator for John Faso.

-- Azi Paybarah

Here's Senator Marty Golden with some family members of people killed on September 11th at a press conference urging Governor Spitzer not to ease requirements for getting a driver license. The issue flared up briefly during the gubernatorial campaign, with Spitzer's spokesperson telling the AP that restricting access to licenses "does nothing to improve security." Critics said that the changes would help illegal immigrants and terrorists.

With Spitzer settling into office, immigrant advocates are now wondering not if but when he'll get around to making those changes.

When one speaker was asked during the press conference today what Spitzer said that he found objectionable, he was handed a piece of paper and read a quote Spitzer made to reporters from Asian media outlets back in June:

"Change the policy. It's that simple. DMV's policies could change and they should change. I don't believe and never believed that limiting access to a drivers license which as you rightly point out is necessary to; you need a license to move to go to a job to earn an income and saying to people that we will limit the opportunity seems to me to be the worst way, a backwards way to accomplish anything."

The guy who handed him the paper, incidentally, was Bill O'Reilly (pictured above in the fedora), a consultant hired to work on this issue by the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License. O'Reilly works for the firm that consulted for John Faso in the governor's race, and seems to be making good use here of the fruits of Faso's oppo tracking.

UPDATE: Spitzer's office just issued the following statement to the Times-Union:

"This is a complex issue which we are reviewing carefully. Before moving forward with any proposal we would do an exhaustive review all security related maters."

-- Azi Paybarah

Liz notes that one of John Faso's colleagues is among Eliot Spitzer's latest appointments.

Rudy Giuliani hired Arnold Schwarzenegger's former director of communications, and two other people.

Maureen O'Connell will run for Michael Balboni's state Senate seat.

Chuck Bennett wonders why nobody from the MTA was in City Hall to honor the Subway Superhero.

The Caucus has a great picture of Dick Cheney swearing in Hillary Clinton, with Bill looking on happily.

Barack Obama doesn't just want to change the players, but the whole game.

Jeffrey Skilling's lawyer told the Wall Street Journal he's optimistic about appealing his client's convictions.

New York magazine tweaks the New Yorker for not knowing when the mayor's term is up.

An outsider wonders if a longtime insider like Conservative Party Chairman Michael Long is really calling for change in Albany.

A White House reporter blogs about his weight loss.

And pictured above is House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who will change Congress in 100 hours, and change the Speaker's official website sometime soon. (We're still waiting.)

-- Azi Paybarah

While the Port Authority is gingerly studying how to beef up Stewart International Airport near Newburgh, Governor Spitzer took a bolder stance during his State of the State address on Wednesday.

"We must have the vision to expand Stewart Airport to become the fourth major airport in the tri-state region and to serve as an economic engine for the Hudson Valley," he said.  read more »

Spitzer also said the Wicks Law had to change; called for more affordable housing; and reiterated other points he had made in the campaign. See after the jump for details.

- Matthew Schuerman

State GOP Executive Director Ryan Moses, who backed Bill Weld over party-nominee John Faso, will leave his job Dec. 1 to become the director of government relations at a Syracuse-based law firm.

August 11 is the day to be in Iowa if you're a GOP White House hopeful.

A Q poll today measuring the popularity of national leaders finds John Kerry wanting.

Ben sees Hillary's ghost writer as something of a metaphor.

Greg Sargent condemns the tendency of reporters "to let McCain off the hook for pandering, usually to the right, because he supposedly doesn't actually mean what he says when he's doing it," and calls it something dirty.

Iraq is in a civil war, according to Matt Lauer.

Republicans are dangerous to your health, according to Daily Gotham.

Karol Sheinin wants to "spit on Charles Barron."

Health care in the US gets low marks in a recent Gallup poll.

The families of Eliot Spitzer and Bill Mulrow vacationed together last year, adding an element of personal intrigue to the incoming governor's decisions on a) whether to install Mulrow to replace Alan Hevesi as comptroller, if it comes to that, and b) whether to approve the takeover of New York's race tracks by a syndicate in which Mulrow is a principal.

And above is the invitation to Bloomberg's holiday party for the press corps.

-- Azi Paybarah

"There is no better state chairman in the country than Mike Long," said Republican John Faso in his concession speech just now, referring to the leader of the Conservative Party.

Nothing in there for Stephen Minarik, who will be the Republican State Chairman for at least another few minutes.

-- Azi Paybarah

Not sounding overly optimistic, John Faso sent the following message to supporters, thanking them for their help and noting that "we forced Eliot Spitzer to take a pledge not to raise taxes."

So...does that count as a victory?

From Faso:

Throughout this campaign I have been honored to have your support. I cannot thank you enough for your confidence in me and my ideas. Your encouragement has been a source of strength.

With your help, my campaign brought a number of important issues to the forefront of the debate, and in spite of all of his spending promises, we forced Eliot Spitzer to take a pledge to not raise taxes. To make sure that the ideas and solutions we proposed for the future of New York State endure long after the election, I ask that you make every effort to get out to the polls today, and take a friend with you.

If you live or work in the Capital Region, please join me and other supporters at our Election Night Victory Celebration. We will be in Ballrooms A and B at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, 40 Lodge Street, beginning at 8:00 pm.

Thank you again for your help, inspiration and friendship.

Best wishes,

-- Azi Paybarah

(If I missed any events, email me!) On Saturday at 10 a.m., Hillary Clinton, Andrew Cuomo, Charlie Rangel and almost everybody else will be supporting the Democratic ticket at a rally at 2155 Adam Clayton Powell Blvd.

At 12:30, Hillary speaks at the 9th Annual Parent Conference of the United Federation of Teachers at the Sheraton in Midtown. John Faso campaigns in Brookhaven at 9 a.m., then at the Mayfair Shopping Center on Jericho Turnpike in Commack at 11:15; the King Kullen Shopping Center in West Islip at 12:30 p.m., and a few other places.

At 10 a.m., UFT president Randi Weingarten campaigns for Democratic Congressional candidate Steve Harrison and State Assembly candidate Janele Hyer-Spencer at Staten Island's Miller field [added].

Also at 10 a.m., volunteer cars to help Democratic state Senate Jimmy Dahroug in Long Island leave from Bayside (and on Sunday too!)

The phone bank for upstate Democratic candidate John Hall starts dialing voters.

State Senate candidate Flip Pidot does some street campaigning.

Also on Saturday, Jeanine Pirro campaigns in Elmira at 10 a.m., in Oswego County at 11 a.m. and in Broome County at 1 p.m.

Upstate Democratic congressional candidate Eric Massa campaigns everywhere on Saturday and Sunday.

On Sunday, Faso attends a political forum at Temple Beth El (2710 Genesee Street,Utica) at 9 a.m., mass at St. John the Evangelist Church in New Hartford at 10:30 a.m.; a rally in Syracuse at 1 p.m. and another rally in Waterford at 5:30 p.m..

Bill and Hillary Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, Chuck Schumer and others campaign for Andrea Stewart-Cousins at The Royal Regency Hotel in Yonkers (165 Tuckahoe Road) at 1 p.m. [added].

And there's a marathon in the city. More Sunday stuff will be posted as it comes in.

-- Azi Paybarah

The Public Advocate just repaid the city four years' worth of reimbursements for using a city employee as a chauffeur.

The Times takes a look at a loan program plagued with fraud while Andrew Cuomo was HUD secretary.

Spitzer wants to boost the level of school aid the city gets from the state. John Faso doesn't.

Right when he took office, the State Comptroller steered a no-bid contract to a former employee who worked on his campaign.

Coop says that Faso's focus on the Hevesi chauffeur stuff was a tactical blunder.

Christopher Callaghan said his personal investments are "not extensive."

Cuomo said his opponent in the attorney general's race should repay taxpayers the more than $100,000 her state-employed driver earned in overtime.

Ray Hernandez looks at Chris Shays to illustrate the challenges faced by moderate Republicans in the Northeast.

The wife of an upstate Republican congressman who had previously called 911 from their home said yesterday, "At no time did I need to be protected..."

Robert DeNiro is making automated telephone calls for Hillary Clinton.

The Staten Island Advance endorses Hillary, saying "it almost doesn't matter who is running against her..."

A CNN poll shows Barack Obama second only to Hillary for the Democratic nomination in 2008; Rudy Giuiliani and John McCain are in a statistical dead heat.

-- Azi Paybarah

Here is John Faso's new ad. Notice the number of times he mentions the word taxes (a lot) versus Eliot Spitzer (a little).

Alan Hevesi isn't mentioned at all.

-- Azi Paybarah

This new John Faso ad does its best to tie Eliot Spitzer, withdrawn endorsement notwithstanding, to his "running mate and comptroller" Alan Hevesi. Note the return of Spitzer's "stupendous public service" quote about Hevesi from the gubernatorial debate.

UPDATE: There are more Hevesi-related ads here and here. UPDATE II: Spitzer's spokeswoman, Christine Anderson, responded to Faso's ad, saying:

"John Faso must not have read the morning papers yet. "Eliot clearly did what was right in regard to the comptroller's race, and no deceptive advertising by his opponent is going to change that. He acted decisively in launching an immediate investigation and pulling his endorsement."

-- Azi Paybarah

John Faso has tried to stick to a message of fiscal conservativism in his campaign against Eliot Spitzer. Now, with a little help from the State Conservative Party, his conservative social positions are going to be getting some air time too -- whether Faso wants it or not.

Here's the script for one ad:

"Do you think English should be the official language of new York and the nation? Vote that way. Send a message. Vote on the conservative party line. John Faso for governor."

The other ad is here.

-- Azi Paybarah

At 8:30 a.m., John Faso speaks to at a breakfast hosted by the Association for a Better New York and the Downtown-Lower Manhattan Association on 85 West St.

At 9 a.m., Eliot Spitzer tours the UFT charter school with UFT president Randi Weingarten.

At 11:15 a.m., Vito Lopez and union officials protest on the City Hall steps over 421-a Exclusionary Zoning.

At 11:30 a.m. in Queens, Eric Gioia discusses a national hotline where kids can report weapons threats at their schools.

At 1 p.m., The City Council's Health Committee raising legal age to buy tobacco products and prohibiting sale of flavored cigarettes; Hearing Room,

At 1:30, the Port Authority holds their monthly meeting on Park Avenue.

At 3 p.m. the Council's Lower Manhattan Redevelopment Committee holds a hearing on Ground Zero insurance proceeds.

At 6 p.m. FCC Commissioners discuss diversity in media at Hunter College.

In Brooklyn, there's a march against police brutality starting on President Street and Nostrand Avenue.

At 6:30 p.m., Hillary Clinton, Eliot Spitzer, Mike Bloomberg and NBC News anchor Brian Williams attend the Alfred E. Smith Memorial Foundation Dinner at the Waldorf Astoria.

And Comptroller candidate Christopher Callaghan speaks with the editorial boards at the Times Union and Troy Record and then attends the Genesee GOP County Dinner.

-- Azi Paybarah

Here's something unusual from today's Siena poll: Alan Hevesi's approval rating improved.

Hevesi's favorable/unfavorable rating is now 40-21 percent, from 40-14 percent last month.

This poll came after a period in which the story about Hevesi's use of a state employee as a chauffeur for his wife got more exposure, as both Eliot Spitzer and John Faso criticized the comptroller during their televised debate.

Either New York voters are surprisingly pro-chauffeur, or, as is more usually the case, they simply haven't found this story nearly as fascinating or meaningful as the press has.

The rest of the poll is here.

-- Azi Paybarah

UPDATE: The mayor just took a pass on the Hevesi chauffeur scandal. Here's what he told reporters:

"I don't think it serves any purpose for me to get involved. Having said that, I do think that the most important thing is that the public believes that their government is honest. Now I've known Alan Hevesi for a long time and I've always thought that he was an honest, very hard-working elected official and I was just disappointed to read in the paper about this indiscretion or however you want to phrase it."

Mark Warner's departure is good news for Hillary Clinton.

The Albany District Attorney is investigating Alan Hevesi's use of a state employee as a personal chauffeur.

While in New Hampshire, Rudy Giuliani hedges on when he'll decide to run for president.

Daily News looks at the upcoming debates between Andrew Cuomo and Jeanine Pirro. On its editorial page, the paper writes:

Were chutzpah the primary ingredient for political success, Jeanine Pirro would levitate to the office of New York State attorney general, for she has shown the audacity to air a campaign ad that's more mind-boggling than any stunt on "Fear Factor."

The Times looks at Pirro's record as the Westchester District Attorney.

The Times Real Estate section looks at George Pataki's 300-acre farm in Essex, and says it "is particularly gorgeous."

At yesterday's debate in Buffalo, John Faso said Eliot Spitzer was "asleep at the switch," and "has no business talking about campaign-finance reform." Spitzer said Faso "loves to defend corporate corruption." More on the debate here, here, here and here.

Albany is the lobbying capital of the world.

The City's only Republican congressman gets a failing grade from the League of Conservation Voters.

-- Azi Paybarah

Tonight's gubernatorial debate between Eliot Spitzer and John Faso can be seen live online here.

Here are two things to look out for:

Faso pulling some sort of stunt to give this race an air, however fleeting, of something competitive.

Spitzer using the occasion as an opportunity to lay down some sort of marker about the terms on which he plans to deal with Sheldon Silver when he takes office.

Anything else?

-- Azi Paybarah

Remember Milka Cerovic, the lady who paid $300 to get into John Faso's fund-raiser and stormed the stage when Rudy Giuliani was there, talking about how the New World Order caused 9/11?

She's an ardent Republican supporter, contributing $3,494 to GOP candidates (and one conservative), according to state Board of Elections records.

The 9/11 conspiracy theorist made her biggest contribution - $500 - to the Republican Assembly Campaign Committee, and donated to George Pataki 20 times.

Sounds like perfectly rational behavior to me.

-- Azi Paybarah

New York GOP fund-raiser extraordinaire Jason Weingartner appeared on FoxNews recently, only to have his friends comment on the size of his monstrous sideburns. Pictured above is a trimmed-down version of Weingartner's trademark burns, which were on display at a John Faso fund-raiser recently.  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

Eliot Spitzer and John Faso debate upstate.

Hybrid and electric vehicles will be on display at the Bronx Community College's annual conference on alternative fuel vehicles.

The directors of the Queens West Development Corporation meet at the Empire State Development Corporation.

The Assembly Committee on Codes holds a hearing on the impact of private security practices on public safety at 250 Broadway.

The board of directors of the Hudson Yards Development Corporation meet at the NYC Office of Management and Budget.

Iris Weinshall and the Times Square Alliance announce road redesigns and pedestrian improvements in Times Square.

Charlie Rangel addresses the Associated Builders and Owners of Greater New York at the National Arts Club, and the Community League of the Heights honors him in the evening at its 50th anniversary fundraiser at the New York Historical Society.

The City Council holds a hearing on the City's oversight role in the operation of interstate buses. Federal Reserve Governor Frederic Mishkin speaks on Globalization: A Force for Good? at Baruch College.

Joel Klein "installs" (AP's word) a new principal at Brooklyn Technical High School.

Baruch holds a panel discussion on NYC campaign finance issues with Peter Vallone, Christine Quinn and Bill Cunningham in the Newman Conference Center.

U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab speaks on U.S.-China trade relations at the Pierre Hotel.

The New York Young Republican Club holds its monthly meeting.

Reuters hosts a discussion on public figures and private lives, featuring Floyd Abrams, Bonnie Fuller and Jacob Weisberg.

The Public Service Commission holds two more hearings on the Westchester County power outage: first at the Greenburgh Town Hall, then at the Port Chester Justice Court.

—Nicole Brydson

At last night's fundraiser in the Regis Hotel, John Faso's wife, Mary Frances, told me she is taking time off her job as a nurse in her local high school to spend more time with the couple's two children and help out with the campaign.

She didn't take any time off work four years ago, when her husband ran for comptroller against Alan Hevesi. He lost by just 3 percentage points.

"Maybe I should have," she said.

The Faso's have one daughter in high school, Margaret, and a 22-year-old son, Nicholas, who is helping dad out and getting paid for it.

-- Azi Paybarah

Here's that lady who hijacked the spotlight from Rudy Giuliani last night at John Faso's fundraiser with a conspiracy theory about 9/11 and a New World Order. She was sitting at a table right near the podium and paid $300 to get in the door.

Every dollar counts, considering Faso only has $972,256.66, compared to Eliot Spitzer's $14,062,420.21

But I wonder if this is one of those cases where they'll return the money, or donate it somewhere. I'm still waiting to hear back from the Faso campaign.  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

When Al D'Amato was asked about the GOP winning any statewide office, he said, "You would have to be smoking that funny stuff to think that was going to happen."

John McCain blames Bill Clinton for today's problem with North Korea.

At a fundraiser for John Faso, Rudy Giuliani explained how Democrats talk about not raising taxes, and then do just that when they govern.

They say they are not going to raise taxes, and then they say, 'Oh, my God. I just have to.'

John Faso adds his son to the payroll.

Spitzer and Hillary campaigned at the home of a Long Island Republican family.

The New York Sun looks at Spitzer's top ten advisers.

Mike Bloomberg will host his third fund-raiser for Joe Lieberman and then travel to Connecticut later this month to endorse him.

The Sun sees more visions of a Bloomberg's presidential run.

Andrew Cuomo defends his two-debate limit against Jeanine Pirro.

Newsday thinks Alan Hevesi is Cinderella.

-- Azi Paybarah

On Saturday, a rally protesting illegal immigration will be held outside of the Mexican Consulate.

John Faso attends the Columbus Citizens Foundation Gala Dinner at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel.

The Astoria Frank Kenna Republican Club and the NY Young Republican Club will hold their final voter registration drive of the 2006 election season.

On Sunday, Bob Menendez and Tom Kean, Jr. debate on CBS.

Monday is Columbus Day!

Vito Fossella and Steve Harrison spend the holiday debating. Twice. —Nicole Brydson

Here are the latest fundraising numbers from the invincible Spitzer-Paterson campaign from September 19 through October 2:

$693,000 raised $700,000 spent $8.6 million on hand

Andrew Cuomo, who hasn't had much to do lately but sit back and watch Jeanine Pirro, raised even more, according to numbers released by his campaign:

$1.1 million raised $2.4 million on hand

Pirro raised about $1.6 million since mid-July, and has $1.26 million on hand, according to Liz Benjamin, who has more figures here. [This post has been corrected to reflect Pirro's real numbers. The ones I represented the amount of money the campaign raised just since the wire-tap scandal broke. Apologies.]

UPDATE: John Faso's spokeswoman just called with their latest finance numbers:

$952,519.14 raised $1,405,010 spent $972,256.66 on hand

-- Azi Paybarah

Mike Long is not happy with the way things are going for John Spencer.

"It's beginning to look like one of those years that nobody is paying attention," said the Conservative Party chairman, who hopes to raise between $150,000 and $200,000 for Spencer at a fund-raiser at the Sheraton tonight. "He has got to continue to work hard and find money, which his becoming very difficult for him."

Long said that he wished more of the county leaders who rallied behind Spencer and John Faso at the Republican convention had spent more time out campaigning against Hillary Clinton and Eliot Spitzer.

"Not every one of my leaders are working, but in the last two weeks a lot of people have gotten engaged," he said. He also blamed the press for ignoring the two Republican-Conservative candidates.

"There is a turn-off valve someplace," he said.

--Jason Horowitz

September 11th family members and rescue and recovery workers walk from Battery Park to Ground Zero for the 5th annual WTC We Remember Walk.

John Faso attends the Congress of Racial Equality Festival in Union Square before heading over to the Yonkers River Festival.

The Red Cross holds a forum on the basics of international humanitarian law and the Geneva Conventions.

By The People, a non-partisan documentary on what it takes to put on an American election, will show at 2pm at the Impact Festival.

The New York State Young Republicans take a trip to Pennsylvania to campaign for Rick Santorum. On Sunday, Spike Lee, LA Reid and Oprah's Friend Gayle attend Al Sharpton's Birthday Party at the PM Lounge.

On Monday, David Paterson will be added to the Village of Hempstead's new Wall of Fame.

—Nicole Brydson

Right after Alan Hevesi apologized for not reimbursing the state for having an employee act as a personal chauffeur, one of his government staffers was caught recording the speech of his political opponent, Christopher Callaghan. "Now that you've pointed it out to me - I didn't realize it - I'll pay for that tape."

At the same meeting, Eliot Spitzer was not in the mood to apologize for misrepresenting the size of the family loans he received to run his first two races for attorney general, an issue raised by John Faso. "If that's his best argument for being governor, perhaps it explains why his whole ticket is where it is."

The Times examines Jeanine and Albert Pirro's marriage, saying some people say "the Pirros look a lot like an echo of that other Westchester power couple, the Clintons."

New York Post columnist Charlie Millard thinks that the Clintons should be more like the Pirros: "Unlike another New York statewide candidate, Hillary Clinton, [Pirro] doesn't go on TV to try to defend his actions - or claim that some vast conspiracy has made them up."

Pirro tried to connect her opponent, Andrew Cuomo, to the leaking of the federal investigation of her, noting Cuomo used to work for the prosecutor in the current case. Cuomo's spokeswoman noted that a number of the investigators are Republicans.

The Post looks at the other woman in the Pirro affair.

More people think taxes in New York will be raised if John Faso is elected governor than if Eliot Spitzer is elected, according to a New York Times/CBS News poll.

Sen. John Kerry will campaign for Ned Lamont in Connecticut on October 25.

And a lawsuit brought against Brooklyn DA Joe Hynes by one of his old political rivals, Sandra Roper, was dismissed in federal court yesterday.

-- Azi Paybarah

A Marist poll will come out tonight poll about Jeanine Pirro.

Ben explains how Eliot Spitzer can play a pivotal role in the race for a new minority leader in the state senate, proving there is no race Spitzer can affect.

Liz Benjamin follows that race too, noting there's one upstate candidate (Neil Breslin) and three downstaters (Malcolm Smith of Queens, Martin Dilan of Brooklyn and Eric Schniederman of Manhattan.) Before anyone blows a gasket, yes, Jeff Klein of the Bronx is also running.

In explaining his role in the Hevesi investigation, Spitzer creates his own nuanced language - Spitzerese - which Liz thinks "is a dialect of legalese."

John Faso said he found the allegations against Jeanine Pirro "very troubling."

John DeSio follows Democrat Stephen Harrison's race against the city's only Republican congressman, Vito Fossella, into the world of Youtube and Wikipedia.

On Room 8, Yoda notes Rudy Giuliani tack away from his party: he canceled a fundraiser for Jeanine Pirro and defended Bill Clinton.

The outspoken Rock Hackshaw says "Spitzer is Wrong, Faso is Right" on whether Alan Hevesi should resign. Jack Murtha's anti-war stance may not be enough to get him elected House Majority Leader. The Plank asks what's happening to the anti-war movement.

Long Island Congresswoman Carolyn McCarthy, whose husband was killed by the LIRR gunman Colin Fergson, laments the new gun bill that passed the House this week.

"The bill relaxes recordkeeping requirements by no longer requiring dealers to properly maintain records."

And pictured above is Eliot Spitzer, who was surrounded by reporters at the Association of New York State Counties in Lake George today.  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

"What Alan did was wrong...if anybody on my watch did that, there would be some very serious consequences...Alan is someone who has done stupendous work on behalf of the state of New York."

-- Eliot Spitzer

"Alan Hevesi stole $82,000 from the people of New York...Alan Hevesi should resign his office.

-- John Faso

Who wins on this issue?

Who won the overall debate?

Oh, and what happens to Hevesi?

-- Azi Paybarah

Libby Pataki stumps for John Faso at a Women for Faso Breakfast.

Chuck Schumer and Anthony Weiner will stump for Stephen Harrison, Democrat challenger to Vito Fossella, at a fundraiser at JT's Restaurant in Brooklyn.

Eliot Spitzer and John Faso debate at Cornell.

Francis Morrone examines the Amsterdam Houses and public housing architecture in New York City.

John Liu will discuss public transportation at the Puck building.

—Nicole Brydson

Tomorrow's debate at Cornell University will represent John Faso's best chance yet to slow the progress of the Eliot Spitzer juggernaut, even if the timing is less than ideal -- coming just days after his first ethics controversy of the campaign. And as Tom Suozzi learned, Spitzer is a front-runner who isn't afraid to attack his opponents at the podium.

Even though Faso has one ad running now, the debate will be the first time many New Yorkers are seeing his face. (The ad is an attack piece that doesn't even mention Faso's name, except to say that he paid for it.)

Any ideas on how Faso might go after Spitzer beyond the requisite tax-and-spend stuff?  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

The Times editorial board wants Mayor Bloomberg to speak out nationally and help raise the federal minimum wage.

The Sun endorses John Faso and says, "We carry no grudge against Attorney General Spitzer. His campaign has been refusing to speak with reporters of The New York Sun..."

John Faso is asking supporters to pay for lawn signs.

Criminal charges will be filed in Albany by the Republican challenging state Comptroller Alan Hevesi because he turned a state employee into a personal chauffeur. The Post's editorial board purposefully wonders what "the state's legal watchdog, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, has to say" about the issue.

Permits from the city's Building Department are needed to dismantle the Deutsche Bank building at Ground Zero.

New York City ports will get $26 million for security from the Department of Homeland Security, a 400% boost from last year, but it's unclear how much other ports around the nation are getting.

David Weprin and Tom White are among the council members who earn six-figure salaries for their work outside the council.

Ned Lamont campaigns on other issues besides Iraq. For example, he supports NAFTA, but not CAFTA.

Bernie Kerik is still part of Rudy Giuliani's inner circle.

1199/SEIU union leader Dennis Rivera defended the $2 million parties his union threw last year, saying, "To be very honest, not only are we good in politics, but nobody throws a party like we do."

Ben says that Chuck Schumer may have been right and Jon Corzine may have been wrong about making Bob Menendez a U.S. Senator.

And James McGreevey is addicted to fame.

-- Azi Paybarah

Following up on a conversation in which he told me about SEIU's new PAC to target anti-union Democrats, Andy Stern sent over this additional statement to remind us that "the vast majority" of candidates the union supports are Democrats.

Hotline reads into Barack Obama's visit to Iowa and sees Hillary Clinton's 2008 running mate:

he may have designed a path to the vice presidency, and ultimately the presidency, that's about capturing just one voter: Hillary

Eliot Spitzer's campaign responds to John Faso's add, saying it is "a page out of Karl Rove's play book" and that "New Yorkers know better than to trust the same tired promises from politicians who promise tax cuts..." His 10-day post primary filing [pdf] shows he raised $963,000 and has $8.5 million on hand.

Jonathan Tasini calls the Working Families Party "absurd and pathetic."

Robert George of the New York Post says meeting President Clinton was "the coolest, yet weirdest moment of my entire life."

Jeanine Pirro isn't the only one who rebuffed Jeff Deskovic's plea for help before DNA evidence freed him from jail.

Albany may be losing their Wild Woman, now that state Senator Ada Smith may concede to her primary challenger, Shirley Huntley. Maxim ranks television's ten least appealing women.

On last night's Inside City Hall, Rob Ryan asked Howard Wolfson:

"Howard, Howard. You've never said you'd like to murder someone, jokingly?"

And above is an ode to, who else?, reporters!  read more »

-- Azi Paybarah

Here is John Faso's new ad, which Liz Benjamin says will be airing tomorrow upstate. In it, Faso connects Eliot Spitzer -- preemptively -- to the dismal upstate economy.

"His new spending will mean thousands more in new taxes for every New York family. If Eliot Spitzer gets his way, it may be time for the last one in upstate New York to turn out the light."

-- Azi Paybarah