Tom Reynolds

As Azi reported yesterday, Mike Bloomberg doesn’t seem to be a fan of the sweeping Energy Bill that President Bush signed yesterday – in particular, its mandate for an massive increase in ethanol production.

Bloomberg called the ethanol provision “an outrage” and said it would drive up food costs and “have worldwide implications on the food supply.” Ethanol, of course, is a sacred product in Iowa, the key caucus that the presidential candidates dare not offend.

So did New York’s Congressional delegation agree with the mayor? Apparently not: 28 of 29 New Yorkers in the House voted for the bill when it came up for its final vote last week (it cleared the chamber on a 314-100 vote). The lone exception was Staten Island’s Vito Fossella, who didn’t show up to vote. The bill cleared the Senate on an 86-8 vote, with Chuck Schumer voting yes and Hillary Clinton, perhaps too busy campaigning in Iowa, not voting.

In fairness, earlier versions of the bill produced slightly less unanimity. The initial version passed by the House (on a 264-143 vote) was supported by all of New York’s Democrats but only three Republicans: Randy Kuhl, John McHugh and Jim Walsh. Tom Reynolds, Peter King, and Fossella votes against it.

Here are those new 1199 SEIU ads, which target two upstate Republican congressmen who sided with George Bush against expanding health insurance benefits to uninsured children. The spots go after Randy Kuhl and Tom Reynolds, both of whom are likely to face strong Democratic challengers in the 2008 elections.

What's interesting is that this is the same issue Eliot Spitzer has been pushing and threatened to sue Bush administration over. Which, I guess, means he and the health care union he fought against so bitterly earlier in his term are back on the same page. About something, anyway.

Union spokesman Stefan Friedman said the ad buys were in the six-figure range.  read more »

Congressmen Vito Fossella, Tom Reynolds and Randy Kuhl are undecided about the resolution opposing a troop surge in Iraq.

Tom DiNapoli was the recipient of some Suspicious white powder.

Former CIA Director George Tenet has a book due out this spring.

Eliot Spitzer showed a kinder, gentler side during a budget tour near Albany.

Michael Bloomberg wants more federal money for victims of September 11th.

Praise for Assembly Republicans, courtesy of The Brennan Center.

Newly elected state Senator Craig Johnson is on the environment, ethics and local government committees.

Does Rudy Giuliani care more about global warming than Al Gore?

JP, writing on Room 8, says today's Q poll about Eliot Spitzer is worthless.

Paris has a plan to reduce traffic 40 percent by 2020.

Chuck Bennett has a map of where exactly the 2nd Avenue subway line will go.

Even 7-year-olds are talking about the 2008 race.

And pictured above is the book Spitzer brought, and autographed for the newborn baby girl of Tom and Jackie Casey, whose home he and dozens of reporters invaded to witness a talk about the budget.

-- Azi Paybarah

Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand upset incumbent Rep. John Sweeney, who was dogged by allegations that he beat his wife. CNN has the results at 53-47 percent.

Another embattled upstate congressman, Tom Reynolds, is holding off his challenger, Jack Davis, 54-46 with about 7 percent of the votes counted.

-- Azi Paybarah

There are as yet no projected winners in the five most closely-watched House races in New York.

Democrats Mike Arcuri in the 24th District and Kristen Gillibrand in the 20th have jumped out to narrow early leads. Both seats have been eyed lustily by national Democrats as part of their effort to wrest the House from the GOP. Also, Dan Maffei, a former Congressional aide, is running even with incumbent Republican Jim Walsh in the Syracuse-area 25th District, and Eric Massa is slightly behind Republican incumbent Randy Kuhl in the 29th District.

With about 10 percent of the vote in, Tom Reynolds, the chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee, holds an eight-point edge over Democrat Jack Davis in the 26th District, where the results figure to say something about the locals' response to Reynolds' role in the Mark Foley affair.

-- Steve Kornacki

Here is an unusual piece of literature from Rep. Vito Fossella's campaign, which features the image of Osama Bin Laden.

Next to the phrase "Steve Harrison opposes key tools in the war on terrorism" is a headshot of Bin Laden, somebody the Republican Party hasn't been very keen on mentioning lately.

The strategy for most Republicans this year has been to focus on local issues - like Tom Reynolds and the snow storm in Buffalo. Fossella, then, is that rarest of Republicans who appears to be trying to nationalize his race in what is expected to be a pretty dismal year for the GOP.  read more »

(Note the kicker: "Steve Harrison: Wacky Ideas...Wrong for Staten Island.")

Note: This piece of literature also got some attention here. -- Azi Paybarah

Rep. Tom Reynolds' alleged role in covering up the Mark Foley scandal has provided New York Democrats with so much ammunition in the weeks leading up to the mid-term elections that their attacks have started to blur together.

That having been said, this headline, on a new release from the New York State Democratic Committee, is something of a stand-out.

CONGRESSMAN ACCUSED OF CHOKING MISTRESS CANCELS EVENT WITH REYNOLDS - DOESN'T WANT TO RUIN HIS REPUTATION

--Jason Horowitz

Unlike Tom Reynolds new ad -- a minute-long mea culpa ending with the phrase "Looking back, more should have been done, and for that, I'm sorry" -- Pirro is not apologizing for her mess.

Instead, she continues her seemless transformation from accused to accuser.

"It's time for this investigation into my personal life to end, and for Andrew Cuomo to come out from hiding... Andrew must defend his inexperience and his call for amnesty for lawbreakers."

Nothing specific there, but enough to insinuate that Cuomo has something to hide about his involvement with a U.S. political jihad by the U.S. Attorney.

Cuomo, meanwhile, is still managing to stay out of the argument. Sort of.

The script is after the jump.  read more »

UPDATE: In response to the ad, Cuomo spokeswoman Wendy Katz said, "Mrs. Pirro claimed two weeks ago that the multiple criminal investigations of her were baseless and political and demanded the US Attorney to appoint a special prosecutor , the people of New York are still awaiting his definitive response--or does she believe he is part of the political conspiracy too." -- Azi Paybarah

By now, Americans should know that when Republican Congressional leaders talk about “family va  read more »

By now, Americans should know that when Republican Congressional leaders talk about “family values  read more »

Remember moral clarity?    read more »

Remember moral clarity?  read more »

The scandal surrounding Florida Rep. Mark Foley is reverberating pretty loudly in New York.

First, the seat of upstate Republican Rep. Tom Reynolds is likely to become more competitive as it becomes known that, as head of the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, Reynolds may have been aware Foley's inappropriate emails a year ago. And did nothing.

An aide to Reynolds, who used to work for Foley, tried "to get ABC News to cover up the worst part" according to Americablog.

Second, the Foley scandal now means Democrats need only 14 seats to win back control of the House, making it that much more like that this guy could be chairing the Ways and Means Committee next year.

-- Azi Paybarah

Rep. Tom Reynolds, a key supporter of the JFK Rail Link saga, picks on the dean of New York City's delegation, Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel, for announcing he will step down if the Democrats don't win the House. In a fundraising plea for fellow Republicans, Reynolds writes:

If Charlie Rangel does not want to be a member of Congress with a Republican majority, then he shouldn't be in Congress at all.

-Matthew Schuerman (via Room 8)

The House of Representatives Friday authorized $1.75 billion from left-over Sept. 11 funds to go towards the JFK Rail Link, according to a statement from Gov. Pataki's office. The amount falls short of the $2 billion that Gov. Pataki and other downtown boosters were seeking, but it does reflect progress: the Senate earlier authorized the conversion of these funds (they were originally supposed to be tax credits to encourage downtown businesses to hire more workers) but did not specify how much they were worth. The amendment will go back to the Senate now, and because it is attached to a controversial estate tax bill, its fate is uncertain.

Notably, in his statement announcing the vote, Gov. Pataki singled out Rep. Tom Reynolds, an upstate Republican on the House Ways and Means Committee, for praise. We've already noted how much money Reynolds has received from Lower Manhattan property owners.)

-Matthew Schuerman

A few years ago, supporters of a new train to J.F.K.  read more »

The New York State Democratic Party is taking John Sweeney, Tom Reynolds, Sue Kelly, Jim Walsh, and Randy Kuhl to task for voting for what they call a "weaker ethics bill," in the House yesterday.

The bill was passed 217-213, to the dismay of the Washington Post editorial board, who wrote this about it yesterday.

—Nicole Brydson

So Tom Golisano has officially gone Republican, as per a statement posted today on his website.

The Rochester billionaire name-drops John McCain, Joe Bruno, and Tom Reynolds as pols who lobbied him to cross over, and insists that a new ballot line won't mean new principles. In short, he says he's still committed to lowering taxes and spending, squeezing out the influence of special interests, rooting out Medicaid fraud, and strengthening public schools.

By way of self-definition, he also adds: "I don't believe you have to be born into the Republican Party to be a good Republican, after all, Ronald Reagan, Rudy Giuliani and Michael Bloomberg all switched Parties to become Republicans."

And: "I am most comfortable in the McCain/Reform wing of the Republican Party."

Our former intern, Azi Paybarah, just spoke with Golisano adviser Roger Stone, who said that the newly-minted Republican doesn't plan on attending the October 12 G.O.P screening in Plattsburgh.

"When you have the kind of resources he has, you can afford to wait a little bit," he told Azi. "So, no he does not intend to go to any of these dog and pony shows."  read more »

Hat tip to Ira Stoll at the Sun, who rightfully kicks us under the table for not posting Golisano's move earlier.

The deepening reds and blues of America's political map are making it harder and harder to be a Repu  read more »

Few people in New York City have heard of U.S. Representative Thomas Reynolds.  read more »