Adriano Espaillat

Not surprisingly, Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat of Manhattan, who is also Hillary Clinton delegate, wants to see Florida delegates seated at the national convention.

“If I was a Florida voter, I would feel pretty upset,” he told me just now. “And I would find it egregious that the party is telling me that my vote doesn’t count.“

He went on, “There has to be a solution. I would walk into court if I was a voter and try to get some relief there."

Espillate knows he's biased, but swears there's more to his position.

"Some people may say, ‘Well, you know, you’re a Hillary delegate. Obviously she won there,’" he told me. "But I think Florida, which is a big state and an emerging state with regards to their delegate count, is a growing state, cannot be left out of a convention. And voters in Florida must have an ability to feel that their vote counts. And if the party doesn’t do that, I think that’s a black eye for the party.”

More after the jump.  read more »

After the death the death of Eliot Spitzer's plan to give undocumented residents driver’s licenses, the new debate is about who's to blame for the way things turned out.

During a roundtable discussion with legislators on Inside City Hall, Democratic Assemblyman Ruben Diaz, Jr. of the Bronx said it was Spitzer’s fault for not holding out for some concession.
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Continuing with our marginally useful compilation of Hillary Clinton-designated Democratic National Convention delegates for next year, here's who the campaign picked in the Harlem-based 15th congressional district, according to a reader in the district and confirmed by a knowledgeable Democrat.

The delegates are: Assemblyman Keith Wright, City Councilwoman and Charlie Rangel ally Inez Dickens, Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat (who championed the original driver's license policy that tripped up Clinton during the last debate), City Councilwoman Melissa Mark-Viverito (who has close ties to 1199), City Councilman Miguel Martinez, and disabled activist Pamela Bates.

The alternate is City Councilman Robert Jackson.

Eliot Spitzer just held a press conference with some Latino lawmakers to discuss disaster relief efforts for victims of the hurricane in the Dominic Republic which, the governor said, has displaced tens of thousands of people and killed 150.

“This really is one of those tragic moments that makes us ask ourselves, ‘What can we do to help?’” Spitzer said.

In his midtown office, Spitzer announced he was sending the 105th Air Wing of the Nation Guard, with two Black Hawk helicopters, to the hurricane affected areas for rescue missions.

The event was short, and sparsely attended by news reporters. (They announced they’d be having the 3 p.m. press conference at 2 p.m.)

But the event was, at least on one level, a success.  read more »

In advance of the state legislature’s return to session next week,  Michael Bloomberg and city officials are holding a press conference to put pressure on the handful of state legislators who oppose re-opening the Gansevoort waste transfer station on Manhattan’s West Side, a key component of the city‘s five-borough garbage plan.

At a press conference in City Hall’s Blue Room, Marty Markowitz said he strongly supports the move, but understands that local officials near the Gansevoort site may be facing pressure from their constituents. Bloomberg quickly sought to correct him.

Bloomberg cited Christine Quinn, who has the site in her district and who said that in the two years she’s advocated for the transfer site, she’s only gotten eight complaints from constituents.

Bloomberg said the opposition to the plan is a result of “some Assembly people who don’t want to stand up.”

Adriano Espaillat, borrowing a reference to Muhammad Ali, said this issue may turn into the “Thrilla in Albany.” Carmen Arroyo took it one step further, saying, “When I raise my voice, those four people that are against this have to listen and get out of the way.“

“For the record,” Bloomberg added, “nobody is encouraging physical violence. The allusions to fights notwithstanding.”

Eliot Spitzer is not an easy guy to disagree with (just ask James Tedisco, Joe Bruno and Michael Bloomberg). But it must be even harder when you’re a Democrat who disagrees with Spitzer, especially when you differ with him over his major initiative to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses.

Yesterday, I chatted with one such Democrat, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, who said, “From Mayor Bloomberg to a number of people around the state and the nation feel that the sanctity of a license should not be watered down. There's a feeling that's what this might do. This is one issue where we disagree. I would say on 99 of 100, we're together trying to reform this state.”

I asked him about that press conference of a group of the plan's supporters at which one official called Levy a “little Bull Connor.”

Levy corrected me, saying it wasn‘t a group of elected official who invoked that name. “No. It was one guy. Adriano Espaillat.”

More after the jump.  read more »

Advocates of Eliot Spitzer's executive order to allow non-legal residents to obtain driver's licenses have just turned up the volume.

At a press conference just now on the City Hall steps, Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat compared one vocal critic, Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy, to a “little Bull Connor.”

Espaillat went on to say that there is nothing to fear from the people who will be affected by the change in the law. “I don’t think we need to be concerned about a Mexican going to Home Depot to get some materials to do your lawn,” he said.

City Councilman Miguel Martinez said Michael Bloomberg was opposing the plan for slightly less sinister reasons: national ambition.

“This is about what is right for the mayor politically and his national agenda,” Martinez said. “Just like a former mayor who used to champion issues of immigrants for the city of New York and said that the doors were open, for all immigrants, is now saying it is not."

Tomorrow is primary day in Connecticut, in case you were living in a cave.

New York State's Commission on Health Care Facilities in the 21st Century hosts a breakfast briefing at Brooklyn Borough Hall with Adriano Espaillat and Helen Sears scheduled to speak to community activists and health advocates.

The 27th Annual New York City Economic Development and Business Awards Luncheon and Expo at Columbia University's Alfred Lerner Hall will include panel discussions with Charles Rangel, Scott Stringer, Eliot Spitzer, Bill Thompson and Dan Doctoroff.

Al Sharpton will host his nationally syndicated talk show 'Keepin' it Real' from 1-4pm in Hartford (AM 330) with Ned Lamont, Jesse Jackson and Maxine Waters.

John Hall will hold a press conference on the steps of Town Hall in Yorktown Heights.

Christopher Callaghan hosts a fundraiser at the Union League Club.

KT McFarland hosts a young professional fundraiser at 230 Fifth.

—Nicole Brydson

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

One of Bill Weld's donors is an indicted Massachussets pol, Tom Finneran, the Boston Globe reports. And Uptown Assemblyman Adriano Espaillat shares a byline in Baltimore with blogger/activist David Sirota, calling for states to force employers to offer health insurance.  read more »