Desmond Hotel

While we're awaiting the results of today's (seriously) exciting vote at the Republican convention between Bill Weld and John Faso, the following:

It wouldn't be convention season without the Working Families Party, which will have its say on the statewide candidates this Saturday at the Desmond Hotel in Albany.

The party will formally endorse Spitzer-Paterson and Alan Hevesi and -- given the way the state's most political influential unions have lined up in the attorney general's race - the rank-and-file seems pretty likely to give their backing to Andrew Cuomo for attorney general.

The most interesting storyline will be the efforts of Jonathan Tasini, the anti-war protest candidate in the U.S. Senate race, to force Hillary Clinton into a potentially uncomfortable primary election that will focus almost exclusively on Iraq.

It's doubtful whether Tasini can actually get the 25 percent of delegates necessary to get on the ballot, but he should at least receive a somewhat more sympathetic hearing from the WFP's left-leaning members than he did from the Democrats in Buffalo.

(No word yet on whether he's planning to show up on a bike.)

The other interesting sub-plot, which won't be resolved until November, will be the party's efforts to leapfrog the Conservative Party into fourth place on the ballot. The WFP drew 167,000 votes on its line for Chuck Schumer two years ago, and is aiming to get 200,000 this year for Spitzer.

Can it be done? Predictions, please.

Tomorrow morning Eliot Spitzer will address the CSEA Statewide Board of Directors at the Desmond Hotel in Colonie.

In the evening, Ted Kennedy will be in town stumping for his new book America Back On Track at Le Parker Meridian Hotel.

And KT McFarland makes two stops tomorrow night, first to stump for the New York Young Republican Club, then at the monthly meeting of the Log Cabin Republicans.

—Nicole Brydson

On Saturday, Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson will attend the Women of Color for Change breakfast at Albany's Desmond Hotel, where Eliot will give the keynote speech.

In the city, Libertarian candidates Jeff Russell and Steve Greenfield--both running for U.S. Senate--will discuss peace and war, and the Independence Party holds a discussion on what else? Itself (pdf).

On Sunday morning, the 14th Congressional District Caucus will hear from Eliot at the NYU Medical School, right before he receives endorsements from a number of West Side Officials, including Jerry Nadler, Scott Stringer and Chris Quinn.

Then, up in Albany, John Faso and KT McFarland will address the New York State Young Republican Leadership Conference.

On Monday, John Spencer and KT will face off in a forum at Glens Falls Civic Center and Bill Weld will address the Log Cabin Republicans of New York City.

—Nicole Brydson