Remember when Spitzer 2010 sounded so imminent?

Well, according to the New York Observer, former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s campaign will be returning money to donors who request a refund.

The email to donors from campaign spokeswoman Allyson Giard reads:

“As you are likely aware, we are currently disbanding Spitzer 2010. We intend to re-distribute the campaign’s remaining funds on a pro-rata basis to contributors who make an official request for a refund, either by email or letter.

“To expedite this process, we have set a deadline of June 15; in order to be honored, a refund request must be received by the campaign office by close of business on that date. After June 15, we will determine the rate at which we are able to issue contribution refunds and will begin issuing checks. (We will not be able to honor any requests received after June 15.)….

“This has obviously been a difficult period for everyone, particularlyfor those individuals who were supportive of the campaign, and I want to personally express my appreciation for your patience andunderstanding during this time. Please do not hesitate to contact me if there is anything I can do to be of assistance to you.”

State Assembly Republican Leader James Tedisco has put online his petition to have Assembly Democrats pass a state gas-tax suspension from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

Meamwhile, Senate Republicans, who passed a gas-tax suspension last week, said more than 20,000 New Yorkers have signed petitions set up by its members.

Tedisco’s petition can be found here.

As the state looks to curb costs in the face of a weakening economy, state workers continue to rack up overtime pay, a review of state records shows.

Overtime costs among the state’s nearly 400 agencies jumped by more than $66 million between 2005 and 2007, a 16 percent increase, and some state workers have more than doubled their salaries because of the state’s generous overtime.

The top beneficiary in 2007 was a nurse at the Rochester Psychiatric Center, according records provided by the state Comptroller’s Office. Mei Kuei Lin brought in $113,282 in overtime in 2007, more than double the nurse’s $61,757 salary.

The top five overtime recipients in the state in 2007 were workers at the state’s psychiatric centers, which unions say have been woefully understaffed.

Overall, state overtime soared to $481 million in 2007, from $437 million in 2006 and $415 million in 2005.

State Police had the largest amount of overtime in each of the past three years, with $43 million in 2007. Yet that was down from $52 million in 2006, records show.

That was part of Gov. David Paterson’s response to questions about why he wants to remove an upstate chairman of the Empire State Development Corp. and replace it with one statewide chair.

He said he doesn’t want to take away representation of upstate businesses, but feels it’s important to have one person at the helm of the agency. Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer split the agency into an upstate and downstate branch, which has been hailed by upstate business leaders.

Business leaders in upstate are criticizing the governor’s plans to go back to the old policy, in which a New York City chairperson oversees the state’s entire economic development program.

Right now, Dan Gundersen serves as the upstate chair, based out of Buffalo.

“No one has said that we are taking Mr. Gundersen away from upstate,” Paterson told reporters after a town-hall meeting in Batavia on farm issues with Sen. Charles Schumer.  (There is Paterson and Schumer, on right, before the event today.)

“And I certainly understand that the economy is reeling, the anxiety is overflowing in upstate New York.”

Paterson went on to say that “I wanted to have an ability of the agency to have a centralized organization” yet he doesn’t plan to diminish any services to upstate.

“If we don’t change something, we’re not going to have improvement around here,” Paterson said.

“And I would invite some of those who said they were irked, to please call me because I let them know since the time I was in office two months ago that if they ever had a problem, they should call me and not one of them have called me in the past few days.”

State Conservative Party Chairman Mike Long is scheduled to be the guest speaker at the Westchester Conservative Committee’s annual dinner Thursday night.

The $300-per-ticket fundraiser begins at 6 p.m. at BOE Restaurant, 324 Central Park Ave,  in White Plains.

At a campaign stop in Clear Fork, W. Va., Hillary Rodham Clinton this afternoon downplayed her 36 point lead in a new poll released by Suffolk University.

“I don’t count on any polls except the ones that actually are on Election Day,’’ Clinton said during a brief hallway interview at West Side High School. “So I’m going to wait and see what happens tomorrow.’’

The Suffolk University poll found Clinton with the support of 60 percent of likely Democratic voters and Barack Obama with 24 percent.

But doesn’t it get you excited when a poll shows you with a huge lead, she was asked.

“I don’t get excited and I don’t get unexcited,’’ she said. “I just do what I do every day. For me it’s about what voters actually do.’’

However, at her next campaign stop in the southern West Virginia community of Logan, Clinton was introduced by a supporter from the state legislature who urged voters to help Clinton score a lopsided victory of 80-20 or even 90-10 that would send a message to the national media.

Clinton seemed to agree. She concluded her tump speech by saying, “This is going to be a crucial turning point in this election.’’

U.S. Rep. John Hall, D-Dover Plains, was at a Mobil gas station in Yorktown Heights today to talk about how he would lower the price of gas at the pump by 24 cents a gallon.

Hall and 93 other Congress members have urged President Bush to stop buying oil to fill the Strategic Petroleum Reserve for the rest of 2008 or until the price of oil remains under $50 per barrel for three months.

“President Bush is violating one of the most fundamental rules of the market: buy low and sell high,” Hall said. “Right now he’s doing the opposite at the expense of taxpayers and to the detriment of the American driver.”

The President has the authority to authorize a drawdown of the petroleum reserve through an oil release or oil swap in a time of crisis. But instead of releasing oil from the reserve into the market, Bush is taking 70,000 barrels of oil every day and putting it into the reserve, Hall said.

The U.S. Department of Energy recently announced that they plan to increase that rate to 76,000 barrels per day before the end of the summer. At present, the reserve is 97 percent full, containing 700 million barrels of oil.

In 2000, President Bill Clinton released 30 million barrels of oil from the reserve, Hall said. Within several days, crude oil had fallen by $6, home heating oil was down 10 cents on the wholesale market, and wholesale gasoline was down 14 cents, Hall said.

Hoping to drum up support and money for Rep. Randy Kuhl’s re-election bid, the National Republican Congressional Committee released a poll today that it conducted in January that shows Kuhl with a 20 percentage-point lead over Democrat Eric Massa.

Kuhl represents the 29th Congressional District, which runs from the Southern Tier to the Rochester suburbs.

Politicial parties will release internal polls to help show the viability of their candidate and spur campaign contributions and support. So it’s interesting that a two-term incumbent would have to release a poll that shows he’s in the lead against Massa, whom Kuhl narrowly beat two years ago.

But Kuhl has been outraised by Massa this year, and Kuhl remains one of the most vulnerable Republican House members upstate, especially after his Republican colleagues, Reps. Thomas Reynolds and James Walsh, have chosen to retire than seek re-election in November.

The poll had a margin of error of nearly 8 percentage points and was a small sample of only 300 voters in the district, which is the most heavily Republican seat in the state.

“As the numbers in this polling memo illustrate, Randy Kuhl is well-positioned to win in November. Eric Massa is a re-run candidate that now will carry the weight of a Democrat Congress that has voted for new taxes and increased spending at every turn on his shoulders,” NRCC spokeswoman Julie Shutley said.

There was no immediate reaction from Massa’s campaign.

Updated: Here’s the response from Massa campaign manager Dave Marion:

“Eric Massa is focused on creating good jobs with benefits in Western New York, not cooking up last winter’s left-over poll numbers. When this poll was taken last winter, the majority of people thought that the Patriots were going to win the Super Bowl, but we know how that turned out.”

Touting the success today of the state’s recent decision to triple its film tax credit (from 10 percent to 30 percent), Gov. David Paterson announced today that production of the ABC series “Ugly Betty” would be returning to New York City.  The city’s 5 percent “Made in NY” tax credit will boost that to 35 percent.

The show’s move will create 200 full- and part-time jobs and is the first time an established television show has transferred its operations to New York City, according to Paterson. The state has lost about $750 million in film and TV business in the past few years because of increased competition from neighboring states.  The state tax credit is expected to cost the state $5 million this year, $10 million next year, and $15 million the third year.

New York City is one of the most desired filiming locations in the country and we are pleased to welcome ‘Ugly Betty’ into that storied history,” Paterson said in a statement. “With this hit show set to film in Manhattan and Queens, this will allow viewers to see more of our great city.”

The pilot for “Ugly Betty”—about Betty Suarez, a “fashion-challenged” Queens woman who works for a high-fashion New York City magazine— was shot in New York City three years ago, but the series has been filmed in Los Angeles for two seasons. Mark Pedowitz, president of ABC Studios, said the higher tax incentive made the return possible. Read more of this entry »

As you might expect, Westchester Democratic Chairman Reginald LaFayette is among the die hards who still give Hillary Clinton “a shot” at winning the party’s nomination for president.

“Everyday there are developments occuring and we don’t how many of those superdelegates are going to be switching sides, just like they are doing now,” LaFayette said in a telephone conversation a few moments ago.

LaFayette, who presides over the party in Clinton’s home county, said Clinton should at least remain in the race through the conclusion of all the primary contests.

“I think you should at least give every state a chance to play a part,” LaFayette said.

Regardless of who the Democrats nominate, however, LaFayette still sees a big Democratic turnout in Westchester this fall and easy re-election victories for local Democratic incumbents — especially state Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, who Senate Republicans have targeted.

“I don’t think Suzi is in danger in a presidential year,” LaFayette said.