Politics on the Hudson

Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, entered history as the first woman Speaker of the House of Representatives. Seated in Pelosi’s box in the House gallery were Tony Bennett, Richard Gere, Carole King, members of Pelosi’s family and other supporters.  The roll call vote started at 12:43 p.m., and progressed slowly. She was nominated by Rep. Rahm Emanuel, D-IL and new chair of the Democratic Caucus, the Number 4 position in the House.  Her first hug when they called for the vote went to Rep. Charles Rangel, D-NY.

As he waited to be sworn in to his first term in the House of Representatives, Congressman-elect John Hall, D-NY from the 19th Congressional District, spent 10 minutes on the House floor deeply engrossed in conversation with Rep. Jane Harman, D-CA and the senior Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee who was passed over by Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi for the coveted chairmanship.  Where’s a good NSA wiretap when you really need one?

I saw a faded blue van parked in front of the Brewster Elks Lodge on Route 22 this morning, eye-catching only because it was plastered with Greg Ball campaign signs and a few James Reitz signs. Reitz, a Republican, is running for county judge.

Ball is a Republican running for state Assembly. He easily knocked off Assemblyman Will Stephens, an attorney, in last month’s GOP primary and faces Democrat Ken Harper next week.

Anyway, the Elks Lodge sits across the street from Stephens’ law office.
—Mike Risinit

Former President Bill Clinton will host a fundraiser for Andrew Cuomo’s campaign for attorney general tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the Rainbow Room in New York City. Cuomo served in Clinton’s cabinet from 1997 to 2000 as head of the office of Housing and Urban Development.
—Liz Anderson

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. helped raise funds for the John Hall for Congress campaign Saturday in South Salem.

Kennedy, a professor of Environmental Law at Pace University School of Law and co-director of Pace’s Environmental Litigation Clinic, has said he backs Hall for his work to clean up the Hudson River and his other environmental efforts.

No word yet on how much money was raised at the fundraiser.
—Susan Elan

They’re calling it a “Rally for Change.”

President Bill Clinton will campaign with Democratic Congressional candidate John Hall at an event in Cortlandt Manor on Monday afternoon.

“This is a big time race and everyone wants to be part of it,” said Hall’s campaign manager Amy Little. “John Hall has been very clear about his opposition to the war and about wanting the troops to come home now. President Clinton sees the need for a change in government and he sees John Hall as a part of that change.”

Hall is seeking to unseat six-term Republican incumbent Sue Kelly of Katonah, who supports Bush administration policy in Iraq.
—Susan Elan

Say this about Jeanine Pirro, she doesn’t seem to mind the cold weather.

Standing outside the Grace Baptist Church in Mount Vernon, Pirro eschewed a coat as she stood in a cold, blustery wind to receive the endorsement of the Rev. W. Franklyn Richardson.

“This is nothing,” Pirro, an Elmira native, told a reporter moments afterward. “Upstate, it’s freezing.”

Richardson, a Democrat, praised Pirro, saying Westchester’s former district attorney “has been such a wonderful leader in this community. She has stood up for all of our people.” The influential church leader also said he was “appalled” by the ongoing federal probe of Pirro and suggested it was timed to hurt Pirro’s candidacy.

Pirro later addressed the largely African-American congregation and received a warm ovation. About a third of the 150 or so people stood and applauded as she rose to speak.
—Glenn Blain.

The following is from guest blogger Desiree Grand:

Eastchester Councilman Michael Cahalin said he was not trying to take credit for the town’s Gold Star Mothers monument in a recent Editorial Board interview with The Journal News. He was merely expressing his pleasure on serving on the board that did play a role erecting the statue, he said.

Cahalin, who is running for re-election, drew the ire of the town veterans after his comments about his involvement with the monument. The monument, which was unveiled in September, was a product of the town’s veterans group which had worked on the project for years.

Cahalin said he “had nothing to do” with the town’s Gold Star Mothers monument. “As a recent member of the board I am proud the current board was able to work with the veterans on such a beautiful monument,” he said.

Cahalin has been on the board since May.
—Desiree Grand

The State University of New York Voter Empowerment Challenge—a collaboration between United University Professions, the New York Public Interest Research Group, New York State United Teachers, the SUNY Student Assembly and Rock the Vote!—registered more than 11,000 voters on SUNY campuses this fall. Each campus competed to register the most students. SUNY at Albany led the way, with 2,500 students. The campus will be rewarded with a concert. SUNY New Paltz had close to 1,200 new registrants.

“Students eagerly registered to vote so they have a voice and can make a difference,” said Jerome Garrett, a statewide coordinator for the project and a UUP/NYSUT intern. The five-week non-partisan registration drive involved all 64 SUNY campuses. “We think it’s great that these thousands of students are now able to take the future into their own hands and help determine who our elected leaders will be,” said William Scheuerman, president of UUP. “As registered voters, they have gained the power to mold the future of their communities and our nation.”
—Cara Matthews

Democratic Congressional candidate John Hall liquidated his retirement mutual fund today and switched over to CDs instead.

The move followed a charge by Republican incumbent Sue Kelly that Hall is profiteering by owning a mutual fund that contained a $57 investment in Schlumberger, an oil company recently fined $12 million for dumping polychlorinated biphenyls in a South Carolina lake.

Hall said he wasn’t aware that the polluter was included in the fund and when he learned of it, he got rid of it.

No news of whether Kelly has sold her stock in Exxon Mobil Corp.
—Susan Elan