Politics on the Hudson

The following is brought to you by guest blogger Ernie Garcia, who is tracking the 34th state Senate race between Democratic Sen. Jeff Klein and Republican Jay Savino:

The race in the 34th Senate district is heating up on the Internet as partisans for Sen. Jeff Klein and his Republican challenger Jay Savino barrage The Journal News with emails slamming their candidate’s opponent.

One side questions Klein’s ethics because he sued a 9/11 clean-up worker to get a share of his workers compensation proceeds. Klein’s firm lost the suit. The other side says Savino is untrustworthy because of his history of speeding tickets and questions about his Bronx residency.

The Savino camp even launched an email campaign on Thursday to lobby The Journal News about it coverage of the race. A copy of that email (accidentally?) landed in my inbox:

“Dawn, John (and anyone else who can muster up a group of people to do the following): We need to get 40 to 50 people (closer to 50, or more) to e-mail a reporter and his editor at the Journal News ASAP regarding the Klein 9/11 stuff. This is a tall order, but really need to put the Journal News in a position where they cannot ignore this. Inundate them with E-mails.”

A Savino hater sent The Journal News a 20-year history of Savino’s DMV record, which includes at least a half dozen convictions for speeding in the metro area. Savino said he shouldn’t be judged by his youthful driving habits and he noted that he has not received such tickets in the past decade.

The same Savino hater also noted that Savino calls himself a life-long Bronx resident despite the fact that he was listed in Journal News birth announcements as a Congers resident in 2003 and in 1999. Savino says his wife is from Congers and that her doctor is still based in Rockland County. He added that she had a difficult pregnancy with one child and had to move in with her parents while Jay lived in the Bronx. Savino did acknowledge that he lived in England from age nine to 11.

As for Klein, Savino and his partisans have complained that The Journal News ignored Klein’s law firm’s suit of a 9/11 rescuer and charging others high fees.

In one case, according to the New York Lawyer, Klein’s law firm Klein, Calderoni & Santucci sued a man for $35,000 of his $204,451 payment from the September 11th Victims Compensation Fund. (Klein, Calderoni & Santucci v. Bazerjian, 22351/04)

A state judge ruled last year that the firm could not collect the money because Klein’s partner Fred T. Santucci, Jr. did not have the client sign a retainer or letter of engagement before he represented him before in an appellate hearing.

On Friday Klein said that his firm did not do anything improper. In addition he said that his firm had three other 9/11 cases and that fees in the cases were assessed after his partner consulted with any lawyer.

Klein explained that in personal injury cases state law limits a fee to 33 percent, but 9/11 compensation does not have any limits. Therefore his firm’s fees ranged from 15 to 25 percent depending of the difficulty of the cases.

“This is classic Republican majority attacks. They run a candidate who has no record,” said Klein. “Over the past two weeks all they’ve sent out is this.”
—Ernie Garcia

The Nick Spano for Senate campaign is accusing Andrea Stewart-Cousins’ camp of dirty tricks. Apparently, Yonkers Police caught a few campaign staffers vandalizing campaign signs.

The Stewart-Cousins camp apologized and Spano said he didn’t plan to press charges.
—Michael Gannon

Democratic frontrunner Eliot Spitzer has $8.2 million left in his campaign account to spend in the final 11 days in the run for governor. Republican John Faso has just $752,881.

That’s according to campaign-finance statements the would-be governors filed Friday with the state Board of Elections. Spitzer raised $1.6 million during the last three weeks, bringing his overall fund-raising total to $40.7 million. Faso raised just $260,521 during the same time period, bringing his overall fund-raising total to $3.7 million.
—Yancey Roy

Republican Congresswoman Sue Kelly is offering a $100 reward to anyone who video tapes “individuals in the act” of vandalizing or stealing her campaign signs. Kelly makes the offer on her campaign website.

“The actions of these individuals is illegal and at the very least-desperate and mean spirited,” Kelly writes. “As such, we are hoping that you will be able to help put a stop to this amatuerish behavior.”

Police in Croton have been investigating the disappearance of more than 40 John Hall for Congress signs.

“The over zealous do stuff like that,” said Hall, Kelly’s Democratic opponent in the race for the District 19 Congressional seat.
—Susan Elan

Add one more event to Congressional candidate John Hall’s schedule. Gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer is scheduled to campaign with him Tuesday at a 3:30 p.m. event in Newburgh, location TBA.

Earlier in the day, Spitzer will make two stops in Yonkers with state Senate candidate Andrea Stewart-Cousins. The duo will greet commuters starting at 7:45 a.m. at the Yonkers train station on Buena Vista Avenue, then head to the Emerald Diner on South Broadway a half-hour later.

Astoundingly, two weekends before the election, Spitzer’s schedule for tomorrow and Sunday says ‘’No Public Schedule.’’
—Liz Anderson

Democratic candidate John Hall has a busy week scheduled as the election count down begins.

Hall starts off the week in Yorktown Heights with a news conference Monday on ending the Iraq War.

Tuesday, Hall campaign manager Amy Little will talk about how the John Hall for Congress campaign moved from long-shot, underdog status to become a strong challenge to six-term incumbent Republican Sue Kelly.

Hall boards Metro-North Wednesday from Poughkeepsie at 5:45 a.m., picking up supporters at stops in New Hamburg, Beacon, Cold Spring, Garrison, Peekskill, Cortlandt. A rally is planned at 7 a.m. at the Croton-Harmon station.

Hall is joined Thursday by U.S. Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), the ranking Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee. Together, they will tour Westchester VA hospitals and make a visit to West Point.

Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson joins Hall in Westchester Friday to talk about how the U.S. got into Iraq. Wilson gained widespread noteriety for challenging the Bush Administration’s “evidence” of WMDs in Iraq. Wilson’s whistle blowing led to the exposure of his wife, Valerie Plame, as a clandestine CIA officer.
—Susan Elan

Democratic congressional candidate John Hall raised almost twice as much money as Republican incumbent Sue Kelly between October 1 and 18, according to the Federal Election Commission.

During the period Kelly raised $120,786 and Hall raised $226,007. Political Party Committees did not make direct contributions to either candidate. Political Action Committees gave Kelly $53,671 during the period, while Hall got $28,225.

Kelly has just under $1 million left to spend. Hall has $131,519.

Hall’s press secretary Tom Staudter said the work of about 1,200 volunteers can make up for the difference.
—Susan Elan

Gov. George Pataki announced this afternoon that he had appointed former prosecutor David Kelley to determine whether he should recommend an impeachment trial of Comptroller Alan Hevesi.

The governor said it is possible Kelley, could review the case and make a recommendation before Election Day. The impeachment process would not be completed prior to Nov. 7, he said.

The governor said he would not proceed with a recommendation to the state Senate unless he was 100 percent confident, upon the advice of Kelley, that a strong case exists against Hevesi.

Kelley is a former U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.

‘’This is a sad day for New Yorkers. We have to have confidence, not just in our electoral process, but in our elected officials,’’ said Pataki, who mentioned several times in his remarks the state faces ‘’extraordinary circumstances’’ in this matter.
—Cara Matthews

Republican John Spencer visited The Journal News’ editorial board this afternoon and, in addition to criticizing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton for politicizing the war in Iraq, also poked fun at the constant buzz in Yonkers that he’s planning to run for mayor again.

“I find it fascinating that people don’t have lives,” Spencer said. “People should get on with their own lives….Yonkers is a city that just constantly swirls with rumors and conspiracies and innuendos…That’s what they do. I can’t control it.”

But when asked what he does plan to do next year, Spencer would only say “I have no idea.” He also declined to describe his relationship with his successor, Mayor Phil Amicone.

“I am a candidate for Senate,” Spencer said.
—Glenn Blain

The Alliance for Retired Americans, which includes 590,000 New Yorkers, today endorsed John Hall, the Democratic candidate for Congress from the 19th District.

George J. Kourpias, president of the Alliance, cited Hall’s “leadership on issues such as the need for a comprehensive prescription drug benefit program under Medicare that benefits seniors-not insurance and drug companies.”

Hall is critical of the Medicare Plan D program, supported by Republican incumbent Sue Kelly, which prevents the government from negotiating with the industry for lower drug prices.

The organization also praised Hall for his opposition to the Bush administration’s drive to privatize Social Security.
—Susan Elan