THE NEW YORK SUN

"'Mistakes Were Made'"

By JACOB GERSHMAN

November 5, 2007

It's been a busy year for Lloyd Constantine, Governor Spitzer's senior adviser and confidant in the executive chamber.

Mr. Constantine, a former antitrust litigator and assistant attorney general under Robert Abrams, has been consumed by two of the governor's most ambitious long-term projects.

He's running Mr. Spitzer's higher education commission, which will soon release a roadmap for bringing more direction and prestige to the sprawling State University of New York system, as well as a local government commission, charged with the task of shaving down the endless layers of taxing jurisdictions in New York.

He calculates that he's logged 20,000 air miles crisscrossing the state.

In his spare time, he advised the governor on changing Interest on Lawyer Account Fund regulations so that banks pay more interest on the accounts, thereby generating tens of millions of more dollars a year for civil legal services.

Now, Mr. Constantine says he soon intends to spend more time at the home offices, keeping closer tabs on an administration that some say is in disarray.

On Thursday, I sat down for coffee with Mr. Constantine to talk about the mushrooming controversy over illegal alien driver's licenses and the road ahead for Mr. Spitzer, whom he said he speaks with on a nightly basis.

I asked him about the bipartisan political backlash that has emerged against Mr. Spitzer's plan to adopt the federal REAL ID Act and to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.

On the issue Mr. Constantine is adamant:

"This makes New York more safe and secure."

"I think it makes the country more safe and secure now."

"We're taking a lot of hell from both sides here, but I think we've done the right thing," he said.

The governor's critics said his endorsement of REAL ID signified a retreat.

Could the administration have avoided the "hell on both sides" by rolling out the license plan as one policy package?

"People have this whiplash effect …"

"If you look at the public record, you see it was always the intention, our intention, the intention of the administration to roll this out with full recognition that there would be another class of ID, which would not be available to this population," he said.

"Some of the people that are really mad at us now, are mad at us in truth because they feel it has expedited REAL ID, when they wanted it to never happen …"

"I think, frankly, the federal government and homeland security should be quite happy here because what we did both facilitated and expedited something that they wanted to do …"

"It looks to me like REAL ID is going to occur faster now as a result of what we did."

Yes, but many of the governor's own party members in Albany say they were taken by surprise by Mr. Spitzer's embrace of REAL ID.

They don't recall the governor ever conveying that he supported implementing a national identity card?

"This is something that Eliot talked about during the campaign."

"I do know it was publicly stated in the early part of the year, I believe in February."

"It's sort of like there are times when you don't want to hear something because what you want to hear is what you want to hear …"

"There are people who say: 'We didn't know you were going to do that.'"

"But we said it …"

"Some will disagree that that's a good idea, but we're not going to be obstructionists, and obstruct the federal government from implementing the system."

Privately, a number of Senate Democrats say they are concerned that the license issue could pose a political liability for them next November.

What was the political calculus on the part of the governor?

"I think everything should be part of the calculation …"

"I don't think it's a science."

"I think it's a craft …"

"Let's say safety and security were measured in pounds."

"This made us just one pound safer, but it was wildly unpopular with everybody and with the Senate Democrats."

"Well maybe that's a reason not to do it, and not to do it right now."

"If you feel that there is a significant increase in the safety and security of the state … if you take all of that into consideration, then that may outweigh the political discomfort of some allies."

"Ultimately, I didn't make all of those calculations."

"Ultimately, the governor did."

"I agree it was the right thing to do."

"Listen to Chertoff."

"Chertoff said this is a significant improvement in the safety and security of both the state and the nation."

"Then he says in the next breath, 'I don't agree with giving licenses to illegal aliens.'"

"He's not saying that giving licenses to illegal aliens in any way shape or form detracts from it."

"He knows that it actually adds to the safety and security."

"Essentially he is playing a political game there," he said.

The governor seems to be short on allies and political capital right now.

Do you see that as a problem for his administration as he tries to push his agenda?

"I think our political capital will increase as we accomplish, as we build things, as we make reforms, as we change outmoded systems, as we improve education, as we make government more efficient, as we make the state more secure."

"And therefore, I think ultimately, the political capital will not rest upon the press's daily pronouncements …"

"A fair, sober, dispassionate assessment says we had, in terms of accomplishment, a very good year."

People tend to focus more on the governor's feud with Joseph Bruno and Senate Republicans.

To what extent could Mr. Spitzer's soured relations with Mr. Bruno have been avoided or handled differently?

"Obviously, it could have been handled better."

"I mean obviously, OK."

"Some of the people who handled it are gone …"

"I think I see him taking from it is basically, you know, we just have to get back to work and just steadily and apply ourselves to all of the reasons that we're here."

The governor's decision to unleash the IRS on Mr. Bruno would seem to suggest the governor hasn't moved on.

"I believe that we could have done some things better."

"I believe some mistakes were made …"

"The thing I think about every day is how to do it better the next day."

"And what I see this governor doing is, you know, basically advancing the very agenda that he ran on, the things that he promised, which are schools, economic development, infrastructure …"

"I think that some of us probably failed him over the first 10 months and not being as insistent that that's what we are really here for."

There's a perception that the governor surrounds himself with "yes" people.

Would you say you're one of his "no" people?

"I think I'm one of those people, but I haven't been around as much as I should have."

"He's basically to some extent said that look, I'd like you to be around more than you've been …"

"In the last couple weeks there were any number of opportunities to do, to do something you know of a political thrust ... and in every instance, it's been let's just stick to our work, build, reform, etc."

jacob@nysun.com

http://www.nysun.com/article/65872?page_no=1

NEWSDAY

"Spitzer seeks to quash Senate subpoenas"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY | Associated Press Writer

7:58 PM EST, November 8, 2007

ALBANY, N.Y. - Attorneys for Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer on Thursday sought to quash subpoenas by the Republican-led Senate committee investigating a scandal in which Spitzer aides are accused of political dirty tricks.

The Senate's investigations committee is probing whether Spitzer aides misused state police to compile records of Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno's travel to Manhattan on state aircraft on days he mixed meetings with lobbyists with GOP fundraisers.

"The Senate Committee on Oversight and Governmental Operations' reckless issuance of subpoenas to the governor's office is unconstitutional, politically motivated and a shameful waste of taxpayer dollars," said Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in July found two top Spitzer aides acted improperly in a plan to turn the records over to a reporter to embarrass Bruno.

In September Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares, also a Democrat, found no evidence of a political plot nor any wrongdoing by Spitzer aides.

The state Public Integrity Commission continues to investigate.

Anderson called the Senate's subpoenas a "partisan fishing expedition at taxpayer expense."

"Allowing the Senate to move forward with its investigation would set a dangerous precedent that would allow it to initiate costly investigations at will against any political opponent," she said.

The Senate's subpoenas and the governor's office arguments will be decided by a state Supreme Court judge in Manhattan.

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/new...0,3902582.story

"Ex-Spitzer aide's story still being checked out - Inconsistencies in Darren Dopp's testimony could lead to charges"

By RICK KARLIN, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Friday, November 9, 2007

ALBANY -- Albany County District Attorney David Soares is exploring whether a former top aide to Gov. Eliot Spitzer gave conflicting testimony about his role in the release last summer of Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno's travel records.

If it turns out that Darren Dopp, who was Spitzer's communications director, gave different statements to the state's Public Integrity Commission, the attorney general or to Soares himself, the district attorney could decide to file charges.

Those charges could include perjury or obstruction of justice, according to several sources close to the investigation.

Meanwhile, Senate Republicans on Thursday said they would try to force the Democratic governor to testify under oath before the Senate Investigations Committee, which they control and which is also probing the affair.

On Wednesday, Spitzer's office and Dopp jointly filed court papers attempting to quash a subpoena by the Senate committee seeking e-mails and other correspondence among the governor's top staff.

The supposed discrepancies in Dopp's testimony were brought to light by the state's Public Integrity Commission, which called Dopp in to testify last month.

Dopp spoke with commission members and staffers for some nine hours and his lawyer, Terence Kindlon, said he cooperated in full.

Kindlon could not be reached on Thursday.

Soares did not return messages seeking comment.

In the weeks after Dopp's Oct. 11 visit, the Public Integrity Commission, overseen by Executive Director Herbert Teitelbaum, went to Soares with what it believes was inconsistent testimony.

The commission is one of several investigative bodies looking at the scandal.

In addition to the Senate committee, officials at the state Commission of Investigation have said it will likely launch its own probe as well.

So far, investigations by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and by Soares have been completed.

Investigators may focus on Dopp's role in having acting State Police Superintendent Preston Felton tell his officers to re-create Bruno's travel records with a plan to release them to the media.

There are also questions about whether Spitzer tried to stop the plan when he learned about it.

The attorney general's July 23 report contains no reference to Spitzer's trying to halt the plan.

But Soares' Sept. 21 report found that Spitzer was told in May that his office had been getting media inquiries about Bruno's use of state helicopters.

Spitzer, according to the Soares report, then said he believed that "any response would be an unnecessary distraction."

Spitzer has maintained that he didn't know Dopp and former homeland security official William Howard, were having police compile the records for public release.

Those records quickly became controversial after a July 1 Times Union story questioning Bruno's use of State Police helicopters and drivers for trips to New York City.

The records showed some of the trips coincided with major Republican fundraisers.

Bruno maintains he also did legislative business, though he has not publicly said what it was.

Days after the story, Bruno charged that Spitzer's aides had used State Police to engage in "political espionage."

Cuomo's report found no illegalities but concluded Dopp and Howard wrongly enlisted State Police for what was essentially a political matter.

Investigators for the attorney general didn't actually speak to Dopp, but he and Spitzer's secretary, Richard Baum, submitted written statements.

Dopp was suspended by the governor and later quit to work for a lobbying firm.

He has denied doing anything wrong.

Republican senators say they aren't convinced, however, and have subpoenaed e-mails, BlackBerry messages and other correspondence among Dopp and other aides.

"They want this challenged in court."

"We're going to challenge in court," Bruno spokesman John McArdle said of the governor's efforts to stop the subpoena.

"We're going to prevail, and we're going to force the governor to do what he said he would do voluntarily: testify under oath and cooperate fully and completely -- which he has yet to do with any investigative body that has looked at this matter."

Sen. George Winner, R-Elmira, who heads the Senate Investigations Committee, said the panel will also delve into why Spitzer's attorneys filed the court papers in Manhattan rather than Albany, where the case originated.

Winner questioned whether Spitzer's attorneys believe they can get a more sympathetic ear in New York City.

A Spitzer spokeswoman had no immediate response.

Karlin can be reached at 454-5758 or by e-mail at rkarlin@timesunion.com. With reports from Gannett New Service.

"Schodack race tilts to write-in - Re-canvass of machines gives Lemka narrow lead over Supervisor Secor"

By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Friday, November 9, 2007

SCHODACK -- Write-in candidate Ray Lemka took a 14-vote lead over incumbent Supervisor Beth Secor Thursday after the Rensselaer County Board of Elections re-canvassed voting machines in the town.

Lemka, who had been trailing by more than 70 votes, now leads Secor by a count of 1,657 to 1,643, according to returns tabulated Thursday by the elections board in the historic campaign.

Meanwhile, in the race for district attorney, Democrat Richard J. McNally Jr. continues to lead Republican Greg Cholakis.

The last count announced by the elections board had McNally ahead of Cholakis 18,481 to 18,179.

The county Board of Elections expects to complete the re-canvassing of the machine vote today.

The board will begin counting absentee and affidavit ballots on Tuesday.

Lemka was pleased by the turn in the preliminary election results.

He said the numbers came closer to matching what he and his supporters had counted on election day.

"We sort of knew that all along."

"It's funny all the mistakes they've been making," said Lemka, 76, a retired farmer.

"We'll see what happens."

"Unfortunately, we're not going to do the paper until Tuesday," Lemka said.

Secor could not be reached for comment.

Republican Elections Commissioner Larry Bugbee said the review of the machine totals turned up errors in addition that reduced Secor's total by 86 votes.

She went from a 72-vote lead to trailing by 14 votes.

Bugbee and Democratic Elections Commissioner Edward McDonough did not review the write-in votes for Lemka as part of the re-canvass.

That is expected to take hours or days and will be left to when the absentee ballots are counted.

Secor, 54, ran on the Republican, Independence and Conservative lines.

She defeated Lemka by seven votes, 438-431, in the Republican primary in September.

Secor is seeking her third consecutive term as supervisor.

She served two terms in the 1980s.

Lemka launched his write-in campaign after a court ruled that the caucus in which town Democrats selected him as their supervisor candidate was invalid.

The results in the district attorney's election remain too close too call.

The re-canvassing has uncovered errors in totaling vote counts off the machines in several communities, which is not unusual.

The absentee ballots will determine the eventual outcome of the race.

The county Board of Elections issued 2,364 absentee ballots countywide, and as of Wednesday had received 1,646 back.

Absentee ballots that are received by the board by Tuesday, Nov. 13, and have a postmark of no later than Nov. 5 will be counted.

Military ballots may be received until Nov. 20.

Kenneth C. Crowe II can be reached at 454-5084 or by e-mail at kcrowe@timesunion.com.

Mail-in ballot count

In New York state, absentee ballots have to be postmarked before midnight of the day before Election Day.

The mailed ballot has seven days to arrive at the proper county Board of Elections, so it sometimes takes a week to find out the winner of a close race when absentee ballots are involved.

Military ballots sent and returned from overseas posts can push that window.

Those ballots also must be postmarked before midnight on the day before the election but are allowed about 14 days to show up at boards of elections.

That deadline is Nov. 19 this year.

"Election mistakes color DA race - Lead in tight Rensselaer County race now belongs to Democrat after officials review results"

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, November 8, 2007

TROY -- The winner of the squeaky close Rensselaer County district attorney's race may not be known until next week, though polling mistakes found late Wednesday put Democrat Richard J. McNally Jr. in the lead.

Voters went to bed after an election-night cliffhanger with Troy Republican Greg Cholakis leading the Valley Falls Democrat by 213 votes.

After a post-election review by tired election officials early Wednesday, the lead shrank to 98 votes.

Mistakes were then found later in the day in machine tallies in Grafton and Schodack, giving McNally a 302-vote lead.

The vote totals were 18,481 for McNally and 18,179 for Cholakis, according to Democratic County Chairman Tom Wade.

Election officials at the county Board of Elections would not confirm the number, saying both sides must sit down today and go over the totals for a final official tally.

The board issued 2,364 absentee ballots and, as of Wednesday, had received 1,646 back.

Those are scheduled to be opened Friday, officials said.

Absentee ballots postmarked by Nov. 5 and received by Tuesday, Nov. 13, will also be counted.

Cholakis' team says they have more absentee ballots than McNally after a review of the party affiliations on the ballots sent out and assuming the votes on the returns will go along party lines.

"I'd like to know how they know that," Wade asked.

"We put up the better candidate and Rich ran a very dynamic campaign and carried some towns Democrats have never carried before."

Current District Attorney Patricia DeAngelis, a Republican, decided not to run for re-election.

She had a rough term, with reversals on cases that brought a stream of public criticism.

Some political pundits suggested those problems gave the Democrat a boost.

"I don't want to speculate on any effect the current holder of the office had on the election," said Republican County Chairman Jack Casey.

"What I think hurt Greg was the negative campaigning done by the Democrats."

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"TV host Jim Cramer slams Andrew Cuomo for probe"

BY STEPHANIE GASKELL, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Friday, November 9th 2007, 4:00 AM

CNBC's 'Mad Money' host Jim Cramer slammed state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for wreaking havoc on the mortgage industry by investigating one of its biggest lenders.

"This guy is going to shut down the mortgage market," Cramer fumed on air Thursday during CNBC's "Street Signs" show.

"Cuomo is about confiscation."

"The Chinese are capitalist."

"We've got a Communist here."

"Why doesn't he just destroy any opportunity we have to move the $1.25 trillion in houses sitting on the market right now?" the money guru fumed.

On Wednesday, Cuomo issued subpoenas against mortgage investors Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac - expanding his investigation into whether Washington Mutual hiked its fees by inflating home appraisals.

Investors responded by dropping bank stocks out of fear their balance sheets aren't in order, and Washington Mutual wasn't the only one to take a hit.

The national subprime mortgage crisis has caused thousands of home foreclosures and sent shock waves through some of the country's largest financial institutions, including Citigroup, Merrill Lynch and Morgan Stanley.

In a telephone interview with the Daily News yesterday, Cramer urged Cuomo to back off, saying he's created chaos on Wall Street.

"I don't think he recognizes the power he has," Cramer said.

"[Washington Mutual] is worth about $5 billion less since he started talking about it."

"His timing couldn't be worse," Cramer said.

"We are in trouble."

"We don't need someone coming in and making us feel like that institution is going to get crushed."

Cramer said Cuomo needs to reassure investors he's not out to shut down the mortgage industry.

"Rather than the subpoena, say, 'I'm calling them in here; we think we can come up with a more constructive way; we're not going to indict them.'"

"'Maybe some people should leave, but we're going to work as regulators, not as prosecutors,'" he suggested.

A federal regulator took it one step further, sending a letter to Cuomo questioning whether government-sponsored Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac would have the incentive to inflate housing prices - and whether the attorney general has the authority to subpoena them.

At a press conference yesterday, Cuomo ducked a question about Cramer's comments as he stood next to Gov. Spitzer, a longtime friend of the TV host.

"I'll call Cramer and straighten it out," Spitzer joked as he and Cuomo announced a plan to try to reform the subprime mortgage industry, including $2 million to help homeowners recover from foreclosure.

sgaskell@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/11/09...w_cuomo_fo.html

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Juan Gonzalez

"Attorney General Andrew Cuomo gets grief doing feds' job"

Friday, November 9th 2007, 4:00 AM

The Bush administration joined CNBC's Jim ("Mad Money") Cramer Thursday in going after state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Both are furious that Cuomo did what the feds should have done months ago: go after the crooks who helped create the nationwide epidemic of subprime mortgage foreclosures and the collapse of our housing industry.

Cuomo sued First American Corp. and its eAppraiseIT unit last week on charges of colluding with Washington Mutual Inc., one of the nation's largest banks, to artificially inflate the values of homes and justify higher mortgages by WaMu.

As soon as Cuomo filed his complaint, Cramer, the loudmouth financial commentator, accused the attorney general of frightening the banking system and "throwing gasoline" on the problem.

He even likened Cuomo to a Communist.

Then the Bush administration stepped in.

The Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight complained yesterday that Cuomo failed to alert it before issuing subpoenas this week to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the huge, federally backed, private mortgage companies.

"Given the importance of the mortgage markets to the U.S. and world economies, we need to meet with you at your earliest convenience," agency Director James Lockhart said in a letter to Cuomo.

In other words, the federal agency that was supposed to be watching the store is angry that Cuomo is doing the federal government's job.

All you have to do is read the actual complaint the AG filed to see why bankers and mortgage companies across the country are panicked.

The e-mails and records Cuomo obtained from First American and its home appraisal subsidiary, if they are substantiated at trial, reveal a systematic pattern of collusion and fraud between eAppraiseIT and WaMu.

Federal and real estate industry regulations require that appraisers of homes be completely independent of the lenders.

But according to the complaint:

Throughout late last year and early this year, WaMu executives repeatedly complained to eAppraiseIT officials that many appraisals of homes were not coming in at prices WaMu wanted to justify higher mortgages.

In February, eAppraiseIT's president told the parent company First American, "We have agreed to roll over," to assign appraisals of WaMu-financed homes only to appraisers that WaMu approved.

Several senior staff members and appraisers at the company were clearly worried about possible violations of the law.

One employee, identified as "Appraiser B," complained on April 3 that he had been put on a "blocked list" for displeasing WaMu with his appraisals.

From January to April, the appraiser conducted hundreds of appraisals.

WaMu challenged 102 of them for being too low.

Many appraisals of WaMu-generated loans he reviewed were "fraudulent, with inflated values," the appraiser complained to his bosses.

On May 5, Cuomo issued a subpoena to First American for its records, but a top First American executive told his subordinates "to continue the business relationship with WaMu," the complaint states.

"Nothing changed," the complaint says.

WaMu, which was not named as a defendant because it is a federally chartered bank, said it "will vigorously defend itself from all unfounded allegations and lawsuits."

First American did not respond to several requests for comment.

Cuomo, the former federal head of housing under Bill Clinton, knows exactly what he's doing when he demands that Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac produce records of what they did.

No wonder some bankers are worried.

jgonzalez@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/11/09...gets_grief.html

THE NEW YORK TIMES

"Republicans in Congress Propose Bills on Licenses"

By RAYMOND HERNANDEZ

Published: November 9, 2007

WASHINGTON, Nov. 8 — House Republicans have begun to push bills opposing the plan of Gov. Eliot Spitzer of New York to grant driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, seeking to step up the pressure on Mr. Spitzer’s fellow Democrats in Congress, who are increasingly concerned that the issue may become a liability in next year’s election.

The most far-reaching measure is being sponsored by Representative Peter T. King of Long Island, the ranking Republican on the House’s Homeland Security Committee.

It would prohibit New York and other states from issuing driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants.

In an interview, Mr. King said that the Spitzer plan would raise national security concerns and grant a privilege to illegal immigrants as federal authorities are trying to stem illegal immigration.

He said he plans to introduce the measure next week and circulate it among members of both parties to build support.

Mr. Spitzer had initially proposed a blanket program that would allow illegal immigrants to apply for full-fledged driver’s licenses.

But after coming under fire, he backed off and proposed a three-tier system that would provide government-issued identification for illegal immigrants that would allow them to drive legally, but could not be used to board planes or cross borders.

Christine Anderson, a spokeswoman for Mr. Spitzer, chastised the Republican efforts on Thursday, and said that the governor was trying to fill a void created by the federal government’s failure to enact new immigration policies to deal with the millions of people who have entered the country illegally.

“Congress and the president should spend their time fixing the failed national immigration policy, instead of preventing states from dealing practically with a very real security concern placed on their doorsteps because of the federal government’s failure,” she said.

Mr. King said he was working with Rudolph W. Giuliani, the former mayor of New York who is seeking the Republican nomination for president, on the issue, and predicted that it could hurt Democrats in 2008.

“This could have an absolutely devastating effect on the Democratic Party,” Mr. King said.

“That is why the governor is out there on his own."

"He is so politically tone-deaf.”

Some New York Democrats in Congress, particularly those from politically moderate districts upstate and in the New York City suburbs, have already begun to publicly criticize the Spitzer plan and urge the governor to abandon it altogether.

Mr. King’s is not the only measure circulating in Congress that takes aim at Mr. Spitzer’s plan.

Two Republicans — Representatives Tom Latham of Iowa and John Randy Kuhl Jr. of western New York — have introduced a resolution calling on Congress to condemn any proposal to issue licenses to illegal immigrants.

The resolution would have no binding effect on states.

But its authors hope to draw attention to the issue, and describe the resolution as a first step toward building opposition to the policy, according to Congressional aides.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/09/nyregion...amp;oref=slogin

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"NY1 poll finds Eliot Spitzer's approval rating slipping"

Friday, November 9th 2007, 4:00 AM

Governor Spitzer is giving President Bush a run for his money: The former Sheriff of Wall Street has seen his popularity plunge since taking office, a New York 1 poll found.

Spitzer was elected in a 69% landslide last year, but 41% of voters now say they disapprove of his performance - nearly twice as many as in April.

A mere 38% approve of the job he's doing, on par with Bush's ratings.

Spitzer ran on a "Day One, Everything Changes" platform, but 56% of voters polled don't think he can fulfill his promise of smashing Albany gridlock.

Only 18% say he can.

"The voters have just lost confidence in this governor," pollster Mickey Blum said.

Recently, he's invigorated enemies - and riled some friends with plans to grant illegal aliens driver's licenses.

"The governor doesn't put much stake in polls and he certainly doesn't govern by them," said Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson.

Celeste Katz

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/11/09...approval_r.html

"State's spending to grow faster than income"

Associated Press

Last updated: 5:33 p.m., Monday, November 5, 2007

ALBANY -- New York state's income will grow in the next few fiscal years, but not as fast as spending, according to an early budget forecast state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released Monday.

The state's income for tax receipts is expected to grow from $117.5 billion in fiscal year 2007-2008 to $126.6 billion in fiscal year 2009-2010.

Meanwhile, the state's spending is expected to total $118.8 billion in 2007-2008, and to grow to $134.1 billion in 2009-2010, leaving an expected $7.5 billion deficit.

The comptroller's office said projections could change as the state finishes out the final five months in this fiscal year.

"Wall Street, which provides as much as 20 percent of the state's revenue, is coming off a slow third quarter," he said in a written statement.

"How well Wall Street performs in the fourth quarter and the first quarter of next year will have a significant impact on the state."

The comptroller's estimates were close, but slightly higher than those put out by the Department of Budget.

For example, the DOB forecast $117.2 billion in receipts in FY 2007-2008, compared to the comptroller's $117.5 billion.

For the same fiscal year, DOB projected $118.6 billion in spending.

For fiscal year 2009-2010, the DOB forecast $126.4 billion in receipts and $133.8 billion in spending.

"License hubbub on voters' minds in first test since '06 landslide"

By BEN DOBBIN, Associated Press

Last updated: 7:32 p.m., Tuesday, November 6, 2007

ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- Pete Kennedy, a radio disc jockey, is baffled by Gov. Eliot Spitzer's plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

"I think if the word illegal is involved, it should remain illegal."

"It doesn't make any sense to me," the 46-year-old Republican said outside a polling station here on a cold, drizzly, off-year Election Day.

Republican strategists hoped the hullabaloo might work in their favor in the first statewide electoral test since Spitzer led a Democratic Party landslide across New York a year ago.

In Rochester, Republican fliers depicting a menacing, rifle-toting man in a turban warned voters in the typically low-profile county clerk, legislature and supervisor races that Democrats "want to make it easier for illegals and terrorists to get driver's licenses!"

Homemaker Marci Weber, 40, dropping her young daughter at a public school where Kennedy had just voted on his rush to work, dismissed the "specter of terror" talk as scaremongering.

She favors more compassionate policies to bring illegals "out of the shadows."

"They are in schools, they are all over the place," she said.

"Let's count them as people."

Alongside Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, Spitzer led a party ticket last November that saw Democrats win every statewide office for the first time since 1942.

After months of conflict with the Senate's Republican majority, he's taken a further battering in opinion polls on his recent plan to ease driving restrictions on illegal immigrants.

While many voters said the controversy had little or no bearing on how they voted in local contests, opponents had no shortage of stinging words for Spitzer.

"High taxes and bringing back jobs, those are the issues I'm voting on," said Vincent Hewitt, 40, a business instruments trainer in Syracuse.

But "this ridiculous license travesty," he added, "is Spitzer's doing."

"I'll hold him accountable for that if he runs for re-election."

"It's a privilege to have a driver's license, so I don't think illegals should have driver's licenses," echoed Carmella Savino as she voted in Farmingdale on Long Island.

At a polling station in Troy, near Albany, Charles Sarris said he'd already made up his mind on local issues that influenced who he voted for.

But Spitzer's plan, he said, "very much concerns me."

"He seems to be antagonistic, like he's looking for a fight."

In contrast, fellow Troy voter Igor Vamos said he was "totally in favor" of Spitzer's plan even though "it didn't influence my vote in any way."

In Buffalo, Anne Ritenour said while that she remained torn -- "I see positive points of doing it and not doing it" -- she viewed the hubbub as strictly a national topic.

Spitzer's plan would offer three types of licenses: one for crossing the Canadian border, another to board domestic flights and a third for illegal immigrants for driving and identity purposes.

It is part of a deal struck with the Department of Homeland Security last month to push through the federal Real ID Act, a law to make driver's licenses more secure and keep them out of the hands of would-be terrorists.

------

Associated Press Writers William Kates, Carolyn Thompson, Jessica Pasko and Frank Eltman contributed to this report.

"License plan, water issue are highlights of quiet NY election"

By JOSH HOFFNER, Associated Press

Last updated: 8:23 a.m., Tuesday, November 6, 2007

NEW YORK -- Voters around New York decided a spate of local races and one statewide ballot measure Tuesday on an Election Day that drew a surprising amount of nasty rhetoric at the county level because of the governor's plan to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

No statewide offices are up for election, but Democratic Gov. Eliot Spitzer's license plan has become such a hot-button issue that it managed to spill into county clerk, legislature and supervisor races that rarely make headlines.

With their base so riled up by the proposal, Republicans sought to take advantage of the license controversy by labeling Democrats as weak on terrorism.

In Monroe County, Republicans sent out a flier warning in bold red letters that "Democrat county legislators want to make it easier for illegals and terrorists to get driver's licenses!"

The flier includes a menacing, rifle-toting man in a turban, and a driver's license photograph of a man in Arab headdress.

Democrats denounced the campaign as blatantly offensive.

A hotly contested race for Staten Island District Attorney was the only election to get much attention in New York City.

The race got interesting all because of the legal troubles of the teenage grandson of Borough President James P. Molinaro.

District Attorney Daniel Donovan Jr. handed the assault case to a special prosecutor from Manhattan to avoid a possible conflict of interest; Donovan is Molinaro's former deputy.

This infuriated Molinaro, a longtime Conservative Party member who turned around and endorsed Donovan's Democratic challenger.

Molinaro said his grandson suffered an unusually harsh punishment because the case was transferred, leading to what he called a "travesty of justice."

The only statewide ballot question will affect the tap water of 125 residents of a hamlet in upstate New York.

The measure will ask New Yorkers if the Adirondack hamlet of Raquette Lake can continue to use a well drilled in the state's forest preserve, or if the 125 people who live there have to go back to using amber-colored water that became unsafe to drink after it was treated.

The reservoir water stained clothes and left white bathtubs and toilets the color of maple wood.

When treated with chlorine, organic material in the water created elevated levels of a carcinogen.

The constitutional amendment would allow the state to trade one acre of forest preserve in Hamilton County, where a clean water source is located, for 12 acres of land that is at least equal in value.

The Raquette Lake reservoir would be abandoned as a source of drinking water.

Three mayoral races have received attention -- in Niagra Falls, Utica and Mount Vernon.

In Mount Vernon, longtime Mayor Ernest Davis lost the primary to Westchester County legislator Clinton Young by a mere 380 votes after several heated exchanges on the campaign trail over the city's crime and drug problem.

But two weeks after Young defeated Davis -- and called some of his supporters "jackasses" -- Davis said residents had beseeched him to keep running.

He is running Tuesday on minor-party lines.

Young said he could give Mount Vernon, a city of about 70,000 bordering New York City, a better image.

The city's crime problem made national news on Halloween when a security guard was shot and killed after confronting egg-throwing teenagers.

In Niagara Falls, two former members of the City Council are competing to become mayor: Democrat Paul Dyster and Republican Candra Thomason.

Not on the ballot is incumbent Vincenzo Anello, who was disqualified by petition problems.

In Utica, former two-time mayor Ed Hanna, 85, is running as an independent against incumbent Republican Mayor Tim Julian and David Roefaro, a Democratic city councilman.

The colorful, outspoken Hanna -- who briefly fired the city's entire public works department during his first term in the 1970s -- resigned in 2000 as mayor, citing health concerns and facing a sexual harassment lawsuit from four male city employees.

Hanna's bid is not given much chance of success.

On Long Island, Republican Joseph Belesi is trying to replace incumbent David L. Mejias in the Nassau County Legislature.

If he wins, it would swing control to Republicans.

Belesi said the license issue was playing a big role in the election.

"Growth in school property taxes outpaces inflation"

By VALERIE BAUMAN, Associated Press

Last updated: 4:33 p.m., Wednesday, November 7, 2007

ALBANY -- School property taxes in New York continue to grow at roughly twice the rate of inflation, according to a report state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli released Wednesday.

The taxes increased between 7.6 and 8.1 percent annually from 2002 to 2005 before dropping slightly in 2006 to 6.8 percent and 5.9 percent in 2007.

That compares to an annual inflation rate of around 3 percent.

"All this pressure on homeowners highlights the need to make sure that every dollar spent on education is spent effectively," DiNapoli said in a written statement.

School districts account for nearly half of all local government revenues and 62 percent of all property taxes levied outside of New York City.

Wealthier school districts rely more heavily on property tax revenue, according to the report.

Thirty-one districts received 90 percent or more of their revenues from property taxes, 25 of which are on Long Island.

But Dave Albert, a spokesman for the New York State School Boards Association, said the report doesn't take into account 2007 budget changes that altered the way education funding is distributed.

The current amount of school aid statewide is $19.5 billion, after the Legislature and Gov. Eliot Spitzer agreed to a 9.5 percent increase over the previous fiscal year, worth about $1.8 billion.

"We think that's going to start to bring New York up to a higher percentage of state aid ... and that should reduce some of the property tax burden," Albert said.

Schools will get an additional $5 billion in state aid by 2010, based on the new formula for directing funds, Albert said.

Federal aid covered only 5 percent of school district expenses in 2005.

DiNapoli plans to audit all of New York's 832 school districts by 2010.

------

On the Net: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/localgov/pubs/finschools.pdf.

"New York probes government lenders"

By MICHAEL GORMLEY, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:52 p.m., Wednesday, November 7, 2007

ALBANY -- New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's subpoenas to government-sponsored lenders Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac sent another shock into the home mortgage industry where he said conflicts of interests are costing consumers thousands of dollars because of inflated appraisals.

On Wednesday Cuomo said he wants to know about loans Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac purchased from banks, including Washington Mutual Inc.

The subpoenas also seek to find out how the government-sponsored companies handle appraisals to see if lower income home buyers were stuck with loans based on inflated appraised values.

The Democrat has accused a major appraiser of colluding with lenders to inflate home values and indebtedness for home buyers.

On Wednesday, he was able to get the government-sponsored lenders to accept an independent examiner to review their loans.

The examiner, to be approved by Cuomo, will review all loans involving mortgage giant Washington Mutual Inc. and the two government-sponsored lenders.

"In order to fulfill their duty to consumers and investors, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac must ensure that Washington Mutual's mortgages have not been corrupted by inflated appraisals," Cuomo said.

"Our expanding investigation into the mortgage industry has uncovered that Washington Mutual improperly pressured appraisers to provide inflated values that best served the lender's interest," Cuomo said.

"Knowing this, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac cannot afford to continue buying Washington Mutual mortgages unless they are sure these loans are based on reliable and independent appraisals."

The markets reacted quickly.

Washington Mutual Inc. fell $4.19, or 17.3 percent, to $20.04.

And shares of Fannie Mae fell $5.99, or 10.8 percent, to $53.64, after briefly hitting a 52-week low.

In addition, Freddie Mac shares declined $4.18, or 8.5 percent, to $45.21.

Freddie Mac shares also hit a 52-week low Wednesday, falling all the way to $44.76.

"If true, the appraisal practices described in the complaint would violate Fannie Mae's requirements for loans we purchase from lenders or securitize," said Brian Faith of Fannie Mae.

"It is against our interest to purchase or guarantee mortgages with inflated appraisals, and so it is in Fannie Mae's interest that these appraisal practices be investigated," he said.

"If the examiner determines we own or guarantee mortgages with inflated appraisals, our guide states that the lender must buy back the loans that do not meet our standards and requirements."

"We are pleased to cooperate with the New York attorney general's investigation and have agreed to appoint an independent examiner as requested," said Doug Duvall, spokesman for Freddie Mac.

"We depend upon accurate appraisals."

"In fact, accurate appraisals are fundamental to our effective credit-risk management as well as to the long-term success of home buyers."

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac were created by Congress to make home ownership affordable for low- and middle-income people.

Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac companies pump money into the nearly $11 trillion home-loan market by buying blocks of mortgages from lenders and then packaging them into securities for sale to investors.

James B. Lockhart, director of the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, which regulates Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, said he will discuss the issue with Cuomo.

On Tuesday, the federal government reached a $16.4 million settlement with Freddie Mac's former CEO for his role in the company's multibillion-dollar accounting scandal.

In 2004, massive accounting problems were found at its government-sponsored sibling, Fannie Mae, and that company's chief executive, Franklin Raines, also was forced out.

Cuomo's announcement comes less than a week after the attorney general filed suit against a major real estate appraisal company, accusing it of colluding with the nation's largest savings and loan companies to inflate the values of homes, thus contributing to the subprime mortgage crisis.

Cuomo last Thursday announced a lawsuit against eAppraiseIT that accuses the First American Corp. subsidiary of caving in to pressure from Washington Mutual to use a list of "proven appraisers" who he claims inflated home appraisals.

Washington Mutual, which was not targeted in the suit, cut ties with eAppraiseIT the following day.

------

AP Writer Marcy Gordon contributed to this report from Washington.

"New York Civil Liberties Union sues state on right to attorney"

By VALERIE BAUMAN, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:13 p.m., Thursday, November 8, 2007

ALBANY -- The New York Civil Liberties Union sued the state Thursday, claiming flaws in the court system violate the state constitution and the Sixth Amendment by preventing the poor from getting adequate legal representation.

"Every day, in courtrooms throughout the state, New Yorkers are denied justice simply because they are poor," said Donna Lieberman, executive director of the NYCLU.

"Justice should not depend on your zip code or the size of your wallet."

The class action suit claims the state has failed to provide sufficient funding, oversight and standards for the court system, which has resulted in unfair convictions, longer sentences and absent attorneys.

The suit cites plaintiffs in Onondaga, Ontario, Schuyler, Suffolk and Washington counties, but Lieberman said they represent a larger problem across the state.

Court-appointed lawyers are overwhelmed by huge caseloads and operating with staff and resource shortages, she said.

In some cases, defendants have appeared in court on criminal charges without attorneys and have been sent to jail without bail, she said.

Some defendants may plead guilty or make other legal decisions they would avoid with legitimate advice, she said.

NYCLU representatives said the public defenders and local court systems shouldn't be blamed for the problems.

Instead, the state should take responsibility, said NYCLU staff attorney Corey Stoughton.

According to NYCLU representatives, the state's 62 counties spent a total of $262 million last year on public defense and the state contributed about $62 million.

David Bookstaver, a spokesman for the state Unified Court System, said he could not comment on pending litigation, but said the state has spent $10 million this year on improving the town and village court systems.

"We are aware of some of the issues in the town and village courts," Bookstaver said.

"We have been, for the past year, taking measures to address them."

Among those efforts is enhanced and more comprehensive training and the addition of tape recorders for town and village courts to establish records of all proceedings, he said.

The state has also appointed supervising judges to oversee town and village courts around the state.

The supervising judges will not operate as a disciplinary body, but will be there to resolve issues as they come up from anyone involved: defendants, defense lawyers, prosecutors or judges.

A report released last year by the Commission on the Future of Indigent Defense Services found that New York's defense system for the poor is underfunded, has no uniform standards governing the operation of defense services and no competence standards for lawyers.

Led by Chief Judge Judith Kaye, the commission also found that appointed defense attorneys are overworked and rarely meet with clients outside of a courtroom, giving prosecutors great advantages at trial.

"Lawyers say steroid probe-related charges dropped against clients"

Associated Press

Last updated: 5:13 p.m., Thursday, November 8, 2007

ALBANY -- Charges were dropped against two defendants in the Albany County district attorney's multistate investigation into illegal steroid sales, their lawyers said Thursday.

Steven and Karen Lampert of Anti-Aging Centers in Nanuet, N.Y., were accused in March of submitting prescriptions to a Florida pharmacy -- some forged, according to prosecutors -- for drugs totaling more than $50,000 for people without a medical need.

Steven Lampert faced 20 counts, including forgery and criminal sale of a controlled substance.

Karen Lampert faced charges of conspiracy and criminal diversion of a prescription medication.

The Rockland County couple, who pleaded not guilty, released a prepared statement through their lawyers saying "we conducted a legitimate business and were unjustly charged."

Steven Lampert's attorney, Jonathan Ripps, on Thursday released a court document dated Oct. 26 showing a judge signing off on the prosecution's dismissal of the charges "based on lack of jurisdiction."

"The district attorney overreached in this case," Ripps said.

"My clients, as well as possibly other defendants, were lumped into the investigation in an attempt to make a bigger splash with the media."

The district attorney's office said the other 14 pending cases in the probe are not threatened by jurisdictional issues.

Assistant District Attorney Christopher Baynes said in a prepared statement that the Lamperts' case was referred to prosecutors in Rockland County.

There was no immediate response from Rockland County prosecutors, though defense lawyers said Steven Lampert will make a plea on an undetermined, unrelated charge that will not result in prison or probation.

The sprawling investigation focusing on Signature Pharmacy of Orlando, Fla. has resulted in 10 defendants pleading guilty so far and some professional athletes have been linked to the probe in news reports.

Albany County District Attorney David Soares has said Signature was at the center of a web of businesses and doctors that illegally wrote prescriptions for steroids.

"Spitzer open to tossing license plan - Governor says he's staying the course for now, but has softened his stance"

By DANNY HAKIM, New York Times

First published: Sunday, November 11, 2007

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico -- Reeling from relentless criticism of his plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, Gov. Eliot Spitzer has taken a step back, raising the possibility he may shelve the idea.

The governor's aides have grown increasingly concerned that reaction to the plan is preventing Spitzer from or even discussing other issues; it has also become an issue for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton's presidential campaign and has caused anxiety among other Democrats.

After a meeting Friday with Hispanic lawmakers at a conference here, Spitzer was not displaying the defiance with which he had defended the plan in the past.

Asked by a reporter if he would change or table the plan, the governor said he was sticking with it "as of now," but suggested that he was open to abandoning it.

"Sometimes you put out an idea and there isn't so much support, and you try to persuade people and you see where you go," Spitzer said.

"This is the way the world works."

He added: "I don't think there's ever been an executive, a president, a governor who hasn't put out ideas, that at the end of the day there isn't support, and so things don't work out, but as of now, sure, I think this is the right idea from a security perspective."

"We'll wait and see."

If Spitzer were to withdraw the policy, there would probably be great relief among the many Democrats who have become entangled in the issue, whether they support the plan or not.

The reaction to the plan has far exceeded what the governor or his staff expected, and Democratic incumbents in Congress and the state Senate fear it has given Republicans an issue to use against them next year.

It has also earned Spitzer the animosity of groups pushing for stricter controls on immigration and inspired Lou Dobbs, the CNN anchor, to lead a nightly crusade against the policy.

Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco has been one of Spitzer's most outspoken critics in New York.

"I've been saying all along that the Democrats are going to come up with a predatory law."

"He'll have to stay 2,000 feet away from any Democrat or Democratic candidate."

"He's becoming nuclear."

Spitzer's comments Friday followed just after Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the Legislature's top Democrat, who also attended the conference, suggested to reporters that Spitzer should not push ahead at this point.

"I think the governor has a job of going out and selling to the public what he hopes to achieve, listening to the public, making them more comfortable and slowing down the process," said Silver, who has broken with Spitzer over the policy.

The criticism and intense focus on the issue has led to internal discussions among Spitzer's aides about their next step.

Spitzer has said he plans to have the new system in place by the end of next year.

Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson, who was also at the Puerto Rico conference, said of the governor, "I think, for now, he is satisfied to keep going."

"Now, down the road, you don't know what future events are, and obviously if they -- at some point we're going to have to start seeing a spike" in support, he said, adding, "If not, I would think down the road, we'll at least think about it."

The administration's tone on the issue has shifted since Spitzer announced Sept. 21 that the Department of Motor Vehicles would begin issuing driver's licenses regardless of immigration status.

At first Spitzer seemed pleased that even though the plan set off debate, it was a fight over policy rather than the frequently nasty back-and-forth over his administration's role in attacking the Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno.

Later, when Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg and others questioned the idea, the governor shot back that Bloomberg was "wrong at every level -- dead wrong, factually wrong, legally wrong, morally wrong, ethically wrong."

He later apologized.

The governor seemed only to inflame feelings when, late last month, he announced that he was modifying his plan and would issue three tiers of licenses, with illegal immigrants eligible only for a license that could not be used to board planes or cross borders.

That change came after secret negotiations with the federal homeland security secretary, Michael Chertoff, and created resentment among Latino lawmakers who had been the biggest backers of the original plan.

"When the governor backtracked the first time he tried to make things better and he actually made them worse," Tedisco said.

"He's trying to get out of what I would call a political quagmire."

"There's one way out -- dismantling the plan altogether."

On Friday, perhaps to keep the meeting upbeat, the governor barely mentioned the license issue in his 25-minute breakfast address to lawmakers here attending the annual conference on legislative issues held by the New York Assembly's Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force.

He further sidestepped confrontation by not taking questions from the lawmakers.

Assemblyman Ruben Diaz Jr., a Democrat, said "there was a warm reception" but added, "It's always good to take questions; we're full of questions."

Diaz has opposed the revised plan, reiterating on Friday that he believed the governor was "capitulating to the Bush administration."

Other lawmakers said they were grateful that the governor had tried to take on an issue that had been a priority for them.

"Me?"

"I'm still with the governor," said Assemblyman Jose Rivera, a Bronx Democrat.

"Was it good timing?"

"Maybe not, because the extreme right, they need issues."

"Here, they got one, and they haven't let go."

Times Union staff writer David Filkins contributed to this story.

"Lobbyist a dilemma for board"

Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Monday, November 12, 2007

The Public Integrity Commission is punting the question of whether one of its members should be on the commission.

The issue, sparked by concerns of a pack of government reform groups about lawyer Daniel French, was sent back to the source of the predicament, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

In a letter to one of the organizations concerned about French's apparent lobbying activities and potential conflicts of interest, commission Executive Director Herb Teitelbaum said he's sending the matter to the "appointing authority for its review and consideration."

Cuomo nominated French, a former U.S. attorney for the Northern District, to represent his office on the integrity panel.

The choice drew immediate concern because French has appeared before public bodies on behalf of the Cayuga tribe, which is trying to build a casino in New York, and was a registered state lobbyist in 2005 and 2006.

Until recently, his Web site had said he was available for lobbying.

Lobbyists cannot serve on the panel -- whose duties include policing the lobbying industry.

French and Cuomo's office say the former prosecutor isn't in the business.

"It was a bit of a head scratcher to us," said Russ Haven, legislative counsel for New York Public Interest Research Group, which received the letter from Teitelbaum.

"I don't understand how going back to the appointing authority would add any clarity to this."

He said he will appeal to Teitelbaum's commission to give it another shot.

"We thought they were the entity that calls balls and strikes on the lobbying law and the ethics reform act," Haven said.

However, a glitch in the ethics law may have been discovered.

It doesn't say who rules on the eligibility of commissioners.

Democrats wait, for now

The jockeying for U.S. Rep. Mike McNulty's congressional seat has a lot of fellow Democrats waiting to see who is or isn't interested in running.

Several party insiders say a primary may be held next year, with (at least) Schenectady Mayor Brian U. Stratton, Sen. Hillary Clinton aide Tracey Brooks and state Sen. Neil Breslin facing off.

Some party stalwarts in Albany County expect Assembly Majority Leader Ron Canestrari to bow out, opening the way for Brooks and Breslin to compete.

Brooks would be able to challenge Breslin if Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings backs her against Breslin.

Neil Breslin and his brother, Mike, Albany County executive, have had a rocky relationship with Jennings over the years, with McNulty sometimes acting as the peacemaker.

In the end, the party may support the candidate with the best chance of raising a few million dollars for the campaign.

Meanwhile, a "Draft Ron Canestrari" Web page was started late last week by a supporter, Aaron Banks, who was asking people to sign an online petition and show support by donating to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.

As of Friday, the site (http://www.draftron.com) had registered one supporter and $5.

Contributors: Capitol bureau reporter James M. Odato and State Editor Jay Jochnowitz. Got a tip? Call 454-5083 or e-mail jodato@timesunion.com.

"Voters deliver a message on driver's licenses to Spitzer"

By FRED LeBRUN, Political Analyst, Alnbany, New York Times Union

First published: Sunday, November 11, 2007

Gov. Spitzer's ill-timed and wrong-headed executive order to grant driver's licenses to illegal aliens wasn't on the ballot Tuesday, but it may as well have been.

In several key races, notably in Erie and Monroe counties and down on Long Island, the issue was cited by both sides as contributing to a better-than-expected showing by Republicans and a stumble for Democrats.

Only the governor himself rejected the idea that licensegate had anything to do with the election results.

"We could not be happier at the outcome that I believe was a public rejection of a Republican effort to inflame and incite, and a public statement that we want people to govern on issues that matter to us day to day," he said.

He can say that, and in fact is expected to, but he's too smart to believe it.

Eliot Spitzer got stung on Election Day over this, and that is a forerunner to more stings to come if he doesn't change his strategy.

Unlike the overblown issue of troopergate, which doesn't resonate with voters or have long-range consequences, giving illegal aliens New York licenses is an issue that certainly does.

And as an issue it's got long, strong legs to kick him with.

Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola, a Republican who was re-elected Tuesday, has gotten national media attention for his early and adamant rejection of Spitzer's illegal alien proposal.

His is among three Article 78 suits filed against the governor to stop it.

Merola says he has a court date: Nov. 30 before Albany County Supreme Court Judge Joe Teresi, who was also just re-elected.

"We're excited about it, because we'll be the first in court, and I don't see how we can lose," says Merola.

He points to the clear language in the current law that states a Social Security number is required for a motor-vehicle registration.

Only the Legislature can change the law, not the governor.

Merola says there's already been collateral damage from the governor's plan, from his perspective.

And from ours too, for that matter.

Statewide, around 23,000 New York driver's licenses were recently renewed, but with "temporary visitor" removed from the face of the license.

That was an aspect of the Spitzer package of license changes by executive order that was implemented right away.

"So now we have these people who have perhaps as little as a couple of weeks or months of a valid visa left to be in the country, being issued a new New York license that doesn't alert anyone to their status."

"And it's good for eight years," says the county clerk.

That, he says, could open the door to mischief, and he's right.

But maybe, suggests Merola, the governor has gotten the message, even if he won't admit it.

The governor's put back until the end of next year implementing the rest of his illegal alien license plan, Merola points out.

The first phase was supposed to start at the end of this year.

Delaying implementation for a very, very long time is exactly what the governor should do -- until after we have a broad-form new immigration policy in place.

That could be years.

The upcoming court tests, whether they go against him or not, can be a good excuse to just drop it.

Because it will be political suicide to keep trying to impose a change that nearly three-quarters of New Yorkers -- from every political persuasion -- don't like.

And if anything, that number is growing, not shrinking.

Meanwhile, as the governor's popularity drops and he shows unexpected vulnerabilities, there are those waiting to take advantage.

Fellow Democrat state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is certainly a long-toothed wolf knocking on the door and puffing as hard as he can to knock the governor's house down.

You'll notice Cuomo isn't jumping up and down in defense of the governor's plan.

At the same time, New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg is sounding more and more like a Republican candidate for governor in the near future.

A week ago on CNN's "The Situation Room," the mayor of probably the largest contingent of illegal aliens in the country, was asked by Wolf Blitzer, "should illegal immigrants -- maybe a million of them in New York state, have driver's licenses, New York state driver's licenses?"

"I do not believe they should ..."

"The governor's first proposal, I thought, was inappropriate."

"And should not have been enacted ..."

"His second proposal of three different kinds of licenses ... is a step in the right direction."

"But I still don't think that it is where we should be."

"The bottom line is we should be giving driver's licenses to people knowing who they are and making sure they have a right to have them."

Common sense.

A refreshing change from what the governor's given us.

Why in the world did Eliot Spitzer open this idiotic can of worms in the first place?

Fred LeBrun can be reached at 454-5453 or by e-mail at flebrun@timesunion.com.

"Races to be closer to conclusion - Election officials to count absentee ballots in four towns; tally in district attorney campaign not set"

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Tuesday, November 13, 2007

Four Rensselaer County races with slim margins could be decided today when election workers expect to count absentee ballots.

But a final count in the county district attorney's race remains to be scheduled.

The county's political party leaders have not agreed to a time and date to count the absentee ballots that will decide the district attorney's race between Republican Greg Cholakis and Democrat Richard McNally.

McNally leads by 201 votes from the Nov. 6 election.

He has 18,595 votes to Cholakis' 18,394.

There are 1,736 absentee, 324 affidavit and 28 emergency ballots to count.

Political observers will also be watching the Schodack supervisor race, where Republican Ray Lemka waged a surprising write-in campaign.

Lemka is leading incumbent Supervisor Beth Knauf Secor, also a Republican, by 14 votes.

The two campaigns will get a look at the write-in votes today while election workers count the absentee ballots.

Officials have said 174 absentee ballots were sent out and, as of late last week, 82 have been returned.

Lemka and Secor will be allowed to review the 1,657 write-ins beginning at 9:30 a.m. today, Democratic Elections Commissioner Ed McDonough said.

"We will offer them a chance to look at the names on the write-in paper rolls from the machines so they may get an idea of what they think any challenges may be," McDonough said.

Election officials, starting about 10 a.m. today, will huddle and count absentee ballots in these town races:

* Petersburgh, where town justice candidate Robert K. Sears, a Republican, leads Democrat Amy E. Manchester by 8 votes, officials said.

* Grafton, where four candidates are vying for two seats on the Town Council.

Machine totals in the those races are: 394 for Democrat Barb Messenger, 361 for Republican Edward E. Fredricks III, 346 for Democrat Roger Gentner, and 325 for Republican Jennifer E. MacDonald.

* Nassau, where, in a three-way race for two Town Council seats, Republican Ray Seney secured a seat with 1,074 votes, but Democrat Susan Hains and Republican Barbara Fausner are separated by only 17 votes, 700 to 683.

"Voters may dump Spitzer because of his license plan"

By VALERIE BAUMAN, Associated Press

Last updated: 3:13 p.m., Tuesday, November 13, 2007

ALBANY -- In the nearly two months since Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced his plan to allow undocumented immigrants receive driver's licenses, the debate has shifted from immigration and safer roads to terrorism, and his popularity has plummeted.

A Siena poll released Tuesday found just 41 percent of New York voters view Spitzer favorably, while 46 percent view him unfavorably.

Last month, 54 percent of voters had a favorable opinion of the governor.

When asked if they would vote to re-elect Spitzer in 2010, only 25 percent of voters said they would, while 49 percent said they would "prefer someone else."

The poll attributed the governor's flagging popularity largely to his driver's license plan, which he introduced with the goal of increased security, safer roads and the opportunity to bring immigrants "out of the shadows."

The plan has brought resistance even within Spitzer's own Democratic party, and has found its way to the national stage in presidential primary debates.

"As I've said on numerous occasions, this is a tough issue," Spitzer said Tuesday in New York City.

"And it's one where we're continuing to try to talk to the public, explain why we took the position that I have thus far, and explain what issues we're trying to address."

"But I understand -- you don't need to see the most recent poll to understand that this is an issue that has touched a nerve in the public and we're trying to address that in a thoughtful, modulated way, and then we'll see where we go."

Republican Senate majority leader Joseph Bruno and Assembly minority leader James Tedisco have argued the governor's plan is illegal and opens a door for terrorists.

As the debate has grown nationally, Senators Hillary Rodham Clinton and Charles Schumer have sought to stay out of the issue, repeatedly refusing to say whether they support or oppose the governor's plan.

"Gov. Spitzer has lost the support of New Yorkers because his policies are wrong for this state and he is increasingly seen as unfit to govern," Bruno said in a written statement.

"Anybody who is a representative should know this is not what the public wants and go back to the drawing board," Tedisco said.

"I think in our heart of hearts, everybody wants him to turn this around and start working on an agenda for a better quality of life."

"He's got three years to do that, it's not impossible."

"I think there was such optimism when he first started ..."

"I think that's why the numbers are so devastating."

Half of those polled agreed that making licenses available to illegal aliens would pose a national security threat.

"Polls like this show disturbingly that the license debate has really, in the most negative way, really projected undocumented immigrants as a threat to security, as people more likely to be terrorists," said Chung-Wha Hong, Executive Director of the New York Immigration Coalition.

"That -- kind of equating undocumented immigrants with terrorists -- is going to prevent a real policy discussion on (immigration)."

Spitzer had originally proposed no longer requiring a Social Security number to get a license, but he changed the plan after voters and politicians opposed the idea.

New York will have three types of driver's licenses: a traditional state license; an "enhanced driver's license" that will be as secure as a passport; and a license that meets new federal standards of the Real ID Act -- a national and secure identification that would make it much harder for terrorists to get licenses.

But the traditional license will indicate it's not proof of legal residency in the U.S., and could lead police and officials to suspect the holder may be an illegal immigrant.

About nine in 10 voters are aware of Spitzer's license plan.

About 70 percent oppose it -- slightly less than the 72 percent who opposed it in a poll released last month.

"When asked whether his handling of the license issue increased or decreased their approval of his job performance, 52 percent of voters said it decreased their approval, compared to only 11 percent who said it increased their approval," Siena spokesman Steven Greenberg said.

Spitzer swept to office last November with nearly 70 percent of the vote, carried largely by his reputation as a reformer and his campaign pledge to change everything starting on "Day One."

The governor is scheduled to travel Wednesday to Washington to meet with New York's congressional delegation.

The telephone survey of 625 registered New York State voters was conducted between Nov. 5 and 8.

It has a sampling margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.

------

Associated Press Writer Sara Kugler contributed to this report.

------

On the Net: http://www.siena.edu/sri/snynovember.

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS DAILY POLITICS BLOG:

"So That Explains It"

Rep. Tom Tancredo's new anti-immigration campaign ad illustrates why New York Democrats were so upset the Assembly Republicans let him testify at a hearing last month on Gov. Eliot Spitzer's driver's license proposal.

During his testimony, the Colorado Congressman, who is a third-tier GOP presidential candidate running a largely single-issue campaign on immigration, questioned Spitzer's sanity, saying:

"The eyes of the nation are on New York and it’s elected leaders."

"If such foolishness and stupidity and political pandering is allowed to proceed here so near Ground Zero what kind of insanity is this?"

Tancredo went on to say Spitzer's plan would violate federal laws that prohibit aiding and abetting or encouraging illegal immigration, to which the hearing's host, Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco replied:

"You know I agree with you, we’re not only dealing with an illegal alien problem, we’re dealing with an illegal Eliot problem right now."

Posted by Elizabeth Benjamin on November 13, 2007 2:53 PM

COMMENTS:

ITEM: Tancredo went on to say Spitzer's plan would violate federal laws that prohibit aiding and abetting or encouraging illegal immigration ...

JOHN GALT RESPONDS: Finally, someone in the federal government is having the guts to say that until it is changed, federal law is still federal law, regardless of how many people including HILLARY Clinton and Eliot Spitzer don't like it, and by God, IT STILL APPLIES HERE IN NYS, which is still a part of the United States of America despite the desire of Eliot Spitzer to have it be its own separate nation apart ...

With him as its head ...

WHY DIDN'T WE HEAR THIS FROM HILLARY?

OR CHUCK SCHUMER, FOR THAT MATTER?

WHY HAVE THE TWO OF THEM BEEN SILENT ON THIS ISSUE OF ELIOT SPITZER OPENLY URGING THE WILFUL VIOLATION OF FEDERAL LAW HERE IN NYS?

And so ...

Posted by: John Galt | November 13, 2007 3:20 PM

http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypoli...t.html#comments

"Source: Sweeney passenger a shock - Arresting State Police officers in DWI case surprised to find a woman on ex-congressman's lap"

By ROBERT GAVIN, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, November 14, 2007

State Police received an unexpected surprise when they stopped former Rep. John Sweeney on the Northway early Sunday -- a female passenger on his lap, a law enforcement source said Tuesday.

When troopers began following the ex-lawmaker north on I-87, just south of Exit 9, they assumed the Clifton Park Republican was driving alone in his 2004 BMW, said the individual, whose identity is being withheld by the Times Union.

The 23-year-old woman, who has not been identified, was on Sweeney's lap, the source said.

Sweeney, who is expected to appear in Clifton Park Town Court tonight, pulled over after he swerved toward a State Police cruiser -- nearly striking the vehicle, the individual said.

The former congressman refused to take a roadside field sobriety test, in which drivers blow into a device, but did take a Breathalyzer exam back at the State Police barracks, said Maj. Patricia Groeber, who commands Troop G in Loudonville.

Groeber said she had no knowledge of Sweeney's alleged swerve toward the police cruiser.

The Daily Gazette newspaper on Monday reported that Sweeney refused to take the Breathalyzer test until he spoke to his attorney, E. Stewart Jones.

Reached late Tuesday, Jones acknowledged the men spoke, but said there was "never a refusal" by Sweeney to take the test.

"Obviously he took it because the results are as they've been described," the attorney said.

Jones declined to answer questions about the woman or provide other details.

Asked about Sweeney's alleged swerve toward the cruiser, he said "I'll comment on that once this case is resolved."

State Police have refused to release Sweeney's public arrest report.

Police officials Tuesday referred the matter to a State Police captain who handles Freedom of Information Law requests.

On Monday, State Police issued a news release stating that Sweeney was driving northbound on I-87 about 1:19 a.m. Sunday when troopers stopped him for making an unsafe lane change.

A trooper, noticing a "strong odor" of alcohol on the former congressman's breath, issued sobriety tests, which Sweeney failed.

His blood alcohol level registered at 0.18 percent -- over twice the legal limit of 0.08 -- causing him to be charged with aggravated DWI as well as the standard DWI charge.

He was also ticketed for the lane change.

Sweeney, a one-time STOP-DWI coordinator for Rensselaer County, lost his seat last November to Democratic Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand amid allegations of spousal abuse.

Writer Leigh Hornbeck contributed to this report. Robert Gavin can be reached at 434-2403 or by e-mail at rgavin@ timesunion.com.

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Governor Spitzer does not defend former aide Darren Dopp"

BY ELIZABETH BENJAMIN and JOE MAHONEY, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Tuesday, November 13th 2007, 4:00 AM

Governor Spitzer Monday refused to defend his former top press aide, who may face perjury charges in the Troopergate scandal - opting instead to profess his own innocence.

"I had no involvement in this, none whatsoever," Spitzer said when asked about Albany County District Attorney David Soares' rekindled probe.

Soares is investigating whether Darren Dopp perjured himself - perhaps in an effort to protect his boss - while testifying to state and local investigators.

Spitzer called Dopp "a friend, somebody with whom I've worked for many months," adding, "I would not wish this on anybody."

The Democratic governor insisted a Soares report released in late September cleared him and found that his administration broke no laws in collecting records on the use of state aircraft by the New York's top Republican, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.

"I've answered every question that could ever be thrown in my direction on this stuff, and I think the report from the DA made that perfectly clear in terms of my noninvolvement in all this," Spitzer said.

The Daily News revealed Monday that Dopp kept a secret diary about his dealings with Troopergate.

The handwritten notes contradicted the sworn statement about his role in the scandal that he gave to Attorney General Andrew Cuomo in July, sources said.

Dopp turned over his notes when he testified under oath last month before the state Commission on Public Integrity.

A legal source familiar with the reopened Soares probe said the district attorney has summoned Peter Pope, one of Spitzer's top advisers, to discuss Dopp's discrepancies.

"It was specifically indicated to Peter Pope [by Soares' office] that he is not a target," the source said, noting Pope helped draft the Dopp's statement to Cuomo.

The Soares probe is "specifically limited" to determining whether Dopp gave false statements, the source said.

According to the source, Dopp and his lawyer at that time, Terence Kindlon, approved the "final cut" of Dopp's statement before it was sent to Cuomo.

With Michael Saul

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/11/13...nd_former_.html

THE NEW YORK POST

"DA WILL PUT SPITZ MAN ON THE GRILL"

By FREDRIC U. DICKER, State Editor

November 13, 2007 -- ALBANY - Albany District Attorney David Soares will interview a top aide to Gov. Spitzer later this week about the circumstances under which the aide and two officials helped prepare a sworn statement by former Spitzer communications director Darren Dopp, who is under investigation for possible perjury, it was learned last night.

Peter Pope, Spitzer's policy director, will be questioned about the role he played with Spitzer counsel David Nocenti and Sean Patrick Maloney, the governor's first deputy secretary, in the statement signed by Dopp on July 22, one day before Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued a blockbuster reporter on the Dirty Tricks Scandal.

The Commission on Public Integrity, which is probing the scandal, asked Soares late last week to investigate Dopp after determining that his testimony to the commission appeared to contradict the sworn statement.

A source in the governor's office said Pope had been assured by Soares that neither he, Nocenti nor Maloney were "targets" of the DA.

"We were told that Soares' inquiry at this point is solely and exclusively about whether or not Darren testified falsely before the Ethics Commission," said the source.

The source insisted Dopp himself had the final say as to what was in the sworn statement and no effort was made to encourage him to tell anything but the truth.

Word of Soares' widening new probe came as The Post learned that several aides to Spitzer - not just Dopp - gave conflicting testimony on the scandal to the Public Integrity Commission.

"There clearly have been absolutely contradictory sworn statements between witnesses from the governor's office, and I think very few people realize how serious this is," a source close to the commission told The Post.

"There are some facts on how the executive chamber [Spitzer's office] operated, how they behaved - whether legal or not - that would stun a lot of people if they became public."

Dopp claimed in a sworn statement that he became involved in having the State Police gather evidence on Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno's use of state aircraft in response to "requests" from the media.

But others told the commission - as well as Cuomo's investigators - that Dopp and other top Spitzer aides used the State Police for months before any media requests were received to monitor Republican Bruno's activities in hopes of catching him misusing the aircraft, sources said.

Some aides to Spitzer have also testified that Dopp was largely to blame for the scandal, while others said the governor and his chief-of-staff, Richard Baum, were directly involved, it was learned.

Commission efforts to obtain e-mails and documents involving Spitzer's knowledge have been blocked by claims of "executive privilege" from aides to the governor.

The Post disclosed yesterday that, according to a source close to the scandal, Dopp asked another key Spitzer aide, William Howard, to lie about the origins of effort to damage Bruno (R-Rensselaer) after the first details became known.

Neither Dopp nor his lawyer, Michael Koenig, would comment.

Soares, a Spitzer political ally, conducted an investigation of the scandal in late summer but failed to put any witnesses, including Dopp and Spitzer, under oath.

His report minimized the scandal and said no crimes had occurred, a finding that was widely viewed with skepticism and that led to tensions with Cuomo's office.

Meanwhile, it was learned that some commission staffers believe that Chairman John Feerick, a former Fordham Law School dean, had undermined the probe by asking Soares - and not Cuomo - to investigate possible perjury by Dopp.

"I don't know anybody in state government who looks at David Soares as a good prosecutor," said a commission source.

fredric.dicker@nypost.com

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11132007/news/...7131.htm?page=0

THE NEW YORK POST

"3 TOP SPITZER AIDS TO BE QUESTIONED BY DA"

By FREDRIC U. DICKER

November 12, 2007 -- ALBANY -- Albany District Attorney David Soares will interview a top aide to Gov. Spitzer later this week about the circumstances under which he and two officials helped prepare a sworn statement by former Spitzer aide Darren Dopp, who is under investigation for possible perjury, it was learned tonight.

Peter Pope, Spitzer's policy director, will be questioned about the role he played along with Spitzer Counsel David Nocenti and Sean Patrick Maloney, the governor's first deputy secretary, in the statement signed by Dopp on July 22, one day before Attorney General Andrew Cuomo issued a blockbuster reporter on the "Dirty Tricks" scandal.

The Commission on Public Integrity, which is probing the scandal, asked Soares late last week to investigate Dopp after determining that his testimony to the commission appeared to contradict the sworn statement.

A source in the governor's office said Pope had been assured by Soares that neither he nor Nocenti and Maloney were "targets" of the district attorney's office.

"We were told that Soares' inquiry at this point is solely and exclusively about whether or not Darren testified falsely before the Ethics Commission," said the source.

The source insisted that Dopp himself had the final say as to what was in the sworn statement and that no effort was made to encourage him to tell anything but the truth.

Word of Soares' widening new probe came as The Post learned that several aides to Spitzer -- not just former Communications Director Dopp -- gave conflicting testimony on the scandal to the state Public Integrity Commission.

"There clearly have been absolutely contradictory sworn statements between witnesses from the governor's office and I think very few people realize how serious this is," a source close to the commission told The Post.

"There are some facts on how the Executive Chamber (Spitzer's office) operated, how they behaved -- whether legal or not -- that would stun a lot of people if they became public," the source continued.

Dopp claimed in the sworn statement that he became involved in having the State Police gather evidence on Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer) use of state aircraft in response to "requests" from the media.

But others told the commission -- as well as Cuomo's investigators -- that Dopp and other top Spitzer aides used the State Police for months before any media requests were received to monitor Bruno's activities in hopes of catching him misusing the aircraft, sources said.

Some aides to Spitzer have also testified that Dopp was largely to blame for the scandal while others said the governor and his chief-of-staff, Richard Baum, were directly involved, it was learned.

Commission efforts to obtain e-mails and other documents involving Spitzer's knowledge of the scandal have been blocked by claims of "executive privilege" from aides to the governor.

The Post disclosed today that, according to a source close to the scandal, Dopp asked another key Spitzer aide, William Howard, to lie about the origins of effort to damage Bruno after the first details became known.

Neither Dopp nor his lawyer, Michael Koenig, would comment.

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11122007/news/...by_d_464946.htm

THE NEW YORK POST

"TOP SPITZ MAN TOLD AIDE TO LIE: INSIDER"

November 12, 2007 -- Gov. Spitzer's former communications di rector, Darren Dopp, asked another Spitzer aide to lie about the origins of the Dirty Tricks Scandal - including the governor's own allegedly extensive knowledge of the plot to smear the Senate's GOP leader, a well-placed source told The Post yesterday.

Dopp wanted now-demoted Spitzer homeland-security aide William Howard to join him in denying there was anything unusual in their months-long effort to use the State Police to gather evidence purporting to show Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Rensselaer) misused state aircraft for political purposes, said the source, who knows many of those involved in the scandal.

Dopp sought to have Howard, whose job involved overseeing the State Police, back up his initial public claim that the information gathered on Bruno was merely the result of a "change in State Police policy" designed to keep better track of the use of state aircraft, and was not part of a complex conspiracy aimed at damaging or destroying Spitzer's chief Republican opponent, the source continued.

The state Public Integrity Commission last week asked Albany District Attorney David Soares to examine possible perjury by Dopp before the commission.

An investigation by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo showed that Dopp, Howard and others used the State Police to compile information on Bruno that was not gathered on other public officials.

As soon as The Post broke the story of the anti-Bruno plot on July 5 - and revealed that many of Dopp's claims were false - an "emergency" meeting was held in one of Spitzer's executive offices at the Capitol to discuss the scandal.

Present at the meeting were Dopp, Howard, Spitzer Chief of Staff Richard Baum and other senior Spitzer aides, the source said.

"Darren made it clear to Howard and others that he wanted a story to be told that was different than the one that actually happened," the source claimed.

"His comments stunned some of those who heard it, because they didn't want to lie."

Dopp also insisted at another meeting that "the boss," as he called Spitzer, had been kept fully informed "from the start" about the anti-Bruno effort, which dated back to the spring, the source said.

Such a claim, if true, would contradict Spitzer's repeated insistence that he didn't learn about the anti-Bruno plot until shortly before it became public - and had even made an unsuccessful effort to stop it.

The source said Howard, and possibly other members of the governor's staff, have testified under oath in recent weeks to the Spitzer-controlled Public Integrity Commission about the specific events that transpired immediately after the plot against Bruno became public.

"Howard is someone who tells the truth, and that's what he did when he testified," said the source.

Neither Dopp nor his attorney, Michael Koenig, responded to a request for comment.

Howard could not be reached for comment.

fredric.dicker@nypost.com

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11122007/news/...ider_999366.htm

"Sweeney to cops: 'This is not going to turn out good'''

By ROBERT GAVIN, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 4:48 p.m., Wednesday, November 14, 2007

CLIFTON PARK -- Facing drunken driving charges early Sunday morning, ex-U.S. Rep. John Sweeney reminded state troopers of his status, feared he wouldn't pass a sobriety test and questioned whether his arrest would go public, court papers revealed today.

"Do you know who I am?" Sweeney, 52, told police, moments after a traffic stop on the Northway just south of Exit 9, according to records filed in Clifton Park Town Court.

The Clifton Park Republican first told troopers he had a couple of drinks in downtown Albany -- and later explained, on the ride to the police barracks, that he drank four glasses of wine at the Envy Lounge on Pearl Street, records show.

"You guys know I will not pass the tests."

"I am not taking any tests," Sweeney told Troopers Michael Tromblee and Phillip Dickson during the traffic stop.

"This is not going to turn out good."

He later asked Tromblee at the barracks, "What exactly will the news media and papers get about this?"

Sweeney, who is expected to appear in Town Court tonight, told police he was driving home at the time.

A 24-year-old female passenger was on Sweeney's lap, authorities said.

He was pulled over after he swerved toward a State Police cruiser -- nearly striking the vehicle, a law enforcement official has said.

State Police reported a strong odor of alcohol on Sweeney's breath.

The Republican, who lost his re-election bid last year to Democratic Rep. Kirsten Gillibrand, allegedly failed a standard field sobriety test.

A subsequent test showed his blood-alcohol content was 0.18 percent -- more than twice the state's legal limit of 0.08 percent, police said.

Sweeney also had glassy eyes and impaired speech and motor coordination, police said.

The ex-lawmaker faces misdemeanor charges of driving while intoxicated and aggravated DWI.

The latter charge was brought because Sweeney -- a one-time STOP-DWI coordinator for Rensselaer County -- was driving at twice the legal limit.

If convicted, it carries a maximum penalty of a year in jail.

After telling the troopers he drank four glasses of wine, Sweeney asked them, "Why are you asking me these questions?"

Court records indicate the former lawmaker wavered on whether to submit to a sobriety test, but shortly after 2 a.m., he had told police:

"I will take the test."

"My lawyer said I should."

Sweeney's attorney, E. Stewart Jones said Tuesday that Sweeney never refused to take an alcohol breath test, but declined to address specifics until the case is resolved.

When Sweeney was informed that he failed the alcohol breath test and would be charged with aggravated DWI, Sweeney replied, "I am aware of what the charge is," records said.

"McNally's lead shrinks in DA's race"

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 4:07 p.m., Wednesday, November 14, 2007

TROY - After a morning of counting absentee ballots in the Rensselaer County district attorney's race, Democrat Richard McNally's lead over Republican Greg Cholakis is down to 121 votes.

Election workers have split into two groups to try to get through the work by week's end, and continued today to open absentee ballots for the rest of the county's towns.

They have yet to begin counting ballots for the city of Troy, which may make up about one-third of the total of absentee ballots, officials said.

At the end of the day Tuesday, McNally still led by 193 votes, 18,694 to 18,501.

As workers took their lunch break just after 1 p.m. today, Republican Election Commissioner Larry Bugbee said McNally's lead decreased to 121 votes.

Actual totals for each candidate would not be available until the end of the day when the two groups sit down and tally the numbers.

The canvass of the machine tallies completed late last week showed Democrat Richard McNally ahead of Republican Greg Cholakis by 201 votes, 18,595 to 18,394.

There are a total of 1,736 absentee, 324 affidavit, and 28 emergency ballots to count in the race.

"Lemka keeps lead as write-in votes counted - 32 ballots remain in Schodack supervisor race; review forthcoming"

By KENNETH C. CROWE II and BOB GARDINIER, Staff writers, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, November 14, 2007

TROY -- Write-in candidate Ray Lemka held on to a 10-vote lead in the Schodack supervisor's race Tuesday after the Rensselaer County Board of Elections counted absentee votes in the tight election.

Lemka led incumbent Republican Supervisor Beth Knauf Secor 1,718 to 1,708, according to the latest count.

Thirty two unopened ballots were challenged.

Democratic Elections Commissioner Ed McDonough said the write-in votes Lemka received on the voting machines will be reviewed after the board finishes with the district attorney's race.

Democrat Richard McNally still led in the district attorney's race over Republican Greg Cholakis, 18,694 to 18,501.

Cholakis shaved eight votes off McNally's lead, whittling it to 193 after absentee ballots from the towns of Nassau, Schodack, Petersburgh and Grafton were counted.

Sixty one absentee votes were not counted after objections were made by the candidates.

The board will resume counting absentee ballots at 9:30 a.m. today.

Lemka received an unprecedented 1,657 write-in votes, which have not yet been reviewed.

Lemka looked over the write-ins on the 40-foot-long paper rolls from the 20 election machines in Schodack.

He caught at least one vote that is questionable.

One voter wrote just 'Lemka' in one place.

"That may not count," Lemka said, pointing to it.

"The lawyers may have a problem with that."'

In another place, 'Raymond W. Lemka' was written on the wrong line and Lemka said he was fairly certain that would not count.

In pre-election meetings with the commissioners, it was decided that 'Lemka,' 'R. Lemka,' 'Ray Lemka,' 'Raymond Lemka' and 'Raymond W. Lemka' would all be acceptable, officials have said.

However, the unprecedented nature of all the write-ins make it likely some of the votes will be challenged in court, officials have said.

Elections officials placed the rolls on a table at 9:30 a.m. and by 10:30 a.m. Secor and her representatives had not shown up.

The wide paper with 30 horizontal lines for write-ins was yellowed in some spots because it had sat unused in the machine for so long.

"They are going to have to buy some new paper this year," Lemka said, proud of efforts to mount the write-in campaign that's made Rensselaer County history.

Kenneth C. Crowe II can be reached at 454-5084 or by e-mail at kcrowe@timesunion.com.

"Spitzer drops plan to issue licenses to illegal immigrants"

By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press

Last updated: 5:05 p.m., Wednesday, November 14, 2007

WASHINGTON -- New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer surrendered Wednesday in his effort to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

The move may quiet some critics, but it spurred Hillary Rodham Clinton to speak out.

Clinton, who has come under fire from other presidential candidates of both parties for her non-committal answers to questions about the license plan, on Wednesday spelled out her position.

"I support Gov. Spitzer's decision today to withdraw his proposal," Sen. Clinton said in a statement.

"As president, I will not support driver's licenses for undocumented people and will press for comprehensive immigration reform that deals with all of the issues around illegal immigration including border security and fixing our broken system."

Spitzer abandoned his plan in the face of overwhelming opposition and after a private meeting with New York lawmakers in Washington, saying "New York state cannot successfully address this problem on its own."

"It does not take a stethoscope to hear the pulse of New Yorkers on this topic," he said.

The Democratic governor introduced the plan two months ago with the goal of increased security, safer roads and an opportunity to bring immigrants "out of the shadows."

Opponents charged the scheme would make it easier for would-be terrorists to get identification, and make the country less safe.

The decision is another example of the roadblocks that high-profile immigration reforms have faced this year.

Less than five months ago, Congress failed to pass legislation that would legalize as many as 12 million unlawful immigrants and fortify the border with Mexico.

"The federal government has lost control of its borders, has allowed millions of undocumented immigrants to enter our country and now has no solution to deal with it," Spitzer said.

Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff called Spitzer's reversal on the license issue "a good development" and said immigration is a federal issue for which his department has to "ramp up enforcement."

"What I want to make sure is that states aren't working at cross-purposes with us and enabling the kind of conduct we're enforcing against," Chertoff told The Associated Press by phone.

Last month, Spitzer sought to salvage the license effort by striking a deal with the Department of Homeland Security to create three distinct types of state driver's licenses: one "enhanced" card that would be as secure as a passport for crossing the border; a second-tier license good for boarding airplanes; and a third marked not valid for federal purposes that would be available to illegal immigrants and others.

The deal with Washington may still be salvaged: while aides to Spitzer said they were still reviewing parts of it, Chertoff said the agreement would "absolutely" still go forward.

About 70 percent of New Yorkers opposed the plan, according to a Siena College poll of 625 registered voters released Tuesday.

The poll, conducted Nov. 5-8, had a sampling error margin of 3.9 percentage points.

After meeting privately with the governor, New York Democrats who agreed with him said they understood he had to retreat -- but insisted the need for immigration reform would only grow.

"This governor was not defeated by anything other than the hate in this country toward immigrants right now," said Rep. Jose Serrano, a Bronx Democrat.

"Lead slims in DA race recount - Latest tally has Democrat ahead by 107 votes; result sought by week's end"

By KENNETH C. CROWE II and BOB GARDINIER, Staff writers, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Thursday, November 15, 2007

TROY -- Democrat Richard McNally's lead over Republican Greg Cholakis in the Rensselaer County district attorney's race dwindled to 107 votes Wednesday as the county Board of Elections continued counting absentee ballots.

McNally led Cholakis by 19,137 to 19,030, according to unofficial results from the Board of Elections.

The board finished counting the votes in the 14 towns and the city of Rensselaer Wednesday.

This morning, the board will open the 710 paper ballots from the city of Troy.

Election workers split into two groups Wednesday to try to get through the work by week's end.

They will count the votes from Troy beginning at 9:30 a.m.

The Troy votes account for about one-third of the absentee ballots, officials said.

The canvass of the machine tallies was completed late last week and showed McNally ahead of Cholakis by 201 votes, 18,595 to 18,394.

There were a total of 1,736 absentee, 324 affidavit, and 28 emergency ballots to count in the race.

In Troy, Democrats and Republicans can't predict how the ballots will break for the candidates when they are opened.

It's hard to predict what will occur as Republican Mayor Harry Tutunjian won citywide while the Democrats took control of the City Council with a 6-3 majority.

The Democrats hold the enrollment edge in the city.

Democrats will be watching South Troy as a possible source for McNally support, while Republicans will count on Lansingburgh to turn out for Cholakis.

Another factor is that Cholakis is a city resident.

McNally did well in his hometown of Pittstown, usually a Republican bastion.

The board must still deal with the 183 ballots that were objected to by candidates' representatives.

Another issue is a machine in the town of Grafton.

Democratic Elections Commissioner Ed McDonough said there's been a question raised that Cholakis may have received votes that were not cast.

The same machine gave Hillary Rodham Clinton more votes than there were voters in last year's Senate race, McDonough said.

"McNally opens lead in DA recount - More ballots to go in Rensselaer County race"

By BOB GARDINIER, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

Last updated: 2:10 p.m., Thursday, November 15, 2007

TROY - After the counting of about half the absentee ballots from Troy polling places, Democrat Richard McNally has opened up a comfortable lead over Republican Greg Cholakis.

As Rensselaer County Board of Elections commissioners, workers and political lawyers took a short lunch break today, they had counted about half of the last pile of absentee ballots from the 44 city districts in the tight race.

McNally, whose lead at end of business Wednesday was 107, is now ahead of his opponent by 196 votes, elections officials say.

The board finished counting the votes in the 14 towns and the city of Rensselaer Wednesday.

This morning, the board began to open the 710 paper ballots from the city of Troy.

They expect to finish the job today.

The canvass of the machine tallies was completed late last week and showed McNally ahead of Cholakis by 201 votes.

The board must still deal with the more than 183 ballots that were objected to by candidates' representatives and set aside and not counted.

Legal challenges must be made by Friday or early next week or those votes will be counted, officials said.

Another issue is a machine in the town of Grafton that could cost Cholakis even more votes.

Democratic Elections Commissioner Ed McDonough said there's been a question raised that Cholakis may have received votes that were not cast for him.

The same machine gave Hillary Rodham Clinton more votes than there were registered Brunswick voters in last year's Senate race, McDonough said.

THE NEW YORK TIMES

"Spitzer Dropping His Driver’s License Plan"

By DANNY HAKIM

Published: November 14, 2007

ALBANY, Nov. 13 — Gov. Eliot Spitzer is abandoning his plan to issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, saying that opposition is just too overwhelming to move forward with such a policy.

The governor, who is to announce the move formally on Wednesday, said in an interview Tuesday night that he did not reach the decision easily.

“You have perhaps seen me struggle with it because I thought we had a principled decision, and it’s not necessarily easy to back away from trying to move a debate forward,” he said.

But he came to believe the proposal would ultimately be blocked, he said, either by legal challenges, a vote by the Legislature to deny financing for the Department of Motor Vehicles or a refusal by upstate county clerks to carry it out.

“I am not willing to fight to the bitter end on something that will not ultimately be implemented,” the governor said, “and we also have an enormous agenda on other issues of great importance to New York State that was being stymied by the constant and almost singular focus on this issue.”

Mr. Spitzer’s plan touched off a national debate over whether issuing licenses to illegal immigrants would make the state more secure or improperly extend a privilege to them that should be reserved for legal residents.

Opposition to the proposal sent his poll numbers plunging and stalled his broader agenda.

The decision is likely to be a relief to many of his fellow Democrats in Albany and in Washington, who feared the issue could haunt them into next year’s election season.

In the interview, the governor sounded disappointed but resigned.

He acknowledged that he would be criticized for changing course on the issue for the second time in three weeks. (“You think so?” he said facetiously when a reporter suggested as much.)

“Part of leadership is listening to the public’s opposition,” he said.

“Having heard that, and assessed the realities of implementing this policy, part of leadership is realizing that getting results is more important than sticking to what may be a principled position.”

Mr. Spitzer first unveiled his initiative in September, when he announced that the Department of Motor Vehicles would begin issuing driver’s licenses without regard to immigration status and said he wanted to bring illegal immigrants “out of the shadows.”

But the proposal, which was formulated with scant consultation with other politicians, set off a backlash far greater than the administration had anticipated.

So late last month, the governor shifted course and said the state would offer three tiers of licenses: a limited driver’s license that illegal immigrants could obtain, which could not be used for boarding planes or crossing borders; a secure, federally recognized license known as Real ID, which would be available only to legal residents; and an even more secure identification for people who travel across the border to Canada frequently, which would comply with the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative.

But the revised plan pleased almost no one.

On Tuesday night, the governor said the state would make the third tier of license available for frequent border crossers, and continue offering the same driver’s license it offers now, but not extend eligibility for it to illegal immigrants.

He said the state would put on hold the plan to adopt the Real ID, which has been championed by the Bush administration.

The governor said he wanted to wait until federal regulations for Real ID licenses were issued next year before deciding how to proceed.

Mr. Spitzer’s decision to abandon his plan comes as a poll released Tuesday by Siena College found that seven in 10 New York voters who had heard about it — and more than 80 percent of the 625 registered voters polled had — opposed it.

It also found that for the first time, more people viewed the governor unfavorably than favorably.

The governor and his aides said that they were not reacting to the slumping poll numbers, but acting pragmatically.

That the dispute had even tripped up Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, who stumbled to answer a question about it in a presidential debate, “was symptomatic of where we were,” he said.

“The issue was gaining traction not based on thoughtful discourse, but based on sound bites and less than careful analysis,” he added.

Mr. Spitzer’s latest shift is likely to further complicate his relations with Hispanic lawmakers, who heartily supported his original policy but were upset when he moved to a three-tier system.

Some felt that offering a lesser tier of license to illegal immigrants would stigmatize them and attract the suspicions of law enforcement.

“I stood up on a very tough issue,” the governor said.

“I may not have succeeded in implementing the policy they desired, but I didn’t hesitate to stand up when not many have done so.”

The governor said he hoped the storm would pass and that the state would be able to begin tackling other issues.

Even before the license plan was unveiled, he and Republican lawmakers were locked in a standoff, some of it over policy but much of it the result of a feud between the governor and Joseph L. Bruno, the Senate majority leader.

Asked how his new position would be received, Mr. Spitzer responded: “The reaction will be what it is.”

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/14/nyregion...amp;oref=slogin

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Governor Spitzer caves in on immigrant license plan"

BY JOE MAHONEY, DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Wednesday, November 14th 2007, 9:29 AM

ALBANY - Driven by mounting opposition, Gov. Spitzer buckled Tuesday on his controversial plan to issue special driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

"I can confirm that the governor intends to withdraw his plan," Spitzer spokeswoman Jennifer Givner said Tuesday night.

Not everybody was happy with the turnaround.

Assemblyman Peter Rivera (D-Bronx) blasted the governor, saying, "He created a tremendous amount of hope and now he has let the air out of that hope."

"I certainly hope this does not help him in the polls."

"It's a tremendous blow to all immigrants."

"I supported him until I saw his backbone disappear."

But Rep. Vito Fossella (R-S.I.) said, "This is good news for the security of New York and the nation."

"A secure license is key to a safer New York."

"New York should not be issuing licenses that compromise our safety."

Fossella had proposed a measure to block states from receiving federal highway funds if they granted licenses to undocumented immigrants.

Spitzer's cave-in came as a Siena College poll found his job approval rating has dropped to a low of 33% and that only one of four respondents said they would reelect him.

The poll found opposition to the license plan running at nearly 2 to 1.

Spitzer will meet today in Washington with New York's congressional delegation, many of whom have openly opposed the program.

The controversy has even hurt Democratic presidential front-runner Sen. Hillary Clinton, who has been hammered for failing to take a firm stance on the issue.

The governor's office indicated that Spitzer will tell the New York lawmakers that he is shelving the plan and that immigration is a federal issue to be handled by Washington, congressional aides said.

"We were hoping that this is exactly what he would do because this is an issue that was creating a huge problem for members of the Democratic delegation, especially upstate," a congressional source said.

Spitzer unveiled his licensing plan two months ago, hoping to bring people "out of the shadows," he said.

The measure would have allowed applicants to get licenses without submitting valid Social Security numbers.

Instead, the DMV would have been able to accept foreign passports, birth certificates, previous state driver's licenses and other verifiable forms of ID.

Opponents, including Mayor Bloomberg, a Spitzer ally, feared, the plan would encourage illegal immigrants to flock to New York.

Some charged the proposal would make it easier for would-be terrorists to get identification, and make the country less safe.

Michael Balboni, New York's homeland security head, argued that the new system would actually improve security by creating high-tech, tamper-proof IDs that can be accessed by law enforcement.

The governor sought to salvage the license effort last month by striking a deal with the Department of Homeland Security to create three separate types of state driver's licenses: one "enhanced" that would be as secure as a passport; a second-tier license good for boarding airplanes, and a third marked not valid for federal purposes that would be available to illegal immigrants and others.

Republicans had slammed the idea.

"The governor has finally started to listen," Senate Deputy GOP Leader Dean Skelos (R-L.I.) said last night.

"He finally sensed that New Yorkers were not going to tolerate a plan that was flawed from the beginning."

Earlier, state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R-Rensselaer) told a gathering of business executives in Rensselaer County that lawmakers would smother Spitzer's license plan before it ever got on track.

"It's not happening," he said.

"It's just nonsense and wrong."

jmahoney@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/2007/11/14...mmigrant_l.html

THE POUGHKEEPSIE JOURNAL

Wednesday, November 14, 2007

"Spitzer expected to drop controversial license plan - Governor to meet with New York lawmakers today"

By Joseph Spector, Journal Albany bureau

ALBANY - With a new poll showing his popularity plummeting, Gov. Eliot Spitzer is expected today to drop his controversial policy to allow illegal immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.

The expected retreat comes as Spitzer will meet this morning in Washington with New York's congressional delegation to lay out the reasons for his decision, according to congressional aides Tuesday night.

Spitzer's staff would not confirm the announcement, but Spitzer in recent days has softened his position on the issue and has indicated that immigration reform may be more of a national issue.

House members, both Democrats and Republicans, have been critical of the policy, and Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton has been hammered over not taking a firm stance on the issue as she runs for president.

Some House members said earlier Tuesday they hope Spitzer tells them he's dropping the plan.

"I hope that I'll hear from him that he will go back to the drawing board and reconsider the wisdom of this proposal," Rep. John Hall, D-Dover, said.

"I agree with him on a lot of things, but I think this is a bad idea."

The New York Immigration Coalition expressed disappointment in the governor's expected announcement.

"Governor Spitzer tried to do the right thing," the group said in a statement.

"The policy would've brought people out of shadows and made New York a safer place."

"But political opportunists were extremely successful in using the issue as red meat and creating a toxic environment that obscured the real benefits of the policy."

Hinted at changes

After vowing for months to move ahead with the policy despite growing opposition, Spitzer has recently suggested he may be open to modifying the plan.

"You don't need to see the most recent polls to understand that this is an issue that has touched a nerve with the public," Spitzer told reporters Tuesday morning in New York City.

"And we're trying to address that in a thoughtful, modulated way, and then we'll see where we go."

In a Siena College poll Tuesday, the policy was largely to blame for Spitzer's favorability rating among New Yorkers dipping to an all-time low of 41 percent.

Only 25 percent of voters said they would re-elect him in three years.

The sinking popularity is a stunning turn for a Democratic governor who was elected last November with 69 percent of the vote and vowed that "Day One" he would reform Albany.

In January, his popularity soared to 75 percent.

The poll found 46 percent had an unfavorable opinion of Spitzer, and 49 percent said they would "prefer someone else" as the next governor in 2010.

Just a month ago, a Siena poll found that 54 percent of voters had a favorable opinion of Spitzer.

The telephone survey was conducted between Nov. 5 and 8 and interviewed 625 registered voters.

It has a margin of error of 3.9 percentage points.

"Eliot Spitzer's standing with voters has fallen faster and further than any politician in recent New York history," Siena poll spokesman Steve Greenberg said.

The poll found Spitzer's lack of support is tied largely to the driver's license issue.

Seventy percent of those polled oppose his original plan released in late September, and nearly two-thirds oppose a revised three-tiered license plan introduced last month.

The governor announced in late September a new policy to allow illegal immigrants to apply for driver's licenses without Social Security numbers and instead with a foreign passport and other identification.

Then last month, he modified the plan in an agreement with the federal Department of Homeland Security to offer a three-tiered license program that included a non-federal license to illegal immigrants.

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, R-Brunswick, Rensselaer County, ripped Spitzer Tuesday during a speech to the Rensselaer County Chamber of Commerce, saying the state is "in a meltdown" because "this executive refuses to govern."

Rep. Randy Kuhl, R-Hammondsport, Steuben County, said the governor will discuss a variety of topics with federal lawmakers today, including the driver's license policy and federal health insurance for children.

Reach Joseph Spector at Jspector@gannett.com

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/apps/pb...7%2F1006%2FNEWS

"Spitzer to pull driver's license plan - Controversial policy at an end as poll shows fading support for governor"

By JAMES M. ODATO, Capitol bureau, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Wednesday, November 14, 2007

ALBANY -- Struggling with widespread opposition to his driver's licensing policy, Gov. Eliot Spitzer is scheduled to huddle with New York's congressional delegation today in Washington and disclose that he is ditching the controversial plan.

"I am not willing to fight to the bitter end on something that will not ultimately be implemented," the governor told The New York Times, "and we also have an enormous agenda on other issues of great importance to New York state that was being stymied by the constant and almost singular focus on this issue."

Christine Anderson, the governor's communications director, also confirmed late Tuesday that the governor had decided to withdraw the initiative he and the Department of Motor Vehicles have defended for two months.

The move by Spitzer was the subject of wide speculation on Tuesday, with even supporters of the governor saying it made sense for him to give up the fight because of the long odds of winning over the public and the political harm being done to the Democratic Party, including presidential hopeful Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The junior U.S. senator from New York has been bloodied by competitors for sticking up for Spitzer while shying from outright support of the license policy he came up with to deal with New York's more than 500,000 illegal immigrants.

Spitzer's private meeting with the congressional members, many of whom have openly opposed the plan, starts at 8 a.m.

It likely will precede his public announcement of his turnaround.

The governor already amended the plan once following an early round of outcries, led by Republican legislators, that the policy of letting illegal residents gain a state privilege was akin to fostering terrorism.

He then went to Washington and announced a plan developed privately with the Department of Homeland Security to create three types of state driver's licenses, with the lowest level of security going to illegal immigrants and others.

That deal angered Democrats in the Legislature who had gone to bat for Spitzer against the attacks on his original plan.

Speculation that the governor would do an about-face has mounted in recent days and grew stronger Tuesday after the second Siena Research Institute poll in two months showed New Yorkers overwhelmingly oppose the governor's concept of providing driver's licenses to people lacking documents for staying in the United States.

The latest poll suggests that the governor's popularity has fallen dramatically because of his policy, Siena poll spokesman Steven Greenberg said.

One of the 23 questions put to voters was whether the governor's handling of the driver's license issue increased or decreased his approval rating.

Of those polled, 52 percent said it had eroded their view of the first-term Democrat.

Spitzer spokesman Errol Cockfield Jr. said the governor's meeting with New York's congressional members, some of whom have spoken out against the licensing policy, will include a briefing on the matter.

Cockfield said Spitzer sought the delegation's feedback to see if "adjustments" might be advisable.

Spitzer's reaction to the Siena poll numbers, which showed two thirds of New York voters dislike the governor's policy, suggested the governor is much more open to change than he indicated a month ago when reacting to an Oct. 15 Siena poll.

The new poll showed that his favorability rating had fallen below 50 percent for the first time ever, a remarkable fall for a candidate who swept into office with nearly 70 percent of the vote a year ago.

Even fellow Democrats joined in bashing Spitzer, giving resonance to poll responses that showed just 25 percent of New Yorkers would vote to re-elect the governor and 49 percent would prefer to elect "someone else" in 2010.

Spitzer said he's getting the message that the people dislike his licensing program.

"You don't need to see the most recent polls to understand that this is an issue that has touched a nerve in the public, and we're trying to address that in a thoughtful, modulated way and we'll see where we go," he told reporters at Battery Park City.

Republicans in the Legislature blamed Spitzer's agenda for polarizing the Capitol.

"We're in a danger zone," said Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno.

"We're in a meltdown at the state, pure and simple."

"This executive refuses to govern."

William Sherman, Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco's chief of staff, said the fact that Spitzer is dropping the plan means that New York will be safer.

It also means that the minority conference, which has been fierce opponents of the plan, was heard.

Word of Spitzer's apparent decision even reached the floor of the Schenectady County Legislature, which Tuesday night was in the midst of debating whether to pass a proposal to voice its opposition to the controversial licensing plan.

During the meeting, a phone rang in an adjacent office.

Someone from a television station was looking for comment, given the apparent development.

That prompted County Attorney Chris Gardner to pull a copy of a wire story about Spitzer backing off of his plans.

Legislator Philip Fields then called Spitzer's office to see if the story was true, and was told "unofficially" that it was.

Staff writer Larry Rulison and staff writer Lauren Stanforth contributed to this report. James M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 or by e-mail at jodato@timesunion.com.

WXXI

"Poll Shows Spitzer's Popularity Plunging"

Karen DeWitt

ALBANY, NEW YORK (2007-11-13) Governor Spitzer has reached a new low in the polls, as voters expressed dissatisfaction over his driver's license plan and the way he's handling himself as governor.

The voter survey, by Siena College, found that Spitzer's popularity has plummeted in his first ten months in office, from a high of 75% in January to just 41% in November.

Siena's Steve Greenberg says only 25% say they'd vote for the governor again if the election were held now.

"I have never seen numbers fall as far and as fast as these numbers are falling," said Greenberg.

Nearly two thirds of voters, 64% of those asked, have a negative view of the job the governor is doing in office, while just 33% think Spitzer is performing well.

Fueling the governor's drop in the polls is his controversial driver's license plan.

The poll found that the governor's newest plan, released a couple of weeks ago, is almost as unpopular as his initial proposal.

The new plan would give a lesser-quality driver's license to undocumented immigrants.

65% are against it, and 53% said they did not believe the governor's assertion that the revised plan would make New Yorkers safer.

While there's been a lot of attention paid to the driver's license plan, other issues have languished at the capitol, including a fund for economic development projects, a campaign finance reform bill, and pay raises for judges.

State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, a Republican who's been at odds with Spitzer, launched into a lengthy attack of the governor at a Rensselaer County Chamber of Commerce luncheon.

"We're in a meltdown," said Bruno, who blamed the governor for the gridlock.

"This executive refuses to govern," he said.

Afterward, Bruno said the poll numbers confirm what he says has been his opinion, that Spitzer does not have "the temperament" to be governor.

The Senator says he has not spoken to the governor on any substantive issue for over three months, after an Attorney General's report found that some of the governor's top aides misused the state police to recreate records on some of the Senator's travels.

That issue, which caused the governor's poll numbers to begin to waiver in the late summer, has also come back into the news again.

It appears likely that the Albany County District Attorney will reopen the case, after the State Ethics Commission noticed some discrepancies in testimony by Spitzer's former communications director.

Governor Spitzer, after an event in New York City Tuesday morning, responded briefly to the poll, saying he's not surprised that his popularity would suffer when he's taken on a controversial issue, like immigration policy.

Greenberg, with Siena, says the governor does have the opportunity to regain some of his lost mandate, in the more than three years still remaining in his term.

http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wxxi/new...1182789§ionID=1

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

Michael Goodwin

"Reading Spitzer's mind"

Wednesday, November 14th 2007, 4:00 AM

Another day, another poll.

It's a stupid game.

Reporters write vicious lies about me, then parrot them to the gullible public and ask what they think.

What do you expect?

The polls just say what the reporters want them to say.

The immigrant groups will get over the license thing.

They're going to be doubly pissed when they hear I'm bailing out on them.

I had to.

The feds were crawling all over me like lice.

Last thing I want is to get blamed for a terror attack.

Just my luck.

And Hillary's been bugging me over it, saying it's killing her.

If she loses, she'll blame me.

I guess it's my turn.

But what did she ever do for me?

Bill always treated me like a kid, so now they can't ignore me anymore.

That's why the license stuff isn't a total loss.

I got people's attention.

Reading polls is what passes for wisdom in Albany.

If anybody here had any brains, they'd go out and make real money.

Or if they got off their butts and talked to people, they'd know how much respect I have.

And it's not just because I'm governor.

It's personal.

See, I know how this game works.

Make people afraid of you, and they'll respect you.

It worked with Wall Street and the insurance companies.

Some tough guys they were.

A couple of threats and they folded like cheap lawn chairs.

They didn't call me the "Priest of Wall Street."

I was the "Sheriff" because they knew I'd cut them a new one.

Some of those people even rolled over and gave me money last year.

It was like tribute.

I beat them at their own game, and they know it.

Now I'm supposed to be afraid of the Albany district attorney because he's poking around the state police thing again.

Me afraid of David Soares?

That's like saying Lyndon Johnson was afraid of Hubert Humphrey.

I love LBJ's line when someone told him Humphrey, his own vice president, was coming out against the Vietnam War.

LBJ was a master at using power.

He used to make his staff come into the bathroom so he could dictate to them while he was on the toilet.

That's where he is when he hears Humphrey is going to buck him on the war.

LBJ says, "You tell Hubie to watch it."

"I have his balls here in my pocket."

I'll use that one the next time David Paterson acts up.

I'm not worried about anything Darren Dopp will tell Soares.

Darren knows the rules.

When there's trouble, somebody goes overboard, and it's not the boss.

Little heads must roll.

He had a good run, he should be grateful.

I made him.

The politics will work out fine.

I've got the base locked up.

I gave my Human Rights agency to the gays so they can push their marriage stuff.

I own them.

And look how I'm emptying the jails.

Because people think I'm a hard-ass on crime, it's like Nixon going to China.

And it's driving Joe Bruno nuts.

Good.

The unions owe me.

I gave the teachers more money than God.

And look what I did for the subway guys.

Elliot Sander was a good boy and told the judge we should give the union back the dues checkoff.

It's not my fault the judge wouldn't go for it.

Bloomberg probably got to him.

Don't tell me Bloomberg isn't running for something.

Everybody says he's waiting for February.

If he sees an opening then, he'll go for the White House.

He hates Rudy so much and he might beat him, but he's not going to be President.

I'm going to be the first Jewish President.

Mike should just take his money and go play golf.

Somebody played with him in Bermuda and said he had two pros helping him for all 18 holes.

What a putz.

mgoodwin@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/opinions/2007/1...ers_mind-2.html

"License plan's fall pinned on governor - Critics say Spitzer was arrogant, out of touch in failed push to give illegal immigrants official ID"

By LARRY McSHANE, Associated Press

First published: Friday, November 16, 2007

NEW YORK -- Long before Gov. Eliot Spitzer killed his plan to grant driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, there were plenty of pall bearers awaiting its funeral: CNN's Lou Dobbs, politicians on both sides of the aisle, and the majority of New Yorkers loudly opposed to the proposal.

But the person most responsible for sinking the bill, most agreed Thursday, was its biggest supporter: Eliot Spitzer.

"This basically showed that Eliot Spitzer was out of touch," said Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y, one of the bill's legion of critics.

"This was the wrong thing at the wrong time, and the governor needs to get in better touch with the people of New York."

State Conservative Party chairman Michael Long said the plan's demise was the result of "a combination of a lot of things" -- including his party's ads opposing the plan.

But he, too, felt Spitzer shouldered much of the blame for the contentious plan's demise.

"He's not necessarily politically tone deaf," Long said.

"But this was the arrogance of a man who thinks 'This is what I'm going to do' despite universal public pressure that caused it to collapse."

Spitzer announced a plan in September to allow illegal immigrants with valid foreign passports to obtain a driver's license.

He pulled the plug on the plan Wednesday amid overwhelming opposition, including a poll that showed 72 percent of New Yorkers were against the move.

Dobbs, host of a nightly CNN program, ripped Spitzer regularly over the proposal, lambasting the governor as "a spoiled rich kid brat."

The cable host was not quite done with Spitzer, either; Dobbs said that while the governor had finally done the right thing, Spitzer was "somewhat graceless in refusing to take responsibility for an irresponsible act."

In announcing his decision, Spitzer said that the federal government had "lost control" of its borders and left states to deal with the consequences.

To all:

I wanted to thank so many people that supported me and my family throughout this long endeavor, especially those that gave up their nights and weekends to campaign with me.

I will never forget your friendship, sacrifices and dedication, but more than anything else, I appreciate the class with which you distinguished yourselves from start to finish.

This makes me more proud than I could ever adequately articulate.

Throughout this campaign, I believed this would be a close election, and this obviously proved to be the case.

I have heard from so many people who were greatly disappointed, both for me and for themselves, with the outcome.

While I am obviously disappointed with today’s conclusion, I end this campaign with no regrets.

I do not regret working hard for an opportunity I have long sought; on the contrary, I would have regretted not trying.

And I do not regret fighting for what I believe in, I do not regret attempting to serve my community on another level, and I certainly do not regret keeping my campaign honest, civil and dignified.

While some have said this is naive thinking for Rensselaer County politics, I still believe that a campaign centered around issues and ideas can be something more than a mere aberration.

More importantly, when all is said and done, I have to wake up in the morning and look myself in the face.

I am proud of how hard I worked, the reasons I ran, and the way I conducted myself.

In short, I end this campaign with my self-respect and integrity intact.

I entered this race not because of my personal ambitions but because of my passion for justice and an overwhelming desire to see this county’s system of justice work better than it has.

Because of this, I have called Rich to congratulate him in his victory, and want him and everyone else to know that it is my sincere hope that he is able to succeed in bringing much needed changes to our justice system, and in the way the District Attorney’s office works.

Many people have asked me what I intend to do now.

My answer is simple: I am going to hold my head high, I am going to continue to fight to improve our system of justice, and I am going to continue to expend my professional time and personal energy trying to better a community that I love.

And I am going to do for Rich what I did for the administrations of the last three District Attorneys: work with them where I can, fight them when I must, and do everything in my power to keep them fair, honest and just.

Thank you again for this incredible opportunity.

Greg Cholakis
www.CholakisForDA.com

"Onondaga Lake less polluted, but still among nation's dirtiest"

Associated Press

Last updated: 11:52 a.m., Friday, November 16, 2007

SYRACUSE, N.Y. -- There are promising signs that Onondaga Lake is becoming cleaner, but the upstate New York lake still remains among the nation's most polluted waterways, scientists said Friday.

Oxygen levels are the highest they have been in at least 40 years and approaching normal levels, according to data collected by the Upstate Freshwater Institute.

And phosphorous in the five-mile long lake is at levels not seen since about 1900, said Steve Effler, UFI's research director.

Mercury and ammonia levels are also dropping, Effler said.

The improvements are the result of a $129 million upgrade at Onondaga County's Metropolitan Sewage Treatment Plant in Syracuse that was completed in 2005, Effler said.

"It's made the lake substantially better -- dramatically better," he said.

But there is still much work to be done, Effler added.

"Can we eat the fish?"

"Is there a bathing beach for swimmers?" Effler said.

"No, but this research makes it look promising that we can get there."

The new research was presented Friday at the ninth annual Onondaga Lake Scientific Forum in Liverpool.

The lake was once the spiritual center of the Onondaga Nation, one of the six upstate New York tribes that formed the Iroquois Confederacy.

The great Onondaga Chief Hiawatha once canoed on its waters.

In the late 19th century, the lake was ringed by grand resorts and amusement parks and was a popular sports fishery.

A century of municipal and industrial pollution turned it into a toxic stew of mercury, ammonia, phosphorous, PCBs, benzene, cyanide and other pollutants.

Swimming was banned in Onondaga Lake in 1945.

A fishing ban was imposed in 1970 and replaced in 1986 by a health advisory that limits the consumption of fish caught in the lake.

In 1994, the lake was added to the federal Superfund list.

Much of the contamination is the legacy of an Allied Chemical Co. complex that closed in 1986.

Allied was taken over by Honeywell Inc. in 1999.

In October 2006, the state announced that Honeywell had agreed to spend $451 million to help clean up the lake.

The nine-year plan called for dredging 2.65 million cubic yards of contaminated sediment from the lake and sealing 579 acres of lake bottom with a cap of sand, gravel and other material.

The upgrade to the local sewage treatment plant is part of a separate $535 million, 15-year court-ordered effort by Onondaga County.

The treatment plant improvements helped reduce ammonia and phosphorus entering the lake, Effler said.

Phosphorus promoted algae growth, which in turn reduced oxygen levels.

Since 2005, phosphorus entering the lake has been cut in half.

Under the new system, ammonia enters the lake as nontoxic nitrates, which also have helped improve oxygen levels.

Meanwhile, while the lowest mercury levels ever observed in the lake were recorded this year, mercury concentrations in fish are increasing, said Syracuse University professor Charles Driscoll, a national expert in the study of mercury in the environment.

"It takes awhile for the biology to respond to the changes," Driscoll said.

Overall though, Driscoll said he was encouraged by the research and eager to see changes over the next several years.

"The amount of recovery that has gone on this year is more than I ever could have imagined," Driscoll said.

------

Information from: The Syracuse Post-Standard, http://www.syracuse.com

"McNally winner in DA contest - Rensselaer County Democrat leads Cholakis by 227 votes, remaining ballots unlikely to change result, officials say"

By KENNETH C. CROWE II, Staff writer, Albany, New York Times Union

First published: Friday, November 16, 2007

TROY -- Democrat Richard McNally will be the next Rensselaer County district attorney, according to unofficial results from the county Board of Elections Thursday.

McNally took a 227-vote lead over Republican Greg Cholakis giving him a 19,444 to 19,217 edge in the tightly fought race, the elections commissioners said.

McNally, who attended the recount for the past three days, broke his silence on the election's outcome.

He was smiling broadly as fellow Democrats congratulated him.

"Obviously, we both ran a spirited campaign."

"Everybody's telling me I'm the next district attorney," said McNally, who also ran on the Working Families line.

While 282 ballots that were challenged by both campaigns will be opened and counted today, Republican Elections Commissioner Larry Bugbee and Democratic Elections Commissioner Ed McDonough said it is nearly impossible for Cholakis to catch up and win.

Cholakis would have to win 90 percent of the objected-to votes, or 255 of the 282 ballots.

Bugbee and McDonough said they anticipated the votes would split evenly between the candidates.

McNally saluted Cholakis for his efforts to win the campaign.

"Congratulations to Greg, he's a true human being."

"He's a real class act," McNally said about his opponent, who also had the Conservative and Independence lines.

Cholakis said he anticipated a close race.

"I said it was going to be close."

"Win or lose, I'm proud of the way we conducted our campaign."

"We stayed positive and stayed on the issues," Cholakis said.

McNally said he was not ready to comment on his staff plans for the district attorney's office.

McNally will succeed Republican District Attorney Patricia DeAngelis, whose tenure as the county's top prosecutor has been marked by reversals on cases and chastisement by higher courts for courtroom antics and prosecutorial errors.

McNally will be the first Democrat in 15 years to be district attorney.

He is the first Democrat elected to the post since 1989 when now retired Supreme Court Justice James Canfield won election.

"AMD sells 8.1 percent stake to Abu Dhabi"

By JORDAN ROBERTSON, Associated Press

Last updated: 6:44 p.m., Friday, November 16, 2007

SAN FRANCISCO -- With oil prices surging and U.S. stock prices slumping, chip maker Advanced Micro Devices Inc.'s sale of an 8.1 percent stake to the Abu Dhabi government's investment arm represents the latest plunge by a wealthy Middle Eastern nation into a troubled U.S. corporation.

It also raises fresh questions about the appropriateness of Middle Eastern firms owning large chunks of U.S. businesses that specialize in advanced technologies.

Sunnyvale-based AMD, the world's No. 2 microprocessor maker, needs the $622 million investment from the Mubadala Development Company to help lift the company out of a deep financial slump.

AMD has lost more than $1.6 billion so far this year, and has just $1.5 billion in cash on hand as it works to pay down $5.3 billion in debt.

The financial woes have caused AMD's stock to fall more than 35 percent since the start of the year, a slide that has wiped out nearly $4 billion in shareholder wealth.

The infusion, announced Friday, is a necessary jolt for AMD is it hunts for money to fund its counteroffensive against Intel Corp., the world's largest chip maker, and amid a huge spike in investments in U.S. companies from Middle Eastern nations.

Middle Eastern investments in U.S. companies has increased more than fivefold in 2007, leaping from $4.5 billion on 32 deals last year to nearly $25 billion on 42 deals so far this year, according to data compiled by Thomson Financial.

The money invested in the past two years is more than the entire total invested from 1990 to 2005, according to the latest Thomson data.

During that period, $24.8 billion in investments were made in 258 deals.

Oil-rich countries have been enriched further in recent months by a run-up in the price of a barrel of oil, which has been hovering in the $90 range while many U.S. stocks continue to suffer from the housing and lending morass that's led some banks to absorb billions of dollars in losses.

The biggest deal so far this year involving Middle Eastern firms was General Electric Co.'s $11.6 billion sale of its plastics division, completed in August, to petrochemicals manufacturer Saudi Basic Industries Corp., a public company based in Riyadh that is 70-pecent owned by the Saudi Arabian government.

Firms based in the United Arab Emirates, a federation of seven oil-rich states, have invested nearly $10 billion in real estate, financial, power generation and other types of companies in the United States.

Earlier this year, Mubadala bought a 7.5 percent stake in the management operations of private-equity firm Carlyle Group for $1.35 billion, and this week unveiled a partnership with military contractor Northrop Grumman Corp. to collaborate on aerospace and aviation technologies.

The deal with AMD makes the Abu Dhabi government-run investment fund AMD's third-largest shareholder, according to AMD's latest regulatory filings, a development that AMD vows will not trigger a review by the U.S. government because it's a minority investment and Mubadala will not get a board seat.

However, some experts doubt that claim, citing the sensitivity of AMD's technology, which besides being used widely in consumer personal computers and corporate servers is also used in Defense Department computers and other government machinery.

John Reynolds, an attorney at Wiley, Rein & Fielding in Washington, said the transaction could face scrutiny by Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S., or CFIUS, a 12-member panel headed by the Treasury Department, because the U.S. government is very interested in acquisitions by government-run investment funds, known as sovereign wealth funds, such as Mubadala.

China, Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern and Asian countries have set up such funds, which control an estimated $2.5 trillion in assets.

In addition, if AMD has government contracts for classified work, interest from CFIUS and Congress "is apt to be considerable, even if the investment is non-controlling," Reynolds said.

Generally, passive investments of less than 10 percent of a company's shares do not trigger review by CFIUS.

But that is not a hard-and-fast rule, Reynolds said, and an ownership stake below 10 percent is not automatically shielded from review.

AMD shares slid 6 cents to $12.64 in Friday trading.

------

Associated Press writer Chris Rugaber in Washington contributed to this report.

"AMD gets $622 million Mubadala injection"

Associated Press

Last updated: 10:02 a.m., Friday, November 16, 2007

SUNNYVALE, Calif. -- Advanced Micro Devices Inc., the second-largest maker of PC and server microprocessors, said Friday it received a $622 million investment from a unit of Abu Dhabi-based Mubadala Development Co.

The United Arab Emirates investment firm received 49 million newly-issued shares at $12.70 each, the closing price Thursday of AMD's common stock, representing an 8.1 percent stake.

AMD received about $608 million, after reimbursing Mubadala for approximately $14.6 million in expenses.

The company said it will use the proceeds for general corporate purposes including investing in research and development, product innovations and manufacturing.

The company said Mubadala will not receive any board representation as part of the non-controlling, minority investment.

This transaction isn't therefore subject to review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S.

Merrill Lynch acted as financial adviser to Advanced Micro Devices.

Lehman Brothers acted as lead financial adviser to Mubadala and Morgan Stanley acted as co-financial adviser.

AMD shares rose 45 cents, or 3.5 percent, to $13.15 in premarket trading.

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Former Eliot Spitzer aide Darren Dopp isn't the only one facing a perjury rap"

Monday, November 19th 2007, 4:00 AM

The perjury charges faced by a former top aide to Gov. Spitzer in an alleged Troopergate coverup could be just the tip of the iceberg.

Multiple Spitzer aides could be looking at similar charges.

Their fates depend on what the governor's ex-communications director, Darren Dopp, tells Albany County District Attorney David Soares, and what - if any - evidence Dopp can provide to demonstrate he was somehow compelled or coerced to lie to protect himself or his boss.

"If this guy has any concrete evidence that other people lied or swore to evidence that wasn't true, it could be very damaging," said a source with intimate knowledge of the Soares investigation.

"Whoever it was that signed their names to these pleadings could also be facing perjury charges."

Five separate Troopergate investigations have been conducted since the scandal rose this summer out of the Spitzer administration's botched effort to collect dirt on the use of state aircraft by the governor's political nemesis, Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.

Soares, state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, state Inspector General Kristine Hamann, the Senate Investigations Committee and the state Commission on Public Integrity have all had a piece of the scandal.

Several investigations are ongoing; one is tied up in court.

In each probe, numerous statements have been made - both written and oral - some given under oath.

The Daily News recently revealed that Dopp kept a diary of his role in Troopergate that conflicted with a single-paragraph sworn statement he provided in July to Cuomo's office.

Another Spitzer aide, Secretary Richard Baum, provided a similarly terse statement to Cuomo, and a third aide, Bill Howard, testified under oath.

Dopp provided unsworn testimony to Soares' office before the DA issued a report in September that cleared the Spitzer administration of any criminal wrongdoing in Troopergate.

Soares has not sought to speak to Dopp again since launching the perjury investigation several weeks ago, according to multiple sources.

Dopp's attorney, Michael Koenig, said his client "is looking forward to favorably resolving this," adding:

"He's very confident."

The DA has neither convened a grand jury nor issued any subpoenas in this case, although both are imminent, according to the source familiar with the investigation.

Soares has spoken to Peter Pope, a top Spitzer aide who was one of four people present when Dopp signed his statement for Cuomo.

The others included: Spitzer aide Sean Patrick Maloney; the governor's counsel, David Nocenti, and Dopp's former attorney, Terence Kindlon, who recently dropped Dopp as a client because he may be a witness in the perjury case.

In the 1980s, Pope followed Spitzer in clerking for U.S. District Court Judge Robert Sweet.

He then worked for Spitzer in the Manhattan DA's labor-racketeering office and has been a high-level member of both Spitzer's attorney general and gubernatorial staff.

Over the years, Pope has earned a reputation as Spitzer's hatchet-man.

Numerous officials, political operatives and lobbyists have reported having their jobs and, in some cases, access to Spitzer threatened if they did not do what Pope wanted.

However, absent any tangible evidence like a tape recording or a letter it would be difficult for Dopp to prove Pope - or anyone else - threatened him to get him to sign his statement to Cuomo.

"Without any hard evidence, it's just a person who stands accused [and is] making an allegation of what occurred - it's one person's word against another," the source familiar with Soares' probe said.

"But in this case, one of those people is a person who lied."

ebenjamin@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2...en_dopp_is.html

THE TIMES HERALD-RECORD

"Spitzer shows an inability to learn"

November 18, 2007

All the political analysis of Gov. Spitzer's reluctant decision to withdraw his proposal to ease the way for aliens to get driver's licenses has focused on what a debacle it has been for him personally.

His poll ratings, once sky high, have plummeted, inviting speculation that he might be vulnerable when it comes to re-election.

That's fascinating in a way but does not solve the immediate problem facing New Yorkers.

The next election is a long time away, and what we should be worrying about now is the governor's seeming inability to learn from his mistakes.

Until he does, the gridlock that has kept New York state government from tackling its many challenges will persist.

As attorney general, Spitzer's bull-headed style was divisive but usually in the service of some greater cause.

While he might abuse his power to intimidate the targets of his investigation, those targets usually were bankers and brokers and insurance executives — characters who usually had good lawyers, golden parachutes and not much sympathy.

If he roughed up a few in the service of a good cause, who really cared?

As governor, he quickly showed that he maintained that style, and it has come back to hurt him.

He managed to lose his first battle — the selection of the state comptroller — when he went head-to-head with what should have been an ally, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Then, he managed to turn the Senate majority leader, Joe Bruno, into a victim.

That was not an easy task, but the ham-handed dirty tricks by Spitzer's staff did the job.

Showing that he had not learned, he did not wait long before he unilaterally took on one of the most divisive issues in the nation — immigration — in his usual steamroller style.

Instead of even trying to build a consensus, he showed how little he has learned and now suffers the consequences.

Spitzer might not survive politically.

That is a big deal to a man with a big ego and big ambitions.

Like his victims as attorney general, however, he will attract little sympathy.

But a governor who does not even try to get along with others will never survive in any state let alone a state as dependent on personal relationships as New York.

A cynic would say that three years of gridlock couldn't hurt.

The reality is we need a functioning government, and a dysfunctional governor makes that impossible.

http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...INION/711180318

THE NEW YORK POST

"'ELIOT'S BULLY' MADE THREAT: INSIDER"

November 19, 2007 -- A TOP aide to Gov. Spitzer in volved in the Dirty Tricks Scandal angrily threatened to "professionally kill" a top utility executive for opposing the governor's energy policies, sources have told The Post.

Spitzer Policy Director Peter Pope said he was "going to kill" Gavin Donohue, the head of the Independent Power Producers of New York, an association of private energy companies, in a bitter clash early last summer over the governor's efforts to block the construction of nuclear-power plants and more than two "clean coal" plants in the state, the sources said.

"He was really threatening Gavin."

"It was unbelievable."

"It was shocking," said one of the state's best-known lobbyists.

"Pope was screaming and threatening to get him fired with his bosses and jabbing his finger in Donohue's face," added another source, who claimed Pope had also threatened several lobbyists over policy disagreements.

"He was yelling at Gavin, 'You're working against us!'"

"'You're trying to hurt us!'"

"'You have to pressure [Senate Majority Leader Joseph] Bruno to get with us on this!'"

"When Gavin tried to explain why he opposed the governor's plan, Pope said he didn't want to know about the substance of the issue."

"He just wanted to close down [pass] the governor's bill," the source continued.

Donohue, former deputy chief of staff to Gov. George Pataki and a one-time state Environmental Conservation Department executive deputy commissioner, wasn't intimidated by the confrontation, telling associates, "I told Pope, in so many words, to go f - - - himself."

"I have never been treated so unprofessionally in my whole life," he told associates.

Donohue kept detailed, written notes of the clash, one associate said.

Contacted by The Post, Donohue said he'd had "intense negotiations" with Pope.

But when asked whether he had been threatened, he responded, "I have no comment."

Pope, meanwhile, declined to be interviewed for this column but called the information obtained by The Post "inaccurate," according to Spitzer spokeswoman Christine Anderson.

The sources, meanwhile, compared Pope's alleged behavior to the repeated charges that Spitzer - a self-described "f- - - -ng steamroller" - has repeatedly threatened or sought to intimidate political enemies and policy opponents, both as governor and as attorney general.

Pope, a longtime Spitzer friend, was known as "Eliot's bully" because of his aggressiveness as a high-level deputy to Attorney General Spitzer, said a source in the AG's Office.

Pope is one of three Spitzer lawyers who helped prepare a controversial sworn statement for the governor's former communications director, Darren Dopp, in which Dopp gave details of his role in the effort to use the State Police to gather purportedly damaging information on Bruno (R-Rensselaer).

Dopp, according to sources, contradicted a claim in the sworn statement in under-oath testimony to the state Public Integrity Commission, alleging that he was pressed into signing it by Pope and other Spitzer aides.

Pope was interviewed Friday by investigators for Albany District Attorney David Soares, who is believed to be considering perjury charges against Dopp.

fredric.dicker@nypost.com

http://www.nypost.com/seven/11192007/news/...ider_801774.htm

THE NEW YORK SUN

"Liberated Spitzer"

By JACOB GERSHMAN

November 19, 2007

Governor Spitzer would never acknowledge it, but his ruined campaign to give driver's licenses to illegal immigrants is the best thing that has happened to his administration since Day 1.

The policy failure is the lesson he needed to liberate him from the messianic leadership style that has been responsible for many of his first-year blunders.

The governor is now freed of the burden of being Spitzer.

By abandoning his license effort, Mr. Spitzer violated his self-vaunted principles.

Remember that "simple rule" he talked about in a campaign ad, the one in which he said what he was most proud of as attorney general was his willingness to "walk into the buzz-saw of some very powerful interests and never back down."

That's out the window.

The governor surrendered to what he termed the "politics of fear."

He caved to public opinion.

He subordinated what was, in his words, factually, legally, morally, ethically right to political convenience.

In doing so, Mr. Spitzer gave up his claim to superiority, which he has lorded over his adversaries, first on Wall Street and then in Albany.

Some argue, including the governor's closest advisers, that Mr. Spitzer is only as effective as his ability to maintain that claim — that the Spitzer brand is worthless when it ceases to represent a higher standard of politics.

"Frankly, I think that's the forum in which he's always operated best and that hasn't changed," one adviser told me.

The problem with this argument is that it's built around a false premise.

It assumes that Mr. Spitzer has always operated on a higher ethical level.

The governor's displays of probity, however, were always just that: displays.

His foremost concern was the appearance — the marketing — of integrity.

He made a big deal about imposing an absolute ban on gifts from lobbyists.

Behind the scenes, he relied on lobbyists to replenish his campaign coffers.

With much fanfare, he announced that he would adhere to a $10,000 cap on individual donations.

He then tried to recover the lost cash by strongly encouraging donors to bundle contributions.

He hailed the budget reforms passed by the Legislature as a measure that would shine sunlight on a historically secretive process.

What followed was what many in Albany described as the least open budget negotiation session in recent memory.

The governor's preoccupation with keeping up appearances was so extreme that he didn't blink an eye before pinning blame for the entire Troopergate scandal on Darren Dopp, a man who had dedicated the previous eight years of his life toward the singular goal of advancing and championing Mr. Spitzer's career in government.

Mr. Spitzer cut him off like an irritating wart.

In the end, the moral grandstanding hurt Mr. Spitzer.

It was a crutch that acted as a substitute for the spadework of governing.

Impugning the good intentions of his opponents and dividing everything into good and evil camps took the place of planning, outreach, and give and take.

He assumed he could win his battles simply by pronouncing the other side to be ethically wrong.

That may have worked for him during his "Sheriff of Wall Street" days, but only because his declarations were propped up by threats of indictment and bankruptcy.

The bigger problem for Mr. Spitzer was that his moralizing hasn't been grounded in a philosophy.

Ask anybody in Albany; nobody really knows what the governor stands for.

He demanded Medicaid cuts with the same passion as he demanded increases to education funding.

While he talked up the importance of reducing New York's tax burden, his administration has aggressively scoured for new ways to extract revenue from residents.

One of the reasons his license policy failed is because New Yorkers never believed that the governor was motivated by anything other than a desire to score political points within immigrant communities.

The good news for Mr. Spitzer is that he doesn't have to worry about keeping up appearances and abide by his "simple rule."

The next time he climbs up the tree of a misguided policy, he can climb down, just like he did in the case of his aborted Amazon Tax.

As it turned out, giving up wasn't painful at all.

It actually had a humanizing effect and earned him the most praise he's gotten as governor.

And now, instead of tending to the myth of Eliot Spitzer, the governor is free to devote himself to the few core issues on which his governorship will ultimately be judged.

What do people want from a governor?

I suppose they want a leader who will help transform New York into a state that people want to live in — not flee from.

It's not a terribly sexy goal, but it will matter far more in the long run than whether Mr. Spitzer was able to preserve his self-image.

jacob@nysun.com

http://www.nysun.com/article/66672?page_no=2

THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS

"Sheldon Silver's pick for Integrity Commissioner had ethics lapse in 1993"

BY JOE MAHONEY, DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF

Monday, November 19th 2007, 4:00 AM

ALBANY - Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's nominee for the new state Public Integrity Commission has some integrity trouble of her own.

Virginia Apuzzo was rapped for breaching state ethics rules in 1993 when she had civil servants perform personal chores for her.

Apuzzo, 66, is now in line to become one of the watchdogs making sure 200,000 state workers obey the very types of ethics rules she was accused of violating 14 years ago.

The state inspector general at that time chided Apuzzo, then Gov.Mario Cuomo's appointee as deputy director of a housing agency, for directing state workers "on an occasional basis" to do personal tasks for her - including taking her dog to a groomer, doing her banking and organizing her tax papers.

"The use of state employees to perform any personal, nonstate-related tasks during the state workday is inappropriate and cannot be condoned," said the report by George Moresco, a former FBI man who was Cuomo's inspector general.

Apuzzo subsequently became president of the Civil Service Commission and went on to serve as a special assistant to former President Bill Clinton.

Her nomination to the new integrity commission is now being reviewed by Gov. Spitzer's appointments office.

Apuzzo, an ex-nun who would be the only nonlawyer on a panel criticized for a lack of diversity, declined to comment on the 1993 charges, other than to say the allegations were "thoroughly investigated."

She noted her federal position was unanimously confirmed by a Senate then led by Republicans, and she cleared a White House background check.

"I have been scrutinized probably more than anyone currently serving in state government," Apuzzo told the Daily News.

jmahoney@nydailynews.com

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/2...rity_commi.html