News Copy, New York

Getting Caught With Their Hands in the Cookie Jar

Newsday deserves kudos for finding out the Nassau County Legislators tried to hide more than $300,000 in salary increases for themselves in their spending plan they unveiled last week.

The County Legislature, run by Democrats, tried to sneak the increases in under a special line item category of "legislative assistants," but as Newsday reports this morning the line would actually give pay increases around $15,000 a year to Nassau Legislators. Oh, just in case you think this is an attack on the Democrats, the Repubicans were actually the ones who came up with this idea of stuffing a line item with pay increases first.

When the Fourth Estate does its job in keeping an eye on the government, you get good journalism like this.

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Sammon on Hillary 2008

Bill Sammon of the Washington Examiner has an interesting piece in that morning's newspaper on the prospects of a Senator Hillary Clinton presidential run in 2008. It is not one of those ground-breaking stories - it basically rehashes everything we have heard about Hillary 2008: she hasn't made up her mind; she doesn't want to talk about a potential run for president; some Democrats feel a Hillary candidacy will be a liability to the party because a lot of people don't like her. Nothing too out of the ordinary from Sammon today.

There was one thing I learned: Hillary's middle name is Diane.

One thing about the Clinton Campaign - the 2006 re-election version: she has decided to debate her GOP opponent, John Spencer, twice in the span of two days - October 20th and 22nd. This will be Spencer's chance to actually challenge and lay out a plan for what a "Senator Spencer" will do in Washington. He will have to be worried about one thing: coming off too arrogant. He has a tendancy to act very arrogant against his debate opponents, which could help Hillary. Not that she needs any help right now...

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Fueling the Fire

(A Few Days Late, But What the Heck)

U.S. Senate candidate John Spencer (R) is doing all he can to wrest some amount of free press coverage from the New York mainstream media.  When you are challenging the big dog in the lot, Democrat U.S. Senator Hillary Clinton, sometimes you need a little help to get noticed. Spencer is trying to raise national money, especially from conservative groups who would be traditionally supportive of a conservative candidate in a spotlight race like his. His biggest problem to overcome is the perception that Clinton has already won this race and is focusing on her 2008 presidential bid.

What is not helping Spencer are the persistent rumors flying out of the City of Yonkers and Westchester County that the former Yonkers mayor is planning a re-do in his hometown, preparing in some way for a 2007 mayoral bid.

I have been "reporting" this for a while, as have other localized bloggers over at The Yonkers Tribune. But on Sunday, this rumor made it into the mainstream media's focus: Journal News columnist Phil Reisman opines that Spencer's lust for revenge against current Yonkers Mayor Phil Amicone is fuel some inner urge for him to run for mayor next year.

Amicone and Spencer were best friends at one time. The two were inseperable. When Spencer was building his staff after his 1995 election win, and when he wasn't hiring hacks and political flunkies, he hired his best bud Amicone as deputy mayor, a man with executive government experience in the City of White Plains. Amicone was very well liked by business leaders and certain political heads because of his direct approach at dealing with issues. So hiring Amicone made perfect sense for Spencer.

During their eight years together, both men worked very well together. Amicone's quiet nature of dealing with development issues really helped feed a positive outlook for the Spencer public relation's machine - Yonkers had turned a corner because of all the development that was coming into the city. When Spencer's term neared the end, Amicone was asked to run for mayor to continue the "Spencer legacy." After a bitter primary battle between the Deputy Mayor, Assemblyman Michael Spano, and City Council President Vincenza Restiano, Amicone, riding Spencer's coattails was able to win the three-way and eventually keys to the executive washroom.

When Amicone assumed office, he kept on Kathy Spring-Spencer, the new wife of former mayor John, as his chief of staff. Regardless of perception, Spring-Spencer had a good political head on her shoulders and would be an asset to Amicone, a truly non-political animal who was now the head of Yonkers' government. But soon, Amicone tried to be Spencer, copying his public banter that always rubbed people the wrong way - which was something that he should not have done - and Amicone was facing a public backlash.

Amicone's public perception was slowly doing that circle-thing down the toilet of Yonkers' politics, and those close to Amicone placed the blame on Spencer and their close association, which had taken a beating in the Yonkers media from the time he left office. In an effort to change the perception that "Amicone is Spencer," Amicone terminated Spencer's wife from his Administration, causing a permanent rift between the two former best friends.

Based on this, Spencer's motivation to possibly run for mayor is centered on revenge, Reisman wrote this weekend.

Personally, there are many other factors at play in Yonkers today that could make a Spencer re-do a problem for him. The local Republican Party doesn't truly support him (they don't support Amicone either, but they are closer to Amicone than they are all willing to admit). Spencer's numbers in Yonkers aren't very good right now. But in Yonkers, dirty politics always seems to change hearts and minds. Negative campaigning is usually seen as passion - someone wants the office sooooo badly, they are willing to do anything to get it or keep it.

Spencer has to focus on his Senate run - and this stuff about his potential run for Yonkers mayor in 2007 can't be helpful right now.

The Last Great Hope is Down by 17

It is said that former Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, wife of NASCAR wanna-be driver Albert Pirro, is the last hope for the New York State Republicans to save face in this November's elections. She is believed to be the most electable of any of the statewide candidates this year.

But the latest poll highlights a slight problem: she's down by 17 points to Democrat Andy Cuomo.

New York State Republicans, already bracing themselves for an Election Day disaster in the state elections, have to be popping the Excedrin early this day.