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Democrats Split Over Attorney General Pick

by Elizabeth Benjamin
March 24, 2006

Members of Albany County's Democratic Executive Committee cast a rare divided vote Tuesday night when they met to decide which of the six Democratic attorney general hopefuls to endorse.

The final tally was 16 votes for former HUD Secretary Andrew Cuomo, who is leading the pack in statewide polls and fundraising, and 13 for former U.S. Attorney Denise O'Donnell, of Buffalo -- the only woman and only upstater in the running.

Sources tell Inside Politics this vote was supposed to be held several times in the past, but was canceled because the votes weren't yet there for Cuomo, a longtime ally of Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings.

A closer look at this vote reveals it to be a continuation of the power struggle between town and city members of the Albany County Democratic Committee.

Thirteen of the 15 executive committee members who represent the county's towns voted for O'Donnell, according to a source. Given the towns' share of the weighted county committee vote, that means O'Donnell could have a good shot at squeaking by with the party's endorsement when the full committee meets in April.

O'Donnell has been endorsed by the Democratic committees of Erie and Chautauqua counties, which represent 6.10 percent of the weighted state committee vote. Albany represents 2.99 percent. A candidate needs 25 percent at the state party convention to land a ballot spot.

"What I see at the grassroots level is there's not a lot of enthusiasm for Andrew Cuomo," said Colonie Democratic Chairman Phil Steck. "With respect to Denise O'Donnell, we have a highly qualified candidate who's female and who's from upstate ... If we're really that concerned with upstate, what's wrong with having an upstater on the ticket?"

Some Democrats have voiced concern that their party's statewide ticket is shaping up to be four men who all hail from south of Westchester County, which would alienate upstate voters.

Steck said the last time he could recall the Albany County Executive Committee being this divided was the 2005 county elections commissioner vote between Deputy Democratic Elections Commissioner Karen Shea and James Clancy for Democratic elections commissioner. Town-backed Clancy won that battle, becoming the first suburban-supported person to hold that post in decades.

Inside Politics hears state Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Delmar, who is an arch political rival of Jennings, is poised to also back Cuomo for attorney general.

Breslin is reportedly motivated by the fact that Cuomo is supported by powerful Queens Democratic Chairman Tom Manton, who was instrumental in landing new New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn her leadership post.

Breslin is vying to be the next state Senate minority leader -- a job that will soon be vacated by Sen. David Paterson, D-Harlem, who is state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer's running mate in this fall's gubernatorial election. Breslin believes Manton will have sway in who gets to be leader next and is seeking to curry favor, Inside Politics hears.

Swing at Sweeney

The state Democratic Party took a swing at U.S. Rep. John Sweeney, R-Clifton Park, Thursday, asking him to "come clean" about why a U.S. Justice Department staffer pulled the congressman's personal financial records last summer on the same day as records of individuals connected to Jack Abramoff, who was at the center of a recent Washington, D.C. lobbying scandal.

Melissa Carlson, Sweeney's deputy chief of staff, says there are "any number of valid reasons why they may be looking at the congressman's public records," adding that no one from DOJ had contacted Sweeney's office or staffers. Carlson challenged the Democrats to turn the same critical eye on their own, otherwise "it's just pathetic partisan politics."