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Shelly Silver, On the Couch First Spitzer Transition Team Meeting Set Socialist Won’t Socialize 10 Questions with Malachy McCourt GOP Challenger Says Bing Doesn’t Do Enough Tough Times for Local GOP Crowley on Malcolm Smith and Gay Marriage Paterson on Malcolm Smith and Democratic Strategy Krueger Faces a Challenge Political Transitions for Transit Workers The Money Trail: Loose Laws for Leftovers A Cabinet Stocked with Imports Instead of Political Curry For Alternate-Party Candidates, Winning Is Not Everything Slow Progress for Disabled Voting City’s Adult Literacy Programs Grapple with Funding Cuts Though the Competition is Over, the Campaign Continues
The October Poll: Which Council Member Would Have the Best Survival Skills on a Desert Island? Photos from the City Hall lauch/Rising Stars party The Hows of Political Activism at the Y Pastrami and Pickles with Rep. Anthony Weiner Editorial: When the Council Fears Debate The View from Albany: Rivalries and Détentes as Albany’s Old Guard Meets New Guard by Alan Chartock Read the Fine Print on Library Funding by City Council Member Vincent Gentile Observation: At the Empire State Pride Agenda Dinner, Highlights and Pitfalls by Allen Roskoff
Paterson on Malcolm Smith and Democratic Strategy for the State Senate
At the press conference announcing that Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) would be the new State Senate minority leader, Smith said that the Democrats did not plan to win any new seats this year. Some people were surprised he did not mention Andrea Stewart-Cousins, who lost to Nick Spano by a handful last time around, and is fighting a tough battle this year. City Hall spoke with outgoing minority leader and candidate for lieutenant governor David Paterson (D-Manhattan) to get his take on Smith’s version of the party strategy.
City Hall: Did Malcolm Smith forget about Andrea Stewart-Cousins?
David Paterson: What he kind of stumbled over it. What I think he was trying to say is that we were going to hold the seats that they were trying to win back.
CH: Was he right in saying that the plan was never to pick up seats this year?
DP: The plan was that we could live with staying right where we were because we’re trying to put ourselves within three seats by 2008, and to do that we would need one more seat. So I guess the plan is to win one more seat this year and to defend [David] Valesky. [(D-Madison/Onondoga/Oneida)]
CH: What changed the thinking?
DP: We were trying to take two in ’04, and we took three.