Nassau County Leader Plans to Oppose Spitzer in (NY Gov) Primary

[brooklynite]

The Nassau County executive, Thomas R. Suozzi, will announce his candidacy for the Democratic nomination for governor on Feb. 25, aides to his campaign and his administration said last night.

He will face Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, who has a huge lead in early fund-raising, opinion polls and endorsements. As a moderate from the suburbs, Mr. Suozzi poses a counterpoint to Mr. Spitzer, who is a liberal from the city.

Also yesterday, in another contested Democratic race, H. Carl McCall, the former state comptroller and 2002 Democratic nominee for governor, bypassed some better-known candidates in the race to succeed Mr. Spitzer as attorney general and endorsed Denise O'Donnell. She is a Buffalo resident and the former United States attorney for the Western District of New York.

Mr. Suozzi, 43, a photogenic campaigner and a forceful speaker, has made a career of being underestimated. Roaming the state recently in "exploratory" tours, he sounded the themes of cutting taxes, eliminating fraud and waste in Medicaid, uniting the state by addressing the needs of all regions and making state government function better.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/17/nyregion/17campaign.html

[dusty64]

1. Suozzi is a

corporate tool. I hope he gets blown outta the water. A rethug mole? I think so..........................

[Ignacio Upton]

4. He's not a Rethug mole, just a Nader-esque person

Only he doesn't bolt to third parties. He's doing this for personal ambition, and not for the good of New York.

[Ignacio Upton]

2. Suozzi is doing this for ego

He has said that he wants to run for Governor now, because he's afraid that if Spitzer wins he won't get another opportunity to do so for a number of years. He has also taken money from GOP adversaries of Spitzer, most notably Kenneth Langone, a Home Depot founder who is under investigation by Spitzer. While in the aftermath of the Hackett debacle, people across the netroots have been reaffirming their support for contested primaries in general, I do not believe that we should support a contested primary in every case. This race is one where we already have a strong candidate, one who will be swiftboated by Wall Street throughout the election cycle, and doews not need to be bloodied with attacks that could be used again in this fall. Plus, New York State primaries have history of being bloody and costly. For example, the 2001 Democratic primary for NYC Mayor, and the 2002 Gubnernatorial primary.

[dusty64]

5. I'd heard that

he is a shill for Home Depot and was basically running in revenge for Spitzer's going after Big Corporations.

[dusty64]

7. I also understand

that he intends to continue the Pataki agenda of taxcuts for the wealthy and cutbacks for the rest of us. I also was under the impresson that he intends to scapegoat state workers cause they are SO overcompensated. I really dislike this guy and will overcome my problems with Spitzer on election day.

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. Suozzi is a well-known douchebag

Spitzer's gonna toss him in the garbage can, where he belongs.

[no_hypocrisy]

6. Bad move for several reasons:

1. Spitzer has the money and will always have more of it.
2. Spitzer is wellknown throughout the state. Suozzi is a Nassau County local.
3. Suozzi just got re-elected last November. Running for governor within weeks of inauguration is demonstrating lack of sincerity to serve the constituents who returned him to office.
4. Suozzi has done a great job in reorganizing Nassau County finances, stepping on sensitive toes of both parties in doing so. He's abandoning his obligation to county government and taxpayers (see #3).
5. A primary challenge could weaken Spitzer as repubs will be taking notes of any successful assaults on him by Suozzi.

[Ignacio Upton]

8. In NY primaries generally hurt parties

Because they are in September and NY politicans have a history of not being too civil to each other in their own primaries. In other states the parties have their act together in primaries and they benfit from them, but NY could use less of them or at least reform them to make them earlier.