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"New York Republican Rick Lazio's lackluster gubernatorial campaign has propelled some members of his own party to court a Democrat to switch sides and lead the charge against likely Democratic nominee Andrew Cuomo this fall.
Top Republican officials are scheduled to meet Tuesday with Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy in Albany, signaling a lack of confidence in Mr. Lazio's low-buzz campaign and his anemic fund raising.
"People just don't see the campaign taking off the way they would hope a Republican campaign would," said John Graziano, chairman of the Albany County Republican Committee. "There's still a lingering understanding that maybe somebody else will come on board that might be better able to win the governor's race for us."
Rick Lazio in New York after Rudy Giuliani endorsed him in December
Mr. Levy suggested Republicans were interested in him running in part because Mr. Lazio was short on detailed policy prescriptions. "No one even comes close to the type of specifics that I've laid out to radically change this state," Mr. Levy said.
Mr. Lazio, a 51-year-old from Long Island who served four terms in Congress, is best known for his unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign against Hillary Clinton in 2000. He is the only major announced candidate for the GOP nomination in the governor's race. In December, Mr. Lazio won the backing of fellow Republican Rudy Giuliani, after the former New York City mayor announced he wouldn't join the contest...
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Steve Levy in Albany in January.
Mr. Lazio has spent the better part of the past year preparing for the race, and has $637,357 in his campaign coffers as of the most recent public funding disclosure. Mr. Cuomo—who hasn't even entered the race—has more than $16 million on hand and Mr. Levy has more than $4 million.
Kevin Fullington, Mr. Lazio's campaign manager, disputed the notion that the campaign is struggling.
"Fund-raising has picked up significantly," said Mr. Fullington, who declined to quantify the uptick. He said Mr. Lazio's fund-raising efforts were hampered by the possibility last year that Mr. Giuliani would enter the race.
A Marist College poll in February showed Mr. Cuomo, New York's attorney general, trouncing Mr. Lazio by 64% to 27%. In January, Siena College released a poll showing Mr. Levy defeating Mr. Lazio by a 7-point margin if Mr. Levy ran as a Democrat. The same poll gave Mr. Cuomo a commanding lead in a race for the Democratic nomination: 59% support to 21% for Gov. David Paterson and 6% for Mr. Levy.
A lifelong Democrat and fiscal conservative, Mr. Levy appeared on five party lines—Democratic, Republican, Independence, Conservative and Working Families—when he was re-elected in 2007 with 96% of the vote. Mr. Levy said he has no plans to switch parties, but an aide who asked not to be identified said the 50-year-old lawmaker would consider such a move."
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written by Behold a Pale Horse , March 09, 2010
Levy sounds like a Steve Kaufman, the former Bronx Assemblyman. After a tough race in 1992, Kaufman moved to the right and got the Conservative Party nomination.
Bruno picked him in 2004, to run for Velella's old seat. Since the district was becoming more Democratic, the plan was for Kaufman to run as a Republican, Conservative, and Independence candidate, and seek the Democratic line as well. In the Senate, Kaufman would caucus with the GOP. I assume he would also become chairman of the Bronx GOP.
John Fleming ran against him in the Republican and Conservative primaries. Fleming won the Republican, and Jeff Klein won the Democratic one. Angered, Kaufman stayed in the race and played spoiler to cost the GOP the seat.
Back to the point, Levy won't run in the Democratic primary.
Would the statewide Conservative Party support him?
Could he beat Lazio (or another registered Republican) in the GOP primary? Running against a recently-converted Democrat would be a difficult temptation for a registered Republican to pass over.
If Levy wants to run for Controller or be the Lt. Gov., I'd be open to that.
written by Jay Golub , March 09, 2010
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/o...z3fyqYZsPN
the NY Post seems to like the idea of him running. I'm not sure how the GOP can think pushing Levy is a good idea. Lazio needs to squelch this asap...
written by Jay Golub , March 09, 2010
http://www.nypost.com/p/news/o...olumnists/ no_to_billion_dollar_class_of_cops_5Owo5fIHCytsMIk6h1nz
6L
and an op-ed....
written by Frank Ammendolea , March 09, 2010
The fact that this is even being considered speaks volumes about Rick Lazio. I know he has his supporters here, but the fact remains that if he were a stronger candidate, someone like Steve Levy wouldn't be getting the time of day.
As for Levy, I don't know him well but from what I have read, he seems to be the type of Democrat that is a dying breed within that party. He is socially liberal (which doesn't really offend many Republicans in New York, especially NYC) but is a true fiscal conservative. The guy really has walked the walk on taxes and spending, and most importantly, he has stood up to the municipal unions which would bankrupt his county. Levy really is closer to the Republican philosophy than the Dems, whether he realizes it or not.
And I would caution my friends on the Right to spare me the hand wringing about endorsing a Democrat such as Levy over a "real Republican" such as Lazio. Like Levy, Lazio is also socially liberal but unlike Levy, attempts to hide it or finesse it depending on who he is speaking with. Lazio would never stand up to the public employee unions who have played footsie with NY Republicans for years, whereas Levy seems to be chomping at the bit for such a fight. Lazio would be all about patronage - he'd just replace the Democrat hacks with Republican hacks. If you liked the Pataki Administration, you'll love Lazio. So it's not like we'd be turning our backs on Bill Buckley in favor of Mike Bloomberg.
In a perfect world, we wouldn't need to court (or be courted) by the likes of Steve Levy. But we are now seeing the effects of not having a bench for the last two decades. The New York Republican Party has been either used or co-opted by mercenaries for much of the last 20 years. Whether it was Al D'Amato consolidating power and freezing out any Republican he did not anoint or control, Rudy Giuliani using the party for his own purposes without doing any party building whatsoever, or Mike Bloomberg using the NYC GOP as his cheap date, we have been used and abused and are now scrambling for viable candidates in what should be an excellent year for our cause.
If you could guarantee me that Levy would switch parties, make a serious effort to campaign for a Republican Senate AND actively seek to increase our numbers in the Assembly, while also picking a staunch Republican for Lt. Governor, I'd sign on for that in a heartbeat.
Unfortunately, for the time being, the best Republican in this race might be a registered Democrat.
written by Behold a Pale Horse , March 09, 2010
Would Frank and Dr. Jay (didn't you used to play basketball?) be willing to consider him for Lt. Gov or for Comptoller?
It seems everyone wants to run for Gov or even against Gillibrand. We need candidates for AG (which Cuomo is vacating) and Comptoller (DiNapoli is still relatively unknown and is counting on the Dem registration advantage to put him over).
written by Quickjustice , March 09, 2010
I've heard Levy speak. He's an effective, compelling, high-energy speaker.
Without taking sides in the larger contest, he's a better speaker than Lazio.
written by Jay Golub , March 09, 2010
BAPH, I'd "consider him" for anything. As you guys know, I'm not the most partisan person around and I like the ideas he's pushed as Executive in Suffolk.
It's just that there are many races that could use a good candidate. To try to stick him into the Governor's race at this point seems extremely counter-productive, when I think we have a solid candidate in Lazio already making inroads locally...
written by osher g. , March 09, 2010
The fact is that it's almost a year into Lazio's campaign, and it still hasn't taken off. Republican leaders can shout all they want how we must get behind Lazio or he is our only option, but that won't change much. He hasn't made that connection with republican voters or New Yorkers.
Although I consider myself socially conservative, I'd consider voting for Levy in a GOP primary, because right now New York's fiscal mess trumps all other problems. The way we are going, New York won't be here in a generation. And I believe Levy has proven that he can fight the fight to get state government under control again.
Personally, I don't care if he doesn't change his political affiliation, to me what's important is fiscal sanity, not party registration. (Although I know not many state committee members or county chairs would stand for that.) He would be an idiot not to actively campaign for a republican senate and increasing republican presents in the assembly, because if he wants any shot at accomplishing anything he would need their support in the legislature.
Finally, state committee members and county chairs that support Lazio don't have to take away their endorsement in order to make room for Levy in the primary. They could continue to support Lazio, while letting Levy make his case to republican primary voters, and letting them make the final decision.
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