Michael Balboni

Eliot Spitzer is moving straight ahead on the driver's license issue, showing no inclination to bend even where there might be room for him to compromise. Here's what he said at his press conference earlier about whether or not New York would eventually have two kinds of diver’s licenses in order to comply with federal guidelines in the Real ID Act (which has not yet kicked in):

“Seven states opted out. I do not anticipate that New York will opt out. Just the contrary. I anticipate we will do what needs to be done to comply with Real ID and that statue what we realize what that means. But we don’t know yet what that means.”

Later, Spitzer’s deputy secretary for public safety Michael Balboni tried explaining to reporters why when he was in the state Senate, he supported an initiative by then-governor George Pataki to verify social security numbers for license applicants--a proposal Spitzer is trying to overturn.

“Why we do things when we do them is all in the context of when the bill is proposed,” he said.

Here's a look at some numbers for the people running for that state Senate seat that Republican Michael Balboni is vacating in Nassau County.

The Republicans are now backing Maureen O'Connell, who in 2005 won a countywide election for Nassau County Clerk, and who served in the Assembly since 1999, making her a candidate with proven vote-getting credentials in Nassau.

In the 2005 race, O'Connell defeated Democrat Tricia Ferrell by about 17,000 votes.

But in Balboni's district, O'Connell narrowly lost: 49.9 to 50.1, according to a Democratic source who had access to information tabulated by the State Democratic Party.

According to the source, of the 198,000 voters in the state senate district, 36,800 of them were in O'Connell's former Assembly district. Slightly more voters, 46,000, were in the county legislative district represented by Craig Johnson, the Democrat who will be running against O'Connell in the state Senate race.

I've been trying to verify these numbers with the county Republicans but haven't had any luck yet.

-- Azi Paybarah

There's a theory that no legislator wants to be the last one to hold together a fading majority. As a result, there's been a fair amount of speculation among reporters and political insiders about whether there might not be another state Senate Republican preparing to follow Michael Balboni's lead by bolting the GOP conference to go work in some capacity for the Spitzer administration.

One state Democratic official told me that despite a report that he had already reject an overture, Serph Maltese was still "target number one" of the Spitzer administration's recruitment efforts, partly because of his close re-election this year -- meaning that his seat is eminently winnable for Democrats -- and because of his record of working with local Democrats around his district.

It's an intriguing notion, although Maltese has so far done nothing to indicate that he intends to make an early exit.

At a swearing ceremony last night at Christ the King High School, according to one attendee, Maltese thanked the roughly 250 guests for their help and jokingly noted that he really had needed each and every one of them to win this year. Maltese also said, meaningfully, that he loves being a state senator and wants to keep his seat for at least few more years.

Spitzer spokesperson Christine Anderson declined to comment.

-- Azi Paybarah

Here's an interesting footnote to the Nassau County state Senate seat that Republican Michael Balboni is giving up for a job in the Spitzer administration:

Balboni, and one of his Republican predecessors, Michael Tully, both won the seat in special elections held on Election Day. (The years were 1997 and 1982, respectively, according to living encyclopedia Jerry Skurnik and state Board of Elections spokesman Lee Daghlian. After Tully but before Balboni the seat was held by Republican John Camera.) So in that respect, history seems to be on the GOP's side. [updated]

Then again, the current voter registration in the district favors Democrats according to figures here and here.

So far, officials from both parties still sound very much as if they're still coming to grips with the impending vacancy.

Senate minority leader Malcolm Smith said on Fred Dicker's show today the he learned of Balboni's appointment after the press conference yesterday, and released a mild statement saying that the move "presents the senate Democratic Conference with an opportunity to increase its numbers."

-- Azi Paybarah

Gerald Ford is dead at 93.

John Edwards is about to announce a run for president, using hard-hit New Orleans as a backdrop.

The New York Post is skeptical.

Eliot Spitzer denied that his appointment of Nassau County Republican Michael Balboni to be his top homeland security official is part of any "ulterior scheme" to help Democrats take back the state Senate.

Democrats and Republicans on Long Island are scrambling to replace Balboni when he goes.

Some supporters of Rudy Giuliani are reaching out to the families of 9/11 victims about 2008, Maggie reports.

Sam Roberts writes that race was a key issue when Basil Paterson ran for lieutenant governor, but is largely a non-issue for David Paterson as he prepares to assume that office.

Democratic pledges to restore civility to Congress "carry risks," according to the Times.

George Pataki defended his record in an interview with the Sun, contending that it's impossible to be ideologically pure when you have a state to run.

Republican state Senator John Bonacic sent out a letter calling for his colleagues to toss Majority Leader Joe Bruno.

Peter King is opposed to a revised immigration bill that he says amounts to amnesty.

Joe Biden is going to fight any proposed buildup of troop levels in Iraq.

The mayor called the racially and ethnically diverse new class of police recruits "a gift to the city."

The city Conflicts of Interest Board released a letter scolding a Council staffer for inappropriate use of a business card.

Leaders in East Harlem and the South Bronx are angry over a City Hall deal that would allow fancy private schools in Manhattan to have "first dibs" on some of the renovated ballfields on Randalls Island.

Developer Bruce Ratner has installed surveillance cameras outside the properties he owns at the future location of the Atlantic Yards project.

The cost of doing business in New York State is high.

There will be no holiday clemencies from the departing governor.

And here's a handy guide to all the newly elected members of Congress.

-- Josh Benson

Eliot Spitzer got himself a new Homeland Security czar. He's Republican Michael Balboni. Above, that's Steve Balboni, a fine baseball player. They're probably not related.

Balboni's appointment opens up a State Senate seat in a competitive Long Island district, pushes Dems closer to total control of Albany.

This is not the news Joe Bruno wanted to hear this Christmas.

Gawker names Peter Vallone Jr. its "Killjoy of the Year."

Once again, Joe Biden announces that he's running for president. He's also written a new autobiography entitled The Audacity of Hope.

Here's a handy guide to who's announcing when.

Eminent law professor suggests that Rudy Giuliani run as an independent, with Joe Lieberman as his running mate.

Why do they call this Boxing Day, anyway? Unfortunately, it has nothing to do with physical violence.

Federal agencies are moving to Virginia, outside the nuclear blast zone.

The Washington Times is as dysfunctional as you imagine.

James Brown: a fine entertainer.

If you've never read this profile of Brown, you really should.

-- Andrew Rice

Here's the conclusion of that report on the process of impeachment co-written in 1986 by Long Island Republican state Senator Michael Balboni, then the counsel to the state Senate's Judiciary Committee John Dunne:

"The conclusion is that the laws governing impeachment and removal of a public official fail to fill the substantive due process void."

Newsday wrote it up as a possible line of defense for Alan Hevesi as Eliot Spitzer mulls the options for removing him.

The argument sounds a lot like what George Pataki's special counsel concluded when he opted not to recommend impeaching Hevesi: it wasn't for a lack of evidence, but rather because it was unclear how the removal process would work.

Incidentally, this wouldn't be the first time vague legislative rules turned out to be an impenetrable defense against ethics-related allegations in Albany. Clarence Norman beat back charges that he double-dipped and fraudulently billed the state for travel expenses that other people paid for on his behalf. The Assembly rules about travel reimbursements were found to be so vague that Norman was acquitted.

-- Azi Paybarah

Michael Balboni knows how to move.  read more »