Poll: Spitzer Way Out Ahead of the Rest

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer maintains solid leads over his potential GOP rivals and over Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, his rival for the Democratic nomination for governor. He leads Tom Suozzi, 69 percent to 14 percent, for the Democratic nomination and tops Faso, 66 percent to 18 percent, in a possible general election matchup. Spitzer leads Republican William Weld by the same margin. [WNBC]

Spitzer Says 'No Thanks' to Record Companies

Spitzer To Return Campaign Donations From Record Companies
Wishes to Avoid Conflict of Interest

New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, currently running for governor in New York state, has recently lead an antitrust investigation of the radio and music industry

His gubernatorial campaign had received about $40,000 in contributions from executives linked to the music industry. The New York Post says that Mr. Spitzer has decided to return those donations in order to avoid controversy or questions of ethics.

Spitzer and Running Mate Paterson in Syracuse

Eliot Spitzer spoke at the Sheetmetal Workers Hall on Pulaski Street in Syracuse on Satuday. Syracuse was Spitzer's third stop of the day. He also made visits to Buffalo, Rochester and Westchester County.


Changing the status quo is what Eliot Spitzer is about, and it is what this campaign is about. His choice for running mate is David Paterson, D-Manhattan, who Spitzer hopes will be a lieutenant governor who will take the lead for him on many of the important challenges facing our state. Mr. Paterson is the quick-on-his feet Senate Democrat leader who has engineered a party comeback in the Republican-controlled chamber. Here's more about the way Attorney General Spitzer came to his decision about Mr. Paterson.




Desperate Republicans have been upset because Eliot Spitzer has been tough on their special interests - the big businesses that have been systematically robbing everyday New Yorkers.

He said that we need to see decency, fairness, and openness in government - and apply them to health care, education, etc. We have seen enough of the ever-growing gap between the haves and have nots in New York State.
We shouldn't be shy about speaking up about how we feel.
We need to do something different.
We have to rattle the cages.
You don't change the world by whispering.
You'll never change the status quo by accepting it.
We will not succeed unless we reform our state government.


Eliot Spitzer says that what the people care about - and what we have to focus on - is improving the lives of our kids, so they'll stay here, they'll put down their roots, they'll buy homes, and become part of the community.

"Spitzerism"

Norm Scheiber (of TNR) has an interesting piece on 'the Spitz' - Eliot Spitzer - in the New York Times today. The term "spiterism" describes Spitzer's GOP-infuriating approach to prosecuting corporate wrongdoers. (Grover Norquist hates Spitzer's tactics, so he must be doing something right.) Sheiber suggests that Democrats could benefit, in a political sense, from watching Spitzer's tenacious toughness against the moral evils which surface on the dark side of business and fearlessly defending the social compact between ordinary people and large institutions like government and business.

Gene Sperling, the chief economic adviser in the Clinton White House, says that Spitzer grasps this distinction: "The key in the Spitzer message is. . .it's not a populist bashing for the sake of it.".........

"His advocacy on behalf of a growing and new class of investors could have wide applicability," says Howard Wolfson, a former Democratic Congressional strategist and an adviser to Hillary Clinton.........

"I think that if Spitzer is able to translate the particular work he did around risk associated with investment in the stock market. . .into a larger narrative for Democrats about risk in the 21st century" - not just stock-market risk but risk associated with pensions, health care, employment - that "could help forge the bond with the middle class that we've lost."

With the middle class feeling that their financial situation is less stable than ever before, Spitzer's emphasis on making companies more accountable makes them feel more secure. No one wants to see their life savings wiped out as a result of corporate greed and wrongdoing.

Daniels Leaves Pataki Administration

AP - Randy Daniels, a former CBS News correspondent and potential contender for the 2006 Republican nomination for governor, resigned Thursday as Gov. George Pataki's appointed secretary of state. While Daniels has been exploring a possible candidacy and seeking contributions for months, he told The Associated Press last month he could not legally be an announced candidate for governor and hold the state job because the Department of State administers federal funds. [Newsday]

Spitzer's office checks for gas price gouging

Binghamton/Southern Tier: Dozens of consumers have called the New York State Attorney General's regional office in Binghamton to report instances of gas price gouging. More than 3,000 calls have been made to the New York State Consumer Protection Board as of last Wednesday. Of those 3,000 calls, 1,800 were "specific calls" -- calls that noted the location of a specific station, prices or the time in which there was a price jump. These calls were referred to the Albany office, which then divided the calls and designated them by their location. The Binghamton Attorney General's office received an additional 120 calls from calls to the protection board.

Attorney General Eliot Spitzer has also asked regional offices to investigate at least five stations within their region that have appeared to have the highest gas spikes in the shortest amount of time, said Attorney General's office spokesman Marc Violette. [PressConnects.com]

Fed Study Confirms Racial Lending Disparities

New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer says that a nationwide lending survey confirms the stark racial disparities in mortgage lending that his office has been investigating for six months. The study, conducted by the Federal Reserve Board, shows that African-Americans were far more likely than whites to receive high-cost loans, even after controlling for factors such as the borrower’s income. [ConsumerAffairs.com]

Spitzer calls critics 'apologists for the powerful'

Sept 15 - New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer on Thursday refuted accusations he was "overaggressive" and said critics were often "apologists for the powerful and politically connected who commit crimes."

Spitzer, who's running for New York state governor as a Democrat, has been the subject of negative editorials in The Wall Street Journal, saying he is too zealous in attacking investment banks, the mutual fund industry and insurance companies for practices that have been common for years.

"These people are taking sides against integrity and for distortion," said Spitzer at a press conference announcing the 37 counts of fraud against eight former top officials of Marsh Inc., the world's largest insurance broker and a unit of Marsh & McLennan Inc. [Reuters]

Related story: Eight ex-Marsh officials indicted over bid-rigging [Reuters]

Vote In Today's Primaries

Eliot Spitzer has urged all New Yorkers to join him in voting in today's election.

He says:

The stakes in this election are high – choosing candidates tomorrow is the first step in reforming and re-energizing the way New York is governed. New York will face tough decisions in the coming years. It is essential that we choose the candidates that we want to make those decisions. In traveling throughout the state, I have met many fantastic candidates who have fresh, innovative ideas about the economy, education and how to clean up government and make it more responsive to the needs of New Yorkers. I am optimistic about our state's future. No matter which candidates you choose to support, I ask that you go to the polls .. and exercise your right to vote.

To find the polling station in your district, visit the Frequently Asked Questions page of the New York State Board of Elections web site at www.elections.state.ny.us.

Spitzer Not Afraid to Lead on Environmental Issues

From the Washington Post:

States like California and New York traditionally have been activist regulators, but now "model rules" developed by state associations and individual initiatives are being pursued throughout the country.

"We have a mantra. Where the federal government is unable or unwilling to address an important air pollution problem, the states and localities will step in and fill that gap," said S. William Becker , executive director of state and local air pollution associations.

Becker's group is working on a model rule to curb mercury emissions from power plants because it thinks the recently issued federal mercury rule is weak and takes too long to implement. It also developed a "menu" of alternatives that states can use to beef up changes the Environmental Protection Agency made to address how expanded industrial facilities must control their pollution. And it has a model rule -- which nine states have adopted -- for states to reduce truck diesel emissions.

In another initiative, nine Northeast and mid-Atlantic states have banded together to form the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative to address global warming by using a state trading system to control emissions.

"We need to protect our citizens and forests," said Peter Lehner, chief of the Environmental Protection Bureau for Eliot Spitzer's office. Lehner said the federal government has not acted to adequately regulate interstate transport of pollutants, so Spitzer has sued six New York power plants and 22 out-of-state facilities.

Becker said the Clean Air Act allows states to set standards of their own, but, in some cases, the Bush administration has tried to limit the effect states can have regulating industry. He said the administration's Clear Skies Initiative, which didn't pass, would have preempted states from taking action against industry. [WaPo]

Spitzer is “fed up” with Republicans

Hudson Valley News
Sept 8 2005

Excerpt:

New York State Attorney General and gubernatorial candidate Elliot Spitzer told Orange County Democrats last night that Democrats will take back control of the state and federal governments in the elections over the next four years.

Speaking to about 180 party faithful at a fundraiser in New Windsor, Spitzer criticized what he called the current administration’s failed efforts. “The public is fed up with what they see as the void in Washington, D.C.,” he said. “We are tired of the cheap rhetoric that has belied by the facts; the cheap words that are not backed up by actions.”

Spitzer blasted the Administration for its failed efforts in providing early relief to the Hurricane Katrina victims. “After all that planning, when it was time to show up and perform, they failed,” he said.

Organized Labor (UAW) Supports Eliot Spitzer

This summer, organized labor continued its steadfast support of Spitzer2006. During the summer meeting of the United Auto Workers Community Action Program (UAW--Region 9 and 9A), the hardworking women and men of Regions 9 and 9A endorsed Spitzer's candidacy for Governor. These two UAW regions represent more than 50,000 New Yorkers from auto plants such as General Motors Power Train in Buffalo, American Axle in Tonawanda, Delphi Harrison in Lockport, Delphi Rochester in Rochester, New Venture Gear in Syracuse, Motor Components in Elmira and General Motors in Messena. They also include a number of specialized machine plants, and technical staff from various auto dealerships located in New York City and Long Island.

Spitzer Keeps Double-Digit Lead Over 2006 Candidates

AP: Challengers to U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer are still trailing by large margins in their fledgling campaigns for 2006, according to a poll released Thursday. In the governor's race, Democratic candidate Spitzer, the two-term state attorney general, maintains double-digit leads over his announced and likely challengers. Spitzer led former Massachusetts Gov. William Weld, a Republican, 56 percent to 19 percent. Spitzer led former Independence Party gubernatorial candidate Thomas Golisano 52 percent to 28 percent and led Republican Secretary of State Randy Daniels, an appointee of Gov. George Pataki, 58 percent to 15 percent. The figures are consistent with poll results in May and July. [Newsday]