Guess who ended up as David Patterson’s Campaign Manager for his Lt. Governor run (coronation)?       

YES, you guessed it:  LUTHER SMITH.                                                         The former chief-of -staff to C.Viriginia Fields ( ex-Manhattan Beep ) was last seen working on Freddie Ferrer’s Mayoral campaign, as a Special-Assistant to the candidate himself (post-primary). This likeable, hard-working and competent guy, was rumored to have hooked up with Bill Lynch’s consulting firm.  From where we stand at this  moment in time, it looks like a ‘piece of cake " for Luther. Score one for the nice-guys.                                               

Gubernatorial candidate Tom Suozzi is in Brooklyn today making the rounds. Among those he is scheduled to meet are Wellington Sharpe  ( announced candidate for the 58th AD), and NYC councilmember Charles Barron- who is  running for Congress in the 10th Congressional District.

Suozzi whose candidacy is considered a longshot  by many,  has a lot of catching-up to do against  his opponent AG Elliot Spitzer, relative to the black vote. Polls show him as a relatively unknown amongst black voters. He will be well advised to work very hard in Brooklyn.

From NY SUN – "Council Member Charles Barron of Brooklyn expressed his views on landmarking in general. "I appreciate historic preservation, but also I appreciate the freedom for property owners to have control over their property. That’s the real challenge here because it really could be an infringement on property owners," he said".

Remember back in December when a New York City police officer was murdered? The Post made a big stink about Shelly Silver saying he wouldn’t attend the funeral. At the time, I wondered if the Post was going to be responsible for a new policy – that state legislative leaders like Jow Bruno & Shelly would now be attacked for not attending funerals for all law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty. I now learn, thanks to today’s Albany Times-Union that 2 officers in NY State were killed in the last month. Looking back I find no stories or editorials in the Post demanding Bruno & Silver attend the funerals. Can anyone come up with a reason that the Post doesn’t seem to care anymore? Of can it be that they got their cheap shot in at Shelly and didn’t need to do it again?

You all probably remember the controversy over Andrew Cuomo and the Vote for Cuomo not the Homo signs. To quickly sum up, at a meeting of the Stonewall Dem Club, Andrew was asked about his role in distributing such signs in the 1977 Ed Koch-Mario Cuomo race. Andrew used the phrase "urban legend" about the signs. Some folks took that to mean that Andrew was saying there never were such signs. He (Andrew) later said he meant the urban legend was that he or any officials in the Mario Cuomo campaign were responsible. Most in the media and Ed Koch accepted Andrew’s explanation. This despite the fact that Andrew in 2002 was quoted as saying there never were such signs.

Nat Hentoff's notes to Bob Dylan's 2nd album, written when he was still worth reading, say, in part: "'Hard Rain" adds Dylan "is a desparate kind of song". It was written during the Cuban missile crisis … when those who allowed themselves to think …were chilled by the immenence of oblivion. "Every line in it is actually the start of a whole song. But when I wrote it, I thought I wouldn't have enough time…to write all those songs so I put all I could into this one."

Excited as all of us who are participating in the launch of Room 8 are to be part of this brave new endeavor, with visions of long belated recognition and sugarplumbs dancing in our heads, it is hard not to feel a little chilled by the immenence of what may lie ahead. So, on the eve of our launch, I write a desparate kind of column; every line is the start of a new column, but when I wrote it, I thought I'd never have the time to write all those columns, so I put it all into this one. Bob Dylan certainly did better, but I think it might be more fun to read than Hentoff's 675th remembrance of A.J. Muste (admittedly not much to aspire to).

Last week, the publisher of "Footnotes" newspaper (Maurice Gumbs), had a lengthy conversation with Assemblymember Nick Perry. From this encounter Gumbs has stated emphatically that Nick is running for the 11th Congressional seat. This surprising news item comes amid speculation that Perry was a late scratch from the crowded field. It further bolsters a recent report in the Caribbean Life newspaper, wherein Perry was quoted as saying " reports of my political demise ( regarding this race)are grossly exaggerated".

Today there is even more speculation that the late scratch will be Yvette Clarke instead, since Ms. Clarke is widely seen as hitting the same voting base ( Caribbean-Americans) as Perry. There is also speculation that Ms.Clarke is having fundraising issues. My feeling is that Yvette is determined to contest this race no matter what.

I think it’s time to defend KT McFarland from the jackals of the press. While it’s true that her candidacy is a joke as she has no chance to win and the initial press she received was absurdly out of proportion to what she deserved, now both the Times & Post are going overboard the otherway. Last week’s Times story that said she lying about her resume was disproved by the quotes from the Deputy Secretary of Defense who she worked for. Saturday’s Post story about her "crazy" comments about Hllary spying on her was weakly sourced. No Post reporter was there. KT claimed she was joking about Hillary and that everyone knew it. The only people quoted by name as saying she wasn’t joking were 2 supporters of her GOP opponent John Spencer. That didn’t stop the Post from doing a followup story & an editorial on Sunday.

Candidates from Brooklyn’s 10th Congressional race faced off in a public debate last weekend. NYC council member Charles Barron, Assemblyman Roger Green and Hip-hop entrepeneur Kevin Powell appeared before an audience of about sixty community residents at Grace memorial Baptist Church. One week earlier, candidates from the 11thCongressional District appeared before the same crowd, as Pastor Underwood continues to hold these forums, in hopes of awakening public interest in the upcoming races.