It's really rare that the three major metropolitan dailies agree on anything, but in the Newell-Henry-Silver race in the 64th, they're unanimous: Dump Sheldon Silver. Yesterday, the Daily News rounded out the trifecta of The New York Times and The New York Post.

The New York Daily News:

The time has come for the voters of lower Manhattan to turn Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver out of office.

After 32 years in his seat, including 14 years as the Assembly's maximum leader, Silver embodies the insider's game that has captured the state Legislature, to the detriment of 19 million New Yorkers.

Silver's constituents would serve the cause of open, responsive government - and rock Albany to its foundations - by pulling the lever in Tuesday's Democratic primary for challenger Paul Newell.

Across America in this election year, people are demanding change. Let's have it in Albany, too.

Such a vote could mark the start of a revolution. For dumping Silver would send the unmistakable message that the people of this state want a responsible, deliberative Legislature rather than a boss-run fiefdom....

When they go to the polls Tuesday, Democratic voters of the 64th Assembly District - perhaps 15,000 strong - have the opportunity to bring desperately needed change to all New York. And they have a solid choice in Newell, who displays impressive passion about the quality of life in neighborhoods across lower Manhattan.

Elect Newell. Dump Silver.

The editorial boards of the Times, Post and News probably would have a hard time agreeing that hot and cold running water are a good thing. That they all came out and endorsed a challenger - one of two challengers, to be precise - is noteworthy. At a minimum, the issue of Albany reform has now been raised in the only language Albany incumbents understand, in a challenge at the ballot box to their cushy tenures.

I want to give both my endorsements for Tuesday's primary as well as the endorsements from some of the organizations I respect. First my endorsements:

Brooklyn's 1st Civil Court Seat: Devin Cohen

Devin is the clear choice in this case, and not just because he is a friend of mine. Devin Cohen has extensive civil court experience while his opponent has mainly criminal and appellate law experience. Devin is widely known for his fairness and honesty as well as his commitment to the community as a volunteer EMT. My wife has known Devin since high school. And I once called him, long before he was running for judge, the most honest person I know in Brooklyn politics. His opponent is best known politically for his donations to and legal help for both Brooklyn party boss Clarence Norman (currently serving a prison sentence for corruption) and for the Conservative Party. Devin is politically best known for his work on Community Board 6, his dedication to reform politics in Brooklyn, and as former president of the Independent Neighborhood Democrats. Roger Adler has also run an exclusively negative campaign, trying to smear Devin Cohen as if Adler has nothing positive to offer himself. Adler has claimed to be the outsider, an despite having donated to Clarence Norman AND done Norman's legal work despite the fact that the county party bound his petitions. Devin is known to have been a voice for judicial reform so Adler basically lied about their relative political connections. Adler also admitted, in my presence and before an entire room full of people, that he in essence tried to get a judgeship through political donations and political favors. This is what he said publicly, I checked with others who heard him and they agreed. He also expressed admiration for the judicial philosophies of Supreme Court justices Scalia and Thomas, who are about as conservative as you can get.  read more »

There are two hotly contested primaries happening this Tuesday in our fair City's core, both of which feature young, Progressive reformers going up against well-established incumbents. In one case, we have Paul Newell and Luke Henry taking on Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, in what Errol Louis called the most important race in this state; in the other, former Senate Minority Leader Marty Connor is in the fight of his life against Progressive challenger Daniel Squadron.

Here's a map: light blue is the 64th AD, red, the 25th Senate District.

The Working Families Party has taken positions in both races. In the SD-25 race, they're backing Dan Squadron, saying:

"This district is in need of a State Senator who will champion responsible development and shake things up in Albany. Daniel Squadron has a proven record of fighting for change," said Rocky Chin a member of the Chinatown/Lower East Side Club of the Working Families Party.

In the AD-64 race, by contrast, WFP stuck with Silver, arguing:  read more »

Well, holy poop. Via an emailed press release, available on the web as well.

Paul Newell's grassroots fundraising outpaces Silver's lobby money by two-to-one.

New York , NY- Paul Newell, the insurgent Democrat challenging Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, has raised more than twice as much money as Silver in the most recent filing period -- and has done so without taking any money from the lobbyists and PACs that fill Silver's coffers.

"The momentum is shifting rapidly in this race," said Newell. "Downtown voters understand that change is very much possible in New York State and they have shown that by re-upping their support of an Albany unswayed by corporate contributions."

Newell, who was recently endorsed by The New York Times and the New York Post, raised $40,015 in the most recent filing period compared to Silver's $19,575.

"It is not just the total numbers that are important" explained Evan Hutchison, Newell's campaign manager, "but where the money came from that matters. This is truly a grassroots campaign and these filings bear that out.

Has that even ever happened before, that a challenger for an Assembly seat outraised the sitting incumbent in any time period?  read more »

Fascinating piece on the contested primary in the 54th AD yesterday by The Daily News' Errol Louis, which unfortunately, copyright law forbids from re-posting here whole and entire. But here are the key grafs:

The single most important political contest in New York this year is the reelection race of Manhattan Assemblyman Sheldon Silver, a Democrat who doubles as speaker of the state Assembly - the second most-powerful post in state government after governor.

For the first time in 22 years, Silver is being challenged - by a pair of political newcomers - in a primary for the seat that is the bedrock of his power.

Fewer than 12,000 voters are expected to cast ballots in the 64th District, which covers all or part of the lower East Side, the East Village, Chinatown, Wall Street and Battery Park City.

But their choice will affect New York's 19 million residents.

...and:

But the residents of Chinatown, the lower East Side, Battery Park City and the rest of the district need to take this race seriously and choose wisely. And they would do New York a great service by turning out at the polls in large numbers.

They will be voting - for the 19 million of us who can't - on the record of a powerful pol who has, for too long, been accountable to nobody.

Think about this for a moment: one elected official, with power equal to or greater than that of any statewide elected official, has gone over two decades without a challenge. When Silver was last challenged, Gorbachev was running the Soviet Union, Ronald Reagan was President, and a guy named Barack Obama had just moved to Chicago to become a community organizer.  read more »