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.

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:

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?

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.

Back in January 2006 I had as my goals:

1.) defeating the Bush/Gingrich/McCain agenda nationally

2.) defeating the Pataki, Bruno and Silver Albany constipation

3.) defeating the local Brooklyn Vito Lopez machine.

Still working on #3 through several channels. And it remains to be seen whether indictments or ill health or Brooklyn fatigue with corruption bring down Vito Lopez. For my part I prefer indictments to ill health. But Charles Hynes, the Brooklyn DA, has pushed that aside and has focused on other, also worthy efforts. So we wait to see who will replace Lopez in time.

Goal #1 began to happen in 2006 with a massive take over of the House and an evening up of the Senate. And we have a damned good shot at continuing this in 2008 with MORE House seats, a REAL takeover of the Senate and a White House win by Obama.

Frontpaged, and welcome. - Bouldin

Just about a year ago when I began volunteering with a political campaign for the first time, my candidate was considered a long shot at best. That candidate was facing the full weight of an overwhelming political establishment. Opinion makers quickly dismissed the upstart candidate as too young and too inexperienced, noting the primary would be nothing more than a formality or procedural obstacle on the way to the front runner's inevitable coronation [1].

(crossposted to dailykos)

Of course, that "incumbent" candidate was Hillary Clinton; Barack Obama, my candidate, the one pundits expected to implode into a cloud of inexperience under the crushing weight of the establishment with an audible 'poof', is now our Democratic nominee. There's still a great deal of work to be done before Barack Obama becomes our 44th President, but he's out of the gate with a strong lead, even with the wounds of our the long, contentious primary campaign still slowly mending.

New to politics a year ago, I entered the fray with only a passing familiarity with the candidates various policy proposals. Despite my indifference and apathy at the time, Barack Obama's commitment to good government policies -- specifically campaign finance reform, government transparency and ethics reform -- drew me into the campaign, and eventually into Democratic politics for good. I could go on and on about my admiration for Obama's dedication to these issues, how good-government, campaign finance, and increased transparency are the prerequisites for lasting change, but I imagine there's little need to trumpet Obama in a progressive place like DG (for the record, this post was originally written for a broader audience at dailykos -- I hope I my relative ignorance of state issues compared to the average DG reader doesn't spoil the message).

Well, once again I'm rooting for the reformer-underdog. Still, despite the overwhelming weight of New York's establishment machine bearing down on Paul Newell campaign, I'm more convinced than ever that Obama-style bottom-up Change is precisely what NY state so desperately needs.

NEWELLNYC.ORG

Back in February, Bouldin observed that this year may be the year of challenging the entrenched and out of touch political establishment in NYC. Bouldin focused primarily on Paul Newell's challenge of perhaps the most entrenched politician in New York State, Shelly Silver. I want to expand upon what Bouldin wrote by covering some other races as well.

There is no question that Paul Newell is going up against the biggest bully in NY State, something that takes considerable guts. Let me let Paul introduce himself to you (though he has already done so here on Daily Gotham several times):

Today was the rally calling for Bruce Ratner to put up or shut up. Brooklyn is getting tired of Ratner making promises then breaking those promises even as he demands more taxpayer money. The rally was well attended, though we came slightly late and were way at the back, so didn't really see the whole crowd.

Chris Owens, President of Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats and Brooklyn Progressive Activist, led the rally. Three groups organized the rally: Develop Don’t Destroy Brooklyn, The Council of Brooklyn Neighborhoods, and Brooklyn Speaks. MANY local politicians attended, including some who had previously been pretty solidly behind Ratner. Ratner has worn out his welcome even among his supporters.

Here are some excerpts from the press release from the three organizing groups:

Alright, so everyone who hasn't been asleep for the last forty years must have seen this one coming: Sheldon Silver, Democrat of Manhattan, Speaker of the Assembly, refused to allow the State Assembly an up-or-down vote on congestion pricing.

The New York Times:

Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s far-reaching plan to ease traffic in Manhattan died here on Monday in a closed conference room on the third floor of the Capitol.

Democratic members of the State Assembly held one final meeting to debate the merits of Mr. Bloomberg’s plan and found overwhelming and persistent opposition. The plan would have charged drivers $8 to enter a congestion zone in Manhattan south of 60th Street during peak hours.

Mr. Bloomberg and his supporters, including civic, labor and environmental organizations, viewed the proposal as a bold and essential step to help manage the city’s inexorable growth.

Now, here's where it gets interesting. If the proposal didn't have the necessary votes, it could have been let to the floor and died there. Sheldon Silver didn't allow it to a vote - in the Stalinist system of Albany, only the leaders of the respective chambers, not individual legislators, in practical terms have the ability to bring legislation to a vote - because he did not want it to pass.

And there is no district in all of New York that would have benefited more from congestion pricing than Mr. Silver's own.

In normal years, residents of Silver's 62nd AD really don't have much in the way of leverage over their too-powerful Assemblyman, which is why Silver has completely escaped accountability in his marbled office in Albany. This time, however, things are different: there's a primary challenger, Paul Newell.

If the powerless voters in the 62nd Assembly District want to have a representative for their interests in Albany, this year, they have a choice.