Suozzi, “Dark Horse” for Senate Seat

Analysis: Beyond Kennedy-Cuomo glare, a long shot

By MICHAEL GORMLEY | Associated Press Writer
December 21, 2008

ALBANY, N.Y. - Caroline Kennedy has the name. Andrew Cuomo has the political pedigree. But Tom Suozzi, admittedly a dark horse candidate, may have an edge in seeking the U.S. Senate seat expected to be vacated by Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Yes, Tom Suozzi, the leader of Long Island's Nassau County. While he lacks the cachet of a Kennedy or Cuomo, he brings other assets to this unusual campaign.

"There are only two candidates on the media's radar right now, Kennedy and Cuomo," said Steven Greenberg, spokesman for the Siena College poll, adding, "I think there are a number of candidates on the governor's radar screen."

Suozzi is the two-term executive of Nassau County, with a population of 1.3 million. The former Glen Cove mayor turned the county's fiscal crisis around and led an effective "Fix Albany" campaign attacking the issue of high local property taxes.
In 2006, he ran for the Democratic nomination for governor, seemingly the only Democrat on the planet at the time willing to challenge Eliot Spitzer. Since then, Suozzi was tapped by Paterson to run a commission charged with overhauling a system that has left New York with some of the highest property taxes in the nation.

Through it all, Suozzi built up years of statewide party contacts while slamming away at the taxes that vex suburban and upstate property owners.

Paterson took notice. Behind the scenes, Suozzi was thought to be the odds-on favorite to serve as Paterson's running mate in 2010.

And there was another Suozzi connection in Paterson's inner circle. In November, the governor picked as his top aide a former Suozzi deputy, William J. Cunningham III, who also worked for the well-connected Long Island law firm that employs both Suozzi's father and Paterson's father.

"Suozzi is a plausible dark horse should the Cuomo and Kennedy camps stalemate each other," said political science Professor Robert McClure of Syracuse University's Maxwell School. He also said Suozzi seems to have more statewide appeal than the nearly half-dozen congressional members in the hunt.

While Paterson has remained popular since taking over last spring for the disgraced Spitzer, last week he proposed his first budget _ a spending-slashing, fee-raising plan that has something for just about every interest group to hate. The budget battles that have already begun are likely to dent his popularity.

And that could become a problem if Republican Rudy Giuliani, always popular upstate, keeps gaining ground as a potential challenger for the governor's mansion.

In November, the Siena College poll found Giuliani _ who has not declared his candidacy _ just 6 percentage points behind Paterson.

Paterson could likely blunt Giuliani's popularity by adding an ethnic Catholic from the suburbs to the 2010 ticket _ especially since many upstate voters are suspicious of politicians from the Big Apple like former New York City Mayor Guiliani.

"His relationship with Paterson goes back very far and it's deep," said Lawrence Levy, executive director of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University. "They were two young political princes who were raised and groomed to one day govern. Paterson is very comfortable with Suozzi."

But that hardly adds up to a sure thing.

Paterson will want a formidable fundraiser so his choice has the resources to win a special election in 2010 and a full six-year term in 2012 _ and to help Paterson's own war chest.

"I usually don't think money matters as much as some do, but in this case, deep pockets and the ability to raise money will be a big question," McClure said.

In that regard, Kennedy holds an advantage.

Suozzi said he's confident Paterson will do what's in the best interest of the state and vowed to support whatever decision he makes.

"I have a record in public life and I'm not going promote that record, other than to say the record speaks for itself," he told The Associated Press.

For Suozzi, it's the latest in a series of quests many found laughable at first.

"Suozzi is one of these guys who somehow filters out the part of his conversations where people are telling him what he can't accomplish," Levy said.

In the 2006 campaign for governor, candidate Suozzi remained brash and funny in the face of certain defeat.

Asked what he wanted in the first paragraph of his obituary, he said: "Winner of one of the biggest upsets in political history."

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Michael Gormley is the Albany, N.Y., Capitol editor for The Associated Press. He can be reached by e-mail at mgormley(at)ap.org.