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Suozzi set to poll his chances against Spitzer upstate

BY JOSEPH MALLIA | STAFF WRITER

March 1, 2006

New York state Attorney General Eliot Spitzer is seen after a fundraiser at the Glen Oaks Country Club in Old Westbury. (Newsday / Karen Wiles Stabile / February 15, 2006)

Putting his candidacy for governor to the test among upstate farmers and small-town residents, Nassau Executive Thomas Suozzi will take part in a straw poll this weekend against his gubernatorial rival, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, sponsored by the Democratic Rural Conference.

"As he has the last several years, Tom will be attending the conference this weekend and he would greatly enjoy the opportunity to talk about his campaign and his message," said Kim Devlin, Suozzi's campaign strategist.

It's not clear, though, if Suozzi will be on a level playing field against Spitzer, who has long cultivated upstate Democrats.

Spitzer owns a farm in Pine Plains (population 1,412) where he and his daughter each season pick blueberries, which they make into jam and send to Democratic Rural Conference members.

Most of the 200-plus straw poll voters are part of the Democratic Party leadership, which supports Spitzer.

Brad Mintener, a director of the conference, said he was happy to hear Suozzi will attend. "We've bent over backwards to make sure Thomas Suozzi is accorded every right that everyone has," he said.

Spitzer will host a reception at the event and he will give at least two speeches, while Suozzi will only be permitted to speak before Saturday's vote if delegates nominate and second him.

Suozzi's campaign staff didn't try to keep his name off the ballot to avoid a crushing defeat, Mintener said. "We put his name on the ballot to assist him rather than to embarrass or hurt anyone."

Suozzi, meanwhile, is on the move. In Buffalo today, his second trip there in a month, he will attend Ash Wednesday Mass and campaign at the city's Broadway Market.

Tonight, he is scheduled to attend a reception honoring Italy's right-leaning Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. Berlusconi is being honored by the Intrepid Foundation on Manhattan's West Side.

Staff writer Michael Rothfeld contributed to this story.