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Suozzi's Buffalo pal not so beloved to some

BY EMI ENDO | STAFF WRITER

March 3, 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)

Cozying up to the popular ex-mayor of Buffalo may have endeared Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi to some residents there this week, but it also drew another attack from an abortion rights group yesterday.

Suozzi, an underdog seeking the Democratic nod for governor, hoped the charisma of former Mayor James D. Griffin would rub off on him as he stumped in Buffalo Wednesday.

Griffin, who opposes abortion, had prominently displayed a sign in his mayor's office that read "Abortion Kills Children."

Kelli Conlin, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice New York, lambasted Suozzi for accepting the support of Griffin, whom she called an "anti-choice extremist." The state's most influential abortion rights group has endorsed Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the front-runner for the nomination.

Suozzi's chief campaign strategist, Kimberly Devlin, fired back: "It's disappointing that Eliot Spitzer would once again hide behind the angry, unproductive rhetoric of his surrogates."

Both Spitzer and Suozzi support abortion rights. Suozzi has proposed reducing the number of abortions through a $3-million county program to fund homes for single mothers, encourage adoptions and increase education.