Text size:

Bill Clinton among those at Suozzi golf fundraiser

BY SID CASSESE | sid.cassese@new

July 4, 2008

Fresh off his wife's presidential run, former President Bill Clinton is due to tee off Monday on Long Island for 18 holes at the annual golf fundraiser of Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi - who was a fervent backer of Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Clinton's participation in Suozzi's biggest political fundraising event follows the county executive's support of the junior New York senator by playing boccie with Italian-Americans during the Iowa caucus.

"He likes to play golf, and he is appreciative of all of the help that we in the county gave to Senator Clinton in her bid for the Democratic nomination," Suozzi said.

Clinton is expected to play a foursome with Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Cablevision's chief executive James Dolan, a registered independent voter, and Suozzi's brother Christopher.

Suozzi's campaign filings in 2007 showed that Cablevision and Cablevision chairman Charles Dolan gave $7,500 each for a total of $15,000. Cablevision is in the process of buying Newsday for $650 million.

Among its many high-profile involvements, the Cablevision organization, which owns Madison Square Garden in Manhattan, led civic opposition a few years ago to Mayor Michael Bloomberg's proposed West Side football stadium. Silver played a key role in stopping the project in 2005, as a member of the state Public Authorities Control Board.

Although Suozzi has yet to formally declare he will run for re-election as county executive next year - or eventually seek some other elected post - he nonetheless is filling his campaign war chest.

"I'm just fulfilling my Boy Scout motto," Suozzi said coyly in a recent interview. "Be prepared."

Matt McKenna, spokesman for the former president, warned against reading any wider political meaning into the appearance.

"This is a weekend that we're going to take a break from politics," McKenna said.

Suozzi aides said he is hoping to raise at least $500,000, with 400 golfers paying $1,000 and 300 people coming just to dine at $500 a plate. Last year, Suozzi raised more than $700,000 at his annual golf outing, the lowest amount generated since he became county executive. In past outings, Suozzi, first elected in 2001, has collected about $1 million or more.

Clinton is expected to be joined by other political bigwigs at the dinner, including Silver, State Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith and Queens and Brooklyn Democratic leaders Joseph Crowley and Vito Lopez, respectively.

Golfing will start at 11:30 a.m. at the North Shore Country Club in Glen Head, the Engineers Country Club in Roslyn Harbor and the Nassau Club in Glen Cove.

Staff writers Glenn Thrush, Dan Janison and Eden Laikin contributed to this story.

NUMBERS ON THE GREEN

According to county officials, these are the golf handicaps:

Former President Bill Clinton 12

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver 24

Christopher Suozzi 10

Cablevision CEO James Dolan 16

A handicap reflects an estimate of how many strokes over par a player might shoot.