Aqueduct decision another trouble spot for Paterson

Forget for a moment the wider questions about his day-to-day performance, his electoral chances, his standing in his party. For Gov. David A. Paterson, the frenzy surrounding a proposed contract for slot machines at Aqueduct Racetrack comes at a terrible time, helping further dim the public's short-term view of his governance.

Bidders who lost to the Aqueduct Entertainment Group, which Paterson ultimately signed off on - though he was earlier reported to favor another bidder - went public criticizing the process.

Approval involves the legislature. AEG has well-known Queens minister and former congressman, the Rev. Floyd Flake, as an investor.

He's an ally of Senate President Malcolm Smith (D-St. Albans). Another investor, Darryl Greene, pleaded guilty to a criminal charge in 1999.

Worse for Paterson, fairly or not, is Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver's distancing himself from the deal. Silver has already made it known he considers Paterson political toast.

Some wonder if state leaders can negotiate a crisis budget by, or even after, the April 1 deadline.

NEW DEM DIVIDE:Assemb. Harvey Weisenberg (D-Long Beach) said he's running for re-election after all, setting up a possible fall primary between him ex-Nassau Legis. Jeffrey Toback and perhaps others. Intrigue to come is expected to involve long-standing local rivalries. Unlike the State Senate, nobody considers Silver's Democratic majority to be threatened at the polls this year.

MONSERR-OUT?: State Senators plan to vote this week on expelling domestic-violence misdemeanant Sen. Hiram Monserrate (D-Jackson Heights). He's preparing to resist.

This kind of proceeding is so rare that some discussions of the legal angles here reach to 1920 when the GOP Assembly speaker, Thaddeus C. Sweet, refused to seat legally elected members because they were Socialists - and former Republican Gov. Charles Evans Hughes helped stop their exclusion.

FORD, EXPLORER: For fans who eyed his exploratory Long Island swing last week, it was clear that Harold Ford Jr. can create excitement on the stump. But in his competition for major interest-group backing, one local Democratic activist notes that incumbency should give his putative rival, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, some edge, adding: "The unions have a lot of legislation that they'll want her support on."