ALBANY – Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver yesterday strongly suggested that Gov. Paterson reject Caroline Kennedy as Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton‘s replacement – because she might be more loyal to Mayor Bloomberg than to the governor.
“If I were the governor, I would look and question whether this is the appointment I’d want to make, where her first obligation might be to the mayor of the City of New York, rather than to the governor who would be appointing her,” Silver said.
He told Albany’s Talk 1300-AM that he had no doubt that Bloomberg, a Democrat-turned-Republican-turned-independent who twice defeated Democrats while running as a Republican, was the main Force behind Kennedy’s efforts to become a senator.
“I’m certain that’s the case,” said Silver.
“If I were the governor, I would look and say her candidacy is being promoted by the mayor, by his deputy mayor – for political aspirations – who took her around only to mayors around the state, not to any other elected officials, because of his contacts as mayor,” said Silver, referring to Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey.
Sheekey doubles as an after-hours Kennedy strategist.
Silver said he wasn’t satisfied with Kennedy’s less than 100 percent commitment over the weekend, when she said she “fully intends to support the Democratic nominee” running against Bloomberg next year.
“I would have preferred a different answer,” said Silver, who met with Kennedy last week to discuss the Senate seat.
Silver added political insult to injury by repeatedly refusing to say if Kennedy is qualified to be a senator, even while praising the credentials of state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and US Reps. Carolyn Maloney, Jerrold Nadler and Kirsten Gillibrand.
Paterson, during a conference call from Germany as he returned from visiting US troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, refused to comment on Silver’s remarks, saying only that he wants to avoid “lobbying, coercion and distracting information” in the selection process.
Silver’s criticism came a day after Bloomberg questioned Paterson’s refusal to pick a date by which to name a Clinton successor. The mayor’s move was widely seen as signaling that Kennedy’s quest for the Senate had hit a few potholes.
Paterson has said he’ll likely wait until just before Clinton is to be sworn in as secretary of state.
Meanwhile, a Quinnipiac University poll showed that New York voters are less than convinced Kennedy is qualified to be senator, with just 40 percent saying she is and 41 percent saying she isn’t.
Forty-eight percent of those surveyed, however, said they expect Paterson to pick Kennedy, compared to just 25 percent who said he’ll pick someone else.
Asked whom Paterson should select if the choice is between Kennedy and Cuomo, it was Kennedy, 33-29 percent.