Silver Enlists Special Interests Four Months Before Primary

Sheldon Silver is pulling out all the stops as Paul Newell's grassroots challenge gains traction.  Despite having more than $3 Million in his campaign fund, Silver has already turned to third party special interests to fund his campaign.

Yesterday, 1199 and the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA) filled 64^th Assembly District mailboxes with a 2-sided, full color 8½" X 11" mailer praising Silver.  GNYHA and 1199, which recently gave $100,000 to Republican Joe Bruno, have long been recognized as among the savviest operators in Albany's lobbying culture. 

Paul Newell responded to the piece, saying "The problem is not the mailer itself, it is the pay-to-play culture in Albany.  Silver and Bruno have put the word out that the way to get something from New York State government is to spend big money supporting the status quo."  Newell continued, "No amount of special interest money will hide the fact that Sheldon Silver has been failing the people of Lower Manhattan for decades."

The highly unusual timing of the piece - more than four months before Silver's first contested primary in 22 years - is clear proof that Silver is concerned about community organizer Paul Newell's campaign.  Evan Hutchison, Newell's Campaign Manager reacted, saying "We knew that Sheldon Silver's millions in special interest money would come into play, we just didn't expect him to start calling in favors so early in the campaign.  They are obviously scared".  Newell has already knocked on over 4,000 doors and distributed over 10,000 flyers to voters in the district.

In another sign of concern, Silver recently hired high-priced campaign consultants BerlinRosen to manage his defense against Newell's aggressive grassroots campaign.  The hire is Silver's first such move in over 20 years.

NY Times: Bruno Gets Makeup Cash From 1199 - 2/26/08 http://cityroom.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/02/26/bruno-gets-make-up-cash-from-1199/

Daily News: Silver Hires Campaign Consultant 4/1/08 - http://www.nydailynews.com/blogs/dailypolitics/2008/04/silver-hires-campaign-consulta.html