The Capitol: Silvers Opponents get Ready for Prime Time

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The Capitol

   

June 13, 2008

 

By Andrew J. Hawkins

 

Paul Newell and Luke Henry battle speaker and each other in long-shot race

  

Hi, I'm Paul Newell and I'm running for New York State Assembly."
  
Standing outside the Grand Street subway stop in Chinatown on a sunny May afternoon, Paul Newell's sales pitch was not generating much response.
  
After a dozen or so people ignored his extended hand and smiling, bespectacled face, his aide, Alex Li, suggested he start with "ni hao," Mandarin for "hello."

"I'll give it a shot," Newell said.

The refined pitch helped Newell secure a few signatures for his petition.

But that was not the only reason he was on that corner in Chinatown. Shaking hands and handing out campaign flyers, the first-time candidate kept one eye out for his opponent, the man he hoped against all odds to unseat in September.

Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) was up in Albany. His "community command center," though, was scheduled to be on the streets for a health care drive, according to flyers taped to several lampposts in the area.

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