Former President Bill Clinton will headline a rally over in Orange County Saturday evening for Rep. John Hall, D-Dover Plains. Hall is seeking a third term and is facing a challenge from Dr. Nan Hayworth, a retired ophthalmologist from Mount Kisco. The nonpartisan Rothenberg Political Report has the race as a toss-up.
John Hall Welcomes President Bill Clinton for:
Moving The Hudson Valley Forward Rally

IBEW Local 363
67 Commerce Drive South
Harriman, NY 10926

Beacon, NY – Former President Bill Clinton will visit the Hudson Valley to rally supporters for Rep. John Hall SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30 at 7:30pm at the IBEW Local 363, 67 Commerce Drive South.  President Clinton will speak to supporters about why Rep. John Hall is the right choice to represent them and highlight the choice voters have in this election.

WHO:   U.S. Rep. John Hall, President Bill Clinton and musical guests.

WHAT:   Moving The Hudson Valley Forward Rally for John Hall supporters featuring President Bill Clinton.

WHERE:  IBEW Local 363, 67 Commerce Drive South, Harriman, NY 10926

WHEN:   SATURDAY, OCTOBER 30 at 7:30pm
It’s the second appearance Clinton is making this election season on behalf of Hall. He appeared last month at a fundraiser for the congressman.

In a new web-only ad out today, Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Joe DioGuardi blames his Democratic rival, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., for the housing and subprime loan crisis. It’s becoming an increasingly familiar tactic for a challenger to place blame on an incumbent for the economic recession (a good example was Sunday’s debate between Republican Jay Townsend and U.S. Sen Charles Schumer).

“Millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet, paying the mortgage, facing foreclosures,” says the announcer in the ad titled, “She Won, You Lost.” “As a top regulator, Gillibrand implemented the schemes that led to this mortgage crisis. But it gets worse. While New Yorkers suffered, Gillibrand was cashing in. Short-selling stocks with the subprime lenders, making thousands. Kirsten Gillibrand bet that the American dream of homeownership would fail. She won, you lost.”

In a new web-only ad out today, Republican U.S. Senate hopeful Joe DioGuardi blames his Democratic rival, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., for the housing and subprime loan crisis. It’s becoming an increasingly familiar tactic for a challenger to place blame on an incumbent for the economic recession (a good example was Sunday’s debate between Republican Jay Townsend and U.S. Sen Charles Schumer).

“Millions of Americans are struggling to make ends meet, paying the mortgage, facing foreclosures,” says the announcer in the ad titled, “She Won, You Lost.” “As a top regulator, Gillibrand implemented the schemes that led to this mortgage crisis. But it gets worse. While New Yorkers suffered, Gillibrand was cashing in. Short-selling stocks with the subprime lenders, making thousands. Kirsten Gillibrand bet that the American dream of homeownership would fail. She won, you lost.”

Democrat Mike Kaplowitz has released the following commercial, which takes issue with one of his opponent’s commercials and uses that original commercial to do so. Maybe it’s a metacommercial?

Kaplowitz is battling Republican Assemblyman Greg Ball for a seat in the state Senate. Anyway, the spot highlights what was evident to those who saw Ball’s commercial and are familiar with the players.

Ball’s spot is below. The woman in each is Lauren Pistone, a former girlfriend but, as has been reported, not the woman whose name appears on the temporary order of protection obtained against Ball several years ago.

ballgf.wmv

Pistone, who appears on some of Ball’s campaign literature  and does some work as a political consultant, released the following statement:
I think most of us have come to expect nearly anything from politicians and in the world of politics.

But Kaplowitz’s recent personal attack against me, when I am not even a candidate, to the point of accusing me of criminal behavior, is a new low.
This is a desperate act, by a desperate man.
As a private citizen, I have a right to privacy and civic action. I proudly stood up for Greg Ball, as his former girlfriend, but more importantly as a young professional and woman who knows his true self.
That selfless act, of me standing up for Greg, and against the slander and unfair attacks, has now led  Mike Kaplowitz to viscously attack me.
No professional woman should ever stand for such reckless and irresponsible allegations, especially from an elected official who is only seeking attention and spotlight for his failing campaign. Neither I nor my mother are public figures.
Shame on him; these actions of him attacking a private citizen in the last days of his campaign only go to show how weak of a candidate he is. If he truly felt strong enough about himself or his race he would not go around bullying and trying to intimidate female voters. I want to know why he hasn’t voted FOR child safety zones and I want to know why he continued to raise taxes.
I demand, and I deserve, a public apology from Kaplowitz to both myself and my family. Short of that, I am in consultation with legal counsel, and considering all legal means at my disposal – including a slander suit to recover and protect my name as a private citizen.
Josh Luger, Kaplowitz spokesman had the following to say:
“As SRCC spokesman Scott Reif said just a few months back, Greg Ball has a ‘pattern of sexual misconduct towards women’ and ‘the facts are the facts.’ The public record is clear. Ms. Pistone is not the ex-girlfriend who took an order of protection against him. She is not the woman who accused him of sexual harassment. And she is not the woman who accused him of groping. This is just another example of Assemblyman Ball misleading voters and trying to distract them from his personal and professional inability to respect and represent women.”
A column in the NYT last week addressed the ex-girlfriend-but-which-girlfriend issue.

Democrat Mike Kaplowitz has released the following commercial, which takes issue with one of his opponent’s commercials and uses that original commercial to do so. Maybe it’s a metacommercial?

Kaplowitz is battling Republican Assemblyman Greg Ball for a seat in the state Senate. Anyway, the spot highlights what was evident to those who saw Ball’s commercial and are familiar with the players.

Ball’s spot is below. The woman in each is Lauren Pistone, a former girlfriend but, as has been reported, not the woman whose name appears on the temporary order of protection obtained against Ball several years ago.

ballgf.wmv

Pistone, who appears on some of Ball’s campaign literature  and does some work as a political consultant, released the following statement:
I think most of us have come to expect nearly anything from politicians and in the world of politics.

But Kaplowitz’s recent personal attack against me, when I am not even a candidate, to the point of accusing me of criminal behavior, is a new low.
This is a desperate act, by a desperate man.
As a private citizen, I have a right to privacy and civic action. I proudly stood up for Greg Ball, as his former girlfriend, but more importantly as a young professional and woman who knows his true self.
That selfless act, of me standing up for Greg, and against the slander and unfair attacks, has now led  Mike Kaplowitz to viscously attack me.
No professional woman should ever stand for such reckless and irresponsible allegations, especially from an elected official who is only seeking attention and spotlight for his failing campaign. Neither I nor my mother are public figures.
Shame on him; these actions of him attacking a private citizen in the last days of his campaign only go to show how weak of a candidate he is. If he truly felt strong enough about himself or his race he would not go around bullying and trying to intimidate female voters. I want to know why he hasn’t voted FOR child safety zones and I want to know why he continued to raise taxes.
I demand, and I deserve, a public apology from Kaplowitz to both myself and my family. Short of that, I am in consultation with legal counsel, and considering all legal means at my disposal – including a slander suit to recover and protect my name as a private citizen.
Josh Luger, Kaplowitz spokesman had the following to say:
“As SRCC spokesman Scott Reif said just a few months back, Greg Ball has a ‘pattern of sexual misconduct towards women’ and ‘the facts are the facts.’ The public record is clear. Ms. Pistone is not the ex-girlfriend who took an order of protection against him. She is not the woman who accused him of sexual harassment. And she is not the woman who accused him of groping. This is just another example of Assemblyman Ball misleading voters and trying to distract them from his personal and professional inability to respect and represent women.”
A column in the NYT last week addressed the ex-girlfriend-but-which-girlfriend issue.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo today in news releases endorsed Democratic state Senate candidates Mike Kaplowitz in the Hudson Valley and Tony Avella in Queens.

Kaplowitz is challenging Assemblyman Greg Ball, R-Patterson, Putnam County, in a district that stretches from Westchester to Dutchess counties.

“It is with much pleasure that I endorse Mike Kaplowitz, a fiercely independent, fiscally conservative local legislator and small business owner, for State Senate. Mike is just the type of legislator Albany needs,” Cuomo said in a statement put out by Kaplowitz’ campaign.

Avella is challenging long-time GOP Sen. Frank Padavan. Cuomo said of Avella, “Changing Albany’s dysfunction will not be easy. That’s why I need independent, reform-minded people like Democrat Tony Avella in the State Senate.”

Cuomo had already endorsed Democratic Senate candidate David Carlucci in Rockland County against Republican County Executive Scott Vanderhoef and Long Island Sen. Brian Foley, who is considered one of the most vulnerable Democrats.

But Cuomo has yet to pump money into the Senate candidates’ campaign coffers. He has put money into the state Democratic committee, though— $1 million in the last filing and another $680,000 this month, his filings today show.

Yesterday, Cuomo was asked about why he supports Democrats remaining in control of the Senate. He said they are more in line with his agenda, particularly on social issues. But he has stayed clear of making any comments about the AEG report last week that is highly critical of top state Democratic officials. He said it’s an ongoing investigation.

The candidates for Assembly in the 99th District entered the homestretch with proposals to tackle distinct problems confronting the state.

Steve Katz, R-Yorktown, Thursday called for freezing property taxes for seniors.

“Seniors are being driven from their homes due to escalating property taxes and cost of living on fixed incomes,” he said. “Action needs to be taken to not only stop this from continuing, but to reverse the trend, so that seniors will want to come to New York.”

Katz was joined by Peter Bisolca, a WWII and Korean War veteran and former North Salem supervisor who said private sector accomplishment was needed in public office holders.

Westchester and Putnam have among the highest property taxes in the country, yet the state ranks 40th in the quality of its schools, Katz said.

Brendan Tully, D-Yorktown, meanwhile, unveiled a plan for comprehensive ethics reform in state government. His announcement follows a  state Inspector General’s report alleging  back room deals and ethics violations in the awarding of a state gambling contract to Aqueduct Entertainment Group (AEG).

“I read the Inspector General’s report and was disgusted, but sadly, I was not surprised,” Tully said. “These types of allegations are far too common in Albany, and it seems that fraud knows no party. Democrats have gone to jail and Republicans have gone to jail.  We need to change the system to make sure it stops.”

His plan calls for prosecuting ethics code violations as crimes; ending pay-to-play deals by requiring competitive bidding on substantial contracts; closing the lobbying loophole that exempts the legislature from restrictions; full disclosure of outside incomes and investments; and creating an online, statewide map showing taxpayers the connections between private contractors and elected officials for all state contracts.

The 99th district covers Yorktown, Somers, North Salem, Carmel, Southeast, Patterson and Pawling.

Democratic Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli is slamming his Republican foe Harry Wilson in a new mailer out today that takes him to task for his record as a restructuring expert and ties to Wall Street.
PAY NO ATTENTION to his Wall Street ways, making millions off hedge funds and sub-prime loans.

PAY NO ATTENTION to his reckless pension scheme which would make our property taxes skyrocket.

PAY NO ATTENTION to his work dismantling companies, firing workers and destroying lives for personal profit.

And please, PAY NO ATTENTION to the foreclosed homes, the life-savings lost, or the families destroyed by the worst of Wall Street values.
The mailer also touts DiNapoli’s endorsement from former New York City Mayor Ed Koch and his work at “rooting out corruption” after taking over from disgraced Democratic Comptroller Alan Hevesi.

DiNapoli Mailer 1

When we last left the candidates in the race for the 40th Senate District—Republican Assemblyman Greg Ball and Democratic Westchester Legislator Mike Kaplowitz—Ball had been joined by former Gov. George Pataki. The two were demanding Kaplowitz return money he received from the state Democratic Senate Campaign Committee. Their demand came in light of a state Inspector General’s report that concluded Gov. Paterson and top Senate Democrats rigged the bidding process to allow an unqualified gaming company to win a lucrative gambling contract at Aqueduct race track in Queens.

Kaplowitz on Friday agreed to give back any campaign funds he received personally from Senate Democratic Leader John Sampson, Senate President Malcolm Smith and Sen. Eric Adams. He also said he wouldn’t vote for them in any leadership positions. Update—As of Friday that included $84,612 in cash from the DSCC. As of today, according to the latest filings at the state BOE, Kaplowitz received another $169,224.

So this morning, Ball’s campaign scheduled a protest outside Kaplowitz’s campaign office “to call on him to return more than $189 Thousand received from the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee (DSCC), money that the Democrat appointed State Inspector General Joseph Finch says was raised with “militant indifference” to ethical standards as part of a pay-to-play scheme by Democrat Senate Leadership.”

A look at the press release that accompanied the IG’s report shows that the “militant indifference” comment appears to address the overall situation, not just fundraising.

Kaplowitz said he stood by his decision on Friday to return any personal donations but not the committee funds, which are spent by the committee on behalf of the candidate. Initially, last week, Ball demanded that Kaplowitz return more than $300,000—a figure derived from an apparent incorrect reading of the financial disclosure forms filed with the state Board of Elections.

Ball, in his campaign’s press release, said “Already, one Democrat Senate candidate, Joanne Yepsen, as well as Eric Schneiderman, the Democrat candidate for Attorney General, have pledged to return these tainted funds.”

Both, though, seem to be returning funds given to them by the individuals, not the committee.

Republican candidate for governor Carl Paladino can’t help but tweak his Democratic foe, Andrew Cuomo.

Speaking on Fox 5’s Good Day New York this morning, Paladino said the line that Cuomo’s “prowess is legendary” was meant to infuriate the Democrat.

“That’s just a little word to aggravate him,” Paladino said. “I think we accomplished the goal of aggravating him because he’s aggravated us quite a bit. When you have $25 million to throw at an election and have six weeks to run negative ads, we’ll take a little shot at him.”

Paladino pointed to a recent Cuomo ad that criticized his campaign aides for their brushes with the law. One of the aides, Rus Thompson, has a warrant out for his arrest in Arizona for an outstanding drunken driving charge. Paladino’s campaign responded with some tough ads of their own, knocking Cuomo for his ties to businessman Andrew Farkas.

“Rus Thompson, he had a DWI 30 years ago,” Paladino said. “He hasn’t touched a drop of liquor and we’re criticizing him? We should be giving the man a medal. We felt it was necessary to have everybody there. It was the format that was bad.”

Here’s the full video:

As the gubernatorial campaign enters its last week, the two campaigns are increasingly sniping at each other with last-minute attacks.

Today, the New York Post carried a story showing that Republican Carl Paladino may have overstated his military record. Paladino served in the Army reserves for most of the 1970s and was on active duty in 1972. His campaign claimed he had about 200 soldiers under his command at Fort Bliss, but the Post found that wasn’t entirely accurate.

The charge is somewhat reminiscent of Richard Blumenthal, a Connecticut Democratic candidate for a U.S. Senate seat. The New York Times found earlier this year that Blumenthal had misstated his service in Vietnam on multiple occasions.

The campaign of Democrat Andrew Cuomo quickly seized on the report this morning:
“Given their hostility to facts, Mr. Paladino and his puppeteer Caputo appear to be engaged in a race to see whose nose can grow longer. More importantly, they are revealing troubling insights into Mr. Paladino’s character that further disqualify his candidacy.

With claims about his military record now exposed as false, Mr. Paladino must explain what inspired him to tell the NY Times that his military experience showed him that people from low income backgrounds needed to be taught how to ‘clean themselves daily and brush their teeth twice a day.’

Since we now know that both he and his campaign hack lied about Mr. Paladino training troops while he was at Fort Bliss, what was his basis for telling the AP that inner-city troops needed to be taught ‘basic things—taking care of themselves, physical fitness. In their dysfunctional environment, they never learned these things.’

It was bad enough when Mr. Paladino’s explanation for his comments was that they were borne of his experience training troops from low income backgrounds. Now that those claims have been exposed as a lie, the logical conclusion is that he’s just ignorant and unqualified to lead a state with New York’s diversity.

Should we be on the lookout for a new video from the Paladino campaign this morning claiming that he isn’t a racist?”
Paladino campaign manager Michael Caputo fired back with a statement of his own, slamming Paladino bete noir Fred Dicker of the Post and Josh Vlasto, Cuomo’s spokesman
If Andrew Cuomo had taken a few years out of his political career to serve in the military, he would know Fred Dicker’s article today is just another amateur hit job. Of course he put out the contract with Dicker to get it done, and in doing so maligned all veterans in New York.

Captain Carl Paladino trained 250 basic training troops a year, most years, during his service to our nation in the United States Army Reserves. As a First Lieutenant on active duty, he was commander of his Army unit. Andrew Cuomo and Fred Dicker just don’t understand the military and the hundreds of thousands of veterans in this State who are offended by their disdain for military service.

As for flack Vlasto’s complete ignorance of Army basic training, if he had served our nation instead of jumping right into the Albany cesspool he would remember the funky smells of a boot camp barracks. I sure do. And, as the new troops cleaned up their act, you could sleep without Mentholatum applied to your upper lip to hide the smell.

Not even Mentholatum would mask the stink at Cuomo headquarters.

When you work in the gutter with Dicker to malign a veteran’s service to this nation, it can backfire. Fred Dicker and his bosses at the Cuomo campaign can’t Blumenthal-ize Carl Paladino, who served his country with honor and told the truth about serving ten years in the Army at an age when Andrew was already a career Albany politician running dirty campaigns.”

A lot of endorsements today from newspapers across the state.

Yesterday, the New York Times endorsed Andrew Cuomo for governor, and today his picked up the endorsement of the two major dailies in western New York—the Buffalo News, the hometown paper of Republican challenger Carl Paladino, and the Democrat and Chronicle in Rochester.

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“In the end, there is no choice for governor but Andrew Cuomo, and it’s not just because Carl Paladino burned his own campaign to cinders after scorching Rick Lazio in September’s gubernatorial primary, ” the Buffalo News said. “While it has become trendy to sneer at “career politicians,” the fact is that a good one knows his stuff: how to work the levers of power to best advantage; who the players are; where the bodies are buried. Cuomo knows all that and he has laid out an approach for taking the state back from the special interests and the lawmakers they have bought.”

The D&C said of Cuomo and hometown Rochester mayor Robert Duffy, Cuomo’s running mate that they “represent the best hope that New Yorkers have for fixing Albany anytime soon.”

Newsday also backed Cuomo, along with the Glens Falls Post-Star, which also complimented the Albany-area’s Warren Redlich for his campaign. To that, Redlich, the Libertarian Party said in an email, ” The Redlich campaign appreciates the kind words from the Post-Star. However, it is regrettable that their editorial board and many others in the media prefer a career politician.”

The D&C also endorsed Eric Schneiderman for attorney general and Harry Wilson for comptroller.

Fellow Gannett newspaper, the Journal News, also backed Wilson, the hometown candidate from Scarsdale, Westchester County, over Democratic Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.

Republican attorney general candidate Daniel Donovan picked up the endorsement of the Daily Freeman in Kingston—which also endorsed Cuomo and Wilson.

Donovan also received the endorsement of the Daily News and the Watertown Daily Times—which also backed DiNapoli.

Schneiderman picked up the endorsement today of fellow Democrat, U.S. Sen. Kirstin Gillibrand.

With just more than a week before Election Day, the gubernatorial candidates are releasing a new set of attack ads about their opponent.

Carl Paladino kicked it off with the first ad below late Friday, linking Andrew Cuomo to a whole host of individuals.

The first one includes people who Paladino’s camp says Cuomo either didn’t prosecute or went light on as attorney general—top investor and Democratic contributor Steve Rattner, who Cuomo and the SEC are reportedly in settlement talks with; Rep. Charles Rangel, whose birthday party Cuomo attended; troubled Brooklyn Democratic Party boss and Assemblyman Vito Lopez; and embattled Sen. Pedro Espada, who the ad claims Cuomo has only brought a civil suit against.

The second ad swaps in Andrew Farkas, who Cuomo went after when he was at HUD, then later went to work for to the tune of $2.5 million.

So then Cuomo today released his own set of ads. The first knocks the legal troubles of Paladino’s aides. The second is the same but swaps in state GOP chairman Ed Cox, pointing out that he’s the son-in-law of Richard Nixon and a “master of dirty tricks.”

The ads cite stories in the New York Times and the Daily News about Paladino’s aides.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo holds a double-digit lead in the polls over Republican Carl Paladino, but his running mate Robert Duffy isn’t taking anything for granted.

Duffy, the mayor of Rochester and Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, was in Albany Saturday morning to rally about 50 canvassers at the 1199 Service Employees International Union headquarters about a week before Election Day, Nov. 2.

“I don’t think anybody should assume anything,” Duffy told reporters after the event. “I think we’re all aware that we need to sprint to the finish.”

The event was part of a statewide Democratic effort to rally voters in the final push before voters head to the polls. All statewide offices and 212 legislative seats appear on the ballot.

Recent polls show Cuomo leading Paladino by at least 14 percentage points and as much as 37 percentage points, a gap that political observers believe would be difficult for the Buffalo businessman to overcome with so little time before Election Day.

Still, GOP allies of Paladino said he is gaining ground on Cuomo.

“Clearly Carl’s rebound in the polls is due to his ability to break through the media blockade,” said Erie County Republican Chairman Nicholas Langworthy.

The Cuomo-Duffy ticket was endorsed by The New York Times editorial board on Saturday, but the paper took swipes at Cuomo, the current state attorney general, for offering few details on his plan to close a yawning state budget deficit.

The Times endorsement also said Cuomo would have to seek concessions from unions like 1199 if the budget gap is to be closed.

Duffy said a Cuomo administration would be able to work with management and state employees to seek compromises.

“Not everyone will be thrilled when we close it, but we have to close it,” Duffy said of the deficit, which is predicted to be as much as $30 billion over the next three years.

Paladino, meanwhile, was in Buffalo and had no public events scheduled on Saturday, campaign manager Michael Caputo said. Cuomo was scheduled to appear in Cortland, Delaware and Otsego counties, according to his campaign.

GOP attorney general candidate Dan Donovan raised $541,870 in the past three weeks and had $331,914 on hand as of today, according to his campaign spokeswoman. His campaign-finance report was not available this evening on the state Board of Elections website.

“We’ve had a strong three weeks, we’ve spent our money wisely and strategically, and the fact is the polls are trending our way, despite what Team Schneiderman may try to spin,” spokeswoman Virginia Lam said.

Donovan, Staten Island district attorney faces Democrat Eric Schneiderman, a state senator.

Donovan has campaigned on not being an “Albany insider,” which he said distinguishes him from Schneiderman. Schneiderman has been a senator for 12 years and “a leader in the most dysfunctional and corrupt Legislature in our country,” Lam said.

Schneiderman has said that he is a legislator who has been a reformer and has not been afraid to stand up to political leaders in either party or powerful lobbies.

Schneiderman’s campaign-finance report is not yet on the Board of Elections website either. His campaign released some of the details this afternoon, saying Schneiderman has raised about $1.3 million in the past few weeks for a total of $6 million during the campaign. He goes into the last 10 days of the campaign with more than $1.2 million in his campaign coffers.

“As Election Day approaches, Eric’s positive message of fighting crime and corruption wherever it occurs—whether on Wall Street, in Albany, or on Main Street—is resonating with voters and we are excited to communicate this vision with them as the final stretch approaches,” campaign spokesman James Freedland said in a statement.

Republican Carl Paladino put $2 million of his own money into the race this month in his bid to become governor, state Board of Elections filings today show.

Paladino earlier this month made two separate loans of $400,000 and $500,000 to his campaign and added an additional $1.1 million infusion this week, according to a 24-hour notice on the Board of Elections website.

The wealthy Buffalo businessman, worth a reported $150 million, has pledged to spend up to $10 million of his own money in the campaign, but has nonetheless started to seek money from contributors.

Paladino, who has called for a “money bomb” on his website, reporting raising about $858,000 this reporting cycle.

An analysis by the New York Public Interest Research Group found Paladino has shelled out more than $5.7 million on his gubernatorial bid.

His Democratic rival, Andrew Cuomo, has spent $10.2 million since Oct. 2, his campaign reported, but keeps $11.9 in cash on hand. Cuomo reported raising $2.2 million since Oct. 2.

NYPIRG’s analysis shows the Cuomo has spent $20.2 million of his campaign during this election cycle.

Democrats are passing this video around of Queens Republican Sen. Frank Padavan and Democratic challenger Tony Avella in their recent debate, with Padavan saying he had nothing to do with last year’s Senate coup that briefly installed Pedro Espada as a member of the GOP conference.

Of course, Democrats brought Espada back to their conference a month later and named him their majority leader so they could regain their majority. The embattled Bronx Democratic senator lost a primary last month and faces myriad investigations into his dealings.

But the video shows how both sides are trying to use Espada as a way to knock their opponents.

Interestingly, it was Padavan who Democrats tried to use to pass bills during the Senate coup after Padavan’s now infamous walk across the chamber to get a cup of coffee.

Republican state comptroller candidate and former hedge-fund manager Harry Wilson earned $63,688 last year and had a net loss of $82,786 in rental real estate, royalties, partnerships, trusts and other investment, and a net loss of $512,903 in other income, according to his tax returns. Wilson’s earnings last year were for helping restructure General Motors as part of the President’s Auto Task Force.

The $512,903 loss largely is a result of Wilson’s being an investor in Silver Point Capital, where he worked from May 2003 to August 2008 and which has been hard hit by the collapse of the financial market, according to his campaign, which made the tax returns available this morning. Silver Point recorded the value of investments to reflect market value at the end of 2009 and is required to send notices to investors so they can report their share of a corporation’s income.  The investments were not ones that Wilson was making himself, his campaign said.

The loss is “not unusual for the year,” considering the poor performance of the stock market, Wilson campaign manager Bill O’Reilly said. Investments go up and down with the markets, he said.

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli’s spokesman, Eric Sumberg, criticized Wilson’s financial losses.

“Wall Street insider Harry Wilson has been bragging about his investment ‘wizardry’ and hoping taxpayers pay no attention to the man behind the curtain. Now we know that it’s all smoke and mirrors,” Sumberg said. “The Wizard of Wall Street lost more than half a million dollars on his investments this past year. If that’s the kind of investment expertise he plans on bringing to the pension fund, we say ‘No thanks, Harry.’”

Wilson’s tax returns, which number roughly 200 pages, show that he received a federal tax refund of $312,356  and asked the IRS to put $16,000 toward his estimated taxes for 2010. His state tax refund was about $48,000. The refunds are for estimated taxes he paid for 2009 in 2008 that he got back because his earnings were lower.

Wilson and his wife, Eva, asked for and received an extension on filing their taxes because the notices to investors, called Schedule K-1s, don’t come out in time for the April 15 deadline. The Wilsons filed their taxes this month. The couple has four young daughters and lives in Scarsdale, Westchester County.

The Wilsons donated more than $40,000 to charity in 2009, including $2,500 to Harvard Athletics Swimming and Diving, $5,000 for his annual contribution to Harvard and $20,000 for his Harvard Reunion pledge. Wilson received a bachelor’s degree from Harvard University in 1993 and an MBA from Harvard in 1999.

Harry Wilson, Republican candidate for comptroller has $2.5 million in the bank for the final days of the campaign, according to a campaign-finance report filed today.

Since the last report, due to the state Board of Elections 21 days ago, he received a total of $1.6 million and spent $1.7 million. The receipts include a $1.1 million loan the former hedge-fund manager gave to himself this week. He has loaned himself a total of $3.85 million during the campaign.

Wilson spent the bulk of the $1.7 million—$1.5 million—on television ads, his report shows. He transferred $5,000 to the state Conservative Party Committee, a party that has endorsed him. He received about $410,000 in contributions from individuals and partnerships, including $5,000 from former Metropolitan Transportation Authority Chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger.

Wilson’s Democratic opponent, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, has not filed his report with the state Board of Elections yet. The same is true for GOP gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo, Republican attorney general candidate Dan Donovan and his Democratic opponent, Eric Schneiderman.

Democratic Lt. Gov. candidate Bob Duffy, Rochester mayor, has his own account in addition to being included in the Cuomo Duffy 2010 campaign account. Duffy spent $15,500 in the past three weeks, including $1,500 to attend the recent Empire State Pride Agenda Fall Dinner in New York City. Most of the other expenditures are for campaign travel and meetings. He received $7,450 in contributions. Of that, $5,000 was from Dr. Richard C. Reichman, who works at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester.

State Democrats are holding rallies around the state on Saturday, a little less than a week before Election Day, Nov. 2.

They are calling it “Mobilizing for Victory,” and the events will all be held at 11 a.m. in Manhattan, Westchester County, Nassau County, Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, Suffolk County, Albany, Rochester, Syracuse and Buffalo.

Then they’ll hit the streets to talk up the ticket.

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Cuomo is doing a bit of a tour himself today and tomorrow, hitting five counties across the Southern Tier and central New York and a few additional spots tomorrow.

Republican candidate Carl Paladino is also hitting the trail, making stops in four counties today in the same region—crisscrossing with Cuomo in Binghamton and Tioga County and also hitting Watkins Glen and Corning.

Below is the list of Democrats’ events tomorrow with the special guests who are attending some of them:

Manhattan (Rally with Senator Kirsten Gillibrand)
New York Hotel Trades Council
305 West 44th Street (Corner of 44th & 8th Avenue)
New York, NY
Subways: 42nd St. / Port Authority A,C,E,N,M,Q,R,1,2,3

Westchester County (Rally with Comptroller Tom DiNapoli)
Westchester County Democratic Committee
170 East Post Road
White Plains, NY 10601

Nassau County (Rally with Senator Eric Schneiderman)
Nassau County Democratic Committee
One Old Country Road, Suite 430
Carle Place, NY

Albany (Rally with Mayor Gerald Jennings)
SEIU 1199
155 Washington Avenue
Albany, NY 12210

Bronx
Ben Franklin Democratic Club
304 West 231st Street
Bronx, NY 10436
Subway: 231st St. / Broadway 1

Brooklyn
Vanguard Independent Democratic Association
1424 Fulton Street
Brooklyn, NY 11216
Subway: Kingston / Throop Ave A,C

Buffalo
NYS Democratic Committee
149 French Road
Cheektowaga, NY 14227

Queens
80-13 37th Avenue
Jackson Heights, NY 11372
Subway: 82nd St. / Jackson Heights 7

Rochester
Monroe County Dem Committee
1150 University Avenue
Building 5
Rochester, NY 14607

Suffolk County
1870 East Jericho Turnpike
Huntington, NY 11746

Syracuse
Baybery Plaza, 7538 Oswego Rd (Rt 57)
Liverpool, NY 13090