January 28, 2007
MAYOR Bloomberg is about to drop a $250,000 bomb on a fiercely contested special election on Long Island that could shape the power structure of the state Senate.
The Feb. 6 contest to fill GOP Sen. Michael Balboni's seat pits Republican Nassau County Clerk Maureen O'Connell against Democratic county lawmaker Craig Johnson.
The district - where Democrats have a slight edge - is key to the GOP's desperate effort to maintain its shrinking numerical Senate edge.
Bloomberg "has committed to giving that amount [$250,000]," said one source. "Some of it he's given, some of it he'll be giving through multiple accounts."
The mayor's eye-popping contribution is certain to cheer up Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.
But it could also infuriate Gov. Spitzer. The governor inserted himself into the hot race by campaigning for the Democratic candidate, Johnson, despite a demand by Bruno that he butt out.
The Republicans' slim majority in the Senate was trimmed by one, to 33-28, after Spitzer named Balboni as his homeland-security secretary.
Bloomberg is sending manpower as well as money. Two employees of his Community Assistance Unit have taken time off to volunteer for O'Connell.
The mayor has maintained a good relationship with Bruno, even after a flare-up when Bruno failed to support the West Side stadium plan in 2005. Last fall, the mayor donated $500,000 to the Senate Republicans just before the election.
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A Virginia-based committee to draft Mayor Bloomberg for president has filed with the Federal Election Commission, and one of its first solicitations for funds went to the mother of Deputy Mayor Kevin Sheekey, chief proponent of a Bloomberg White House bid.
Joseph Oddo of the Committee to Draft Michael Bloomberg said he heard that Sheekey had lived in Washington. So when he spotted the name in a D.C. directory, he decided to "take a shot" and include it in his first mailing to 1,000 people.
Sheekey, of course, lives in New York. But his mom resides in D.C. - and she sent in $50.
