Posted on 12/12/2005 6:48:01 PM PST by ncountylee
ALBANY, N.Y. -- Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld on Monday won a nonbinding straw poll of GOP candidates for New York's governor that was weighted toward counties with strong Republican turnouts. But John Faso's bid, framed as a more socially conservative alternative, attracted an equal number of county party bosses.
Each campaign claimed victory in the vote that revealed a tangible split in the Republican ranks over who will run for governor in 2006. One goal of Monday's meeting of Republican leaders was to find a consensus candidate to raise money and take on Eliot Spitzer, the current attorney general and only announced Democratic candidate, who has strong leads in the polls and in fundraising.
Also Monday, the GOP chairmen recommended Jeanine Pirro give up her campaign against U.S. Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and run for attorney general instead. Pirro said she was still a Senate candidate.
Weld won 43.2 percent of the vote weighted for population. Faso drew 10.2 percent of the vote, but the former Assembly minority leader also attracted the same number of chairmen _ 23 _ as Weld in the head count. Randy Daniels, the former state secretary, had 1.1 percent of the vote and two chairmen. Counties with the strongest Republican vote in the 2002 governor's race were given the most weight in the vote. In all, 48 of 62 chairmen voted.
The remaining 45 percent of the weighted vote wasn't cast: Six county chairmen didn't attend the long scheduled meeting and eight county chairmen abstained from the vote. Some county leaders have criticized the openness of the competition after state Republican Chairman Stephen Minarik personally endorsed Weld. Others wanted to wait until billionaire B. Thomas Golisano decided whether to run.
"We got 78 percent of the vote cast," Weld said.
(Excerpt) Read more at nynewsday.com ...
We can thank Weld for "Gay Marriage" in Massachusetts.
Unbelievable. Political AIDS, here we come.
Every single New Yorker who considers themself a Republican should read this article about Weld's "success" as Massachusetts Governor:
http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_14_49/ai_59451074
Lessons to be learned here. Weld was FBI Dir. or Att. Gen. (I can google that) for Reagan. He then bailed on Reagan thru Iran/Contra. He tried to run ag'in' John Kerry and lost. At the time I agreed with the GOP throwin'm to the dogs. Except Kerry won.
As I recall, it was a Judge who ruled that if the state didn't pass a law permitting it, that he would rule that the state would permit it anyways.
Now don't get me wrong. NY shouldn't have a governor from Mass any more than it should have a Senator from Arkansas. Robert Kennedy was a NY Senator from Mass.
That is why I am for repeal of the 16th amendment.
I didnt even know Weld was running for Gov of NY. I mean, I do remember talk of him running a year ago or so, but forgot about it. He would make an excellent candidate and an excellent governor as well.
That would be weird though, being governor of two different states. I have to wonder if people will go for that.
No, no. Weld was never FBI Director or Attorney-General. He was U.S. Attorney for MA and also served as an Assistant AG to US AG Edwin Meese. He had formerly served as a counsel to the House Judiciary Committee during Watergate where one of his fellow attorneys was, you guessed it, Miss Hillary Rodham.
Yes it came down to a judge, one Weld appointed, a South African native, who cited Canadian law to justify her edict.
Pity we can't find an upstate conservative to run.
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