As Attorney General Andrew Cuomo slowly moves toward announcing his candidacy for governor—sources swear he'll come out with it no later than April 25—is he scared of new Republican candidate Steve Levy, who's reportedly "a little crazy" and "something of a nut"? That's what the Post's Fred Dicker says, even after Rick Lazio won an important endorsement Saturday. According to the columnist, Cuomo's camp thinks the "Suffolk County executive is a far more dangerous GOP opponent than former Rep. Rick Lazio, the undistinguished current Conservative favorite."
The president of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Workers union says the Democrat-turned-Republican's weird energy may actually work in his favor. "There is a lot of anger out there in New York, and a candidate like Steve Levy may be able to channel it," said the Cuomo backer, adding that "This is an election year when nutty things can happen, and the voters might like a bomb thrower like Levy." The fiery executive would certainly provide a sharp contrast with Gov. Paterson, who's been labeled "lazy" and "a spectator."
Still, one GOP consultant predicted that short-fused Levy is "going to explode." The News reported on how in Albany Levy has already traded barbs with influential former Gov. Pataki, who criticized him for voting in favor of un-Republican tax hikes in 2001 and 2003 as well as for immigration policy he claims might turn off Latino voters (Levy was in favor of mandatory residency checks for workers). The new Republican responded aggressively, calling Pataki a Lazio supporter, "too politically expedient," and accusing him of "looking the other way" on immigration.
