Sen. Smith Honoree At Queens Dem Dinner

In another sign of recognition of the growing power of state Senator Malcolm Smith as that house's minority leader, the Queens Democratic organization will honor the St. Albans legislator at a $1,000-a-ticket party fund raiser on March 26 at the St. Regis Hotel in Manhattan.

Smith, who succeeded David Patterson as the senate Democratic leader in January after Patterson was elected lieutenant governor, has been catapulted into a more prominent power player position by recent events. The longtime Republican leadership has been reduced to a narrow twomember majority by recent elections. For many years, the Democrats had little influence in senate matters as the Republicans ruled that body with a large majority. But with the new political realignment in the senate and with a Democratic governor, Smith and the Democrats now have a more meaningful role in Albany.

With the possibility that the Democrats could replace the Republicans as the majority party in the senate, Smith is in a solid position to become the Senate Majority Leader, a very powerful political and legislative position.

Along with his new legislative role in senate matters, Smith, although only in his seventh year as a senator, is also playing a more meaningful role as a black political leader.

Nine days ago, after it was reported Smith said that Senator Hillary Clinton had overreacted when rival candidate Barack Obama received a large campaign donation from a longtime Clinton financial supporter, former President Bill Clinton reached out to Smith in an effort to get his support for Clinton, along with that of other black pols. Obama is half black.

In his pursuit of the St. Albans lawmaker,

as part of the strategy to hold

on to the black vote, Clinton

invited Smith to accompany

him and several others on a

private jet flight to Selma,

Alabama where candidates

Clinton and Obama were campaigning

in the southern city during

the anniversary of a historic civil rights march there.

Smith, who accepted the ride, later spoke excitedly about the time spent with the expresident.

However, Smith is still neutral in the presidential race.

Smith was first elected to the state senate in 2000 on his first try for elective office. Prior to his election, he served as an aide to former Congressmember Floyd Flake and ex- Councilmember Archie Spigner. He also served in the Office of Economic Development in the administration of Mayor Edward Koch and in Geraldine Ferraro's campaign for vice president of the United States in 1984. He holds a degree in business administration from Fordham University and was a real estate developer before being elected to public office.

Smith was also active in Southeast Queens as president of Neighborhood Housing Services of Jamaica and founded the Southeast Queens Housing Development Corporation, a not-for-profit corporation designed to purchase, rehabilitate and sell city and federally owned properties. He also founded and operated the Smith Development Corporation.

BIPARTISAN ATTACK ON GOV.: The formidable forces battling Governor Eliot Spitzer's proposed $1.3 billion budget cut to rein in Medicaid have now been joined by major Democratic and Republican elected officials.

Spitzer's huge spending slashes have already triggered reports that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Democrat, and Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno have already drafted changes in Spitzer's proposals. These will restore funding to hospitals and healthcare workers that had been drastically cut by Spitzer's proposed actions.

In the past week Spitzer's cuts, already under withering fire by Local 1199 S.E.I.U. United Healthcare Workers East and the major hospitals in New York City, were attacked by Congressmember Charles Rangel, one of the most powerful Democrats in Congress.

From another direction, Mayor Michael Bloomberg, the city's Republican mayor, charged that Spitzer's cuts would create an $860 million hole in the city budget by eliminating almost $328 million in annual state aid to the city and the closing of tax loopholes that benefit banks and the financial services industry.

Bloomberg said several banks are threatening to move out of the city, short-circuiting other revenue sources the city depends upon. Previously the Bloomberg administration had complained that the city was being shortchanged in Spitzer's budget regarding school aid.

Spitzer's troubles are mounting by the minute, it seems, and it appears to be a certainty that there's sure to be a long and major budget battle, probably causing the budget to go beyond the April 1 deadline when it is supposed to be passed.

Another battle is in prospect because of Silver's aim to curtail creation of new charter schools. Spitzer in his gubernatorial campaign, spoke of expanding the number of charter schools in the state.

It looks like a long, frustrating freshman year for the new governor.

GIOIA EYES 'DISAPPEARING' PERVS: Concerned over the many sex offenders who move and do not report their new addresses to authorities, as required, City Councilmember Eric Gioia says he plans to file a resolution requesting the state legislature enact a law making failure to report a move a felony.

Presently the first failure to notify is a misdemeanor and the second is a felony. But Gioia (D- Long Island City) says it should be "one strike and you're out".

Gioia became aware of the problem when an Police Department- federal Housing Preservation and Development Department investigation found a large number of dangerous sex offender ex-cons had moved into city housing developments without reporting to authorities.

FIRE GONZALES, SAYS SCHUMER: Following disclosures last week that the FBI had exceeded its authority under the Patriot Act by illegally spying on Americans, United States Senator Charles Schumer (D- New York) called on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to resign.

LIU, YOUNG LAUD HATE CRIME SENTENCE: Following the sentencing of a Flushing hate crime perpetrator last week, City Councilmember John Liu (D- Flushing) applauded the sentencing, saying, "A hate crime against one is a hate crime against all of us."

Assemblymember Ellen Young (also D- Flushing) commented, "It's disturbing that these perpetrators have built up such a stockpile of ignorant hatred at such a young age." A message must go out, she said, that hate crimes are unacceptable and the public will not stand for them.

DEM CLUB MEETS: The FDR Democratic Association, which serves Bay Terrace, Clearview, Whitestone, Beechhurst and Flushing, will meet tomorrow evening at 8 p.m. at the Chabad of Northeast Queens, 212-12 26th Ave., opposite the Bay Terrace Shopping Center in Bayside.