VALLONE SEES AN EXIT

Democrats plan for Vallone's exit
BY BRENDAN BROSH DAILY NEWS WRITER
Friday, April 11th 2008, 4:00 AM

Queens Democrats have floated a plan that could usher Assemblyman Michael Gianaris into the City Council a year early and perhaps lead to his becoming speaker.
The plan envisions Councilman Peter Vallone Jr. resigning this year, forcing the mayor to call a special election.

Gianaris would then run for the seat and - if he wins - enter the Council a year ahead of his colleagues elected in 2009.
The plan would give Gianaris an extra year to forge relationships and seek the speaker's seat when Christine Quinn is term-limited out of office in 2009.
"We're declining to comment," a Gianaris staffer told the Daily News.
Vallone, a potential candidate for Queens borough president in 2009, insisted he's not resigning.
"I can't comment on a private conversation with Mike," said Vallone (D-Astoria). "I will be completing my term in the Council. I will not be stepping down."

Rumors of the plan have been swirling recently, with one version of the scenario appearing last week in Crain's Insider. It reported that Queens Democratic bosses wanted to prevent party infighting between Vallone, Councilman Leroy Comrie and Assemblywoman Audrey Pheffer in the borough president's race.
Vallone would run for the Assembly, while Pheffer would be tapped for beep and Comrie as her deputy, according to Crain's.

But party insiders said that was inaccurate and the plan only involves Vallone and Gianaris.
Gianaris' political consultant Evan Stavisky declined to speculate on what he called "a random published report."
But another Democratic consultant, Scott Levenson, said the strategy would indeed give Gianaris a valuable head start, should he make it to the Council.

"For someone like Mike Gianaris, a potential speaker candidate, [it] would give him an opportunity to build relationships a year early," he said.
GOP rivals said the plan smacks of back-room politics.
"It's very anti-democratic," said Robert Hornak, a Republican running for Vallone's seat in 2009. "Mike is too much part of the status quo."
Doug Muzzio, a professor of political science at Baruch College, noted Gianaris is normally "extremely press friendly."
"But he's absent on this and not commenting," Muzzio said. "It doesn't make sense to me."