By Associated Press
Buffalo, NY – Democrat Thomas Suozzi campaigned in Buffalo Wednesday with former Mayor James Griffin by his side.
It was the Nassau County executive's first upstate campaign stop since entering the race for governor Saturday. Absent were the local Democratic leaders who already have a candidate for governor in Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.
Suozzi brushed off reports that party leaders were unhappy with his decision to enter the race. Erie County Democratic Party Chairman Len Lenihan called it "a distraction" which Suozzi will eventually regret.
Griffin predicted a primary would not hurt the party. He sent the Suozzi campaign a list of 128 potential campaign workers.
The pro-life Griffin is a Catholic like Suozzi. He praised Suozzi's stance on abortion. Suozzi this month announced a $1 million "Common Sense for the Common Good Initiative," promoting birth control, adoption, housing for unwed mothers and abstinence.
Suozzi said his credentials as a chief executive better qualify him to oversee the transformation of state government than Spitzer, a prosecutor.