Spitzer Picks Republican as His Chief of Security

Fiendishly clever...--Dictynna

By DANNY HAKIM

Published: December 27, 2006

ALBANY, Dec. 26 — Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer on Tuesday named State Senator Michael A. L. Balboni, a Nassau County Republican, to be his top homeland security official, a move that not only gives his Democratic-dominated cabinet some bipartisan luster but also weakens the Republicans’ control over their last bastion of statewide power, the Senate.

Having lost a Westchester County seat in November, the Republicans now hold 34 of the Senate’s 62 seats, and that will fall to 33 after Mr. Balboni joins Mr. Spitzer’s cabinet. Many political analysts believe it will be difficult for the Republicans to retain his seat because Democrats have surpassed the Republicans in registration in Mr. Balboni’s district in the last half decade while gaining political ascendancy across Nassau County.