Incidentally, the reader who spotted Mack's name on a petition also wondered if that followed Spitzer's executive order banning his aides from political campaigning.

The answer, according to a Spitzer spokesman, is that the matter has been looked into and Mack is permitted to seek the position. The executive order bans state employees from seeking "nomination, designation or election to any compensated federal or state public office." But being a delegate is a party position, not a public position, and therefore does not fit the criteria.