The news should not come as a major surprise. Rivera is head of the 1 million member SEIU Health Care union, whose powerful local affilliate, 1199, endorsed Schneiderman early on in the campaign.

That said, Rivera is a longtime ally of Mario Cuomo, whose son, of course, is running for governor and who is said to favor Nassau district attorney Kathleen Rice to replace him.

They write, "In our respective roles as Mayor and leader of the nation's largest union of nurses, doctors and healthcare workers, we have worked tirelessly to improve the health care of our city residents and fellow New Yorkers."

On March 31, at an event in Washington, Rivera referred to Bloomberg as his "friend." He said, "It is my sincere hope is that we have his leadership and vision to guide us for many, many years to come.” Rivera now works for SEIU Healthcare in Washington.

At the time, a Rivera spokesperson said the comments were not an endorsement.

UPDATE: A spokeswoman for 1199 SEIU emailed to say Rivera's bond with Bloomberg has no bearing on who the union will support for mayor:

"Azi, nothing has changed since we last spoke about this. We haven't begun our formal process. No decisions have been made on the mayoral race."

[skip]

"This has nothing to do with our endorsement process."

Rivera introduced Bloomberg at a speech about health care in Washington this morning saying, “I’ve been very inspired by his innovative work," and, “Mayor Bloomberg continues to be a man of tremendous vision.”

Rivera added, according to prepared text distributed by Bloomberg's office, “It is my sincere hope is that we have his leadership and vision to guide us for many, many years to come.”

He also referred to Bloomberg as “my friend.”

All of which sounds like an endorsement, though the event was not connected to his campaign.

A call to Rivera’s spokeswoman was not immediately returned.

UPDATE: A spokeswoman for Rivera said he was simply expressing his “esteem for the mayor and the work of the mayor, but that’s not an endorsement of the mayor as a candidate.”

Ken Raske and Dennis Rivera pen an op-ed letter today asking if Eliot Spitzer really has a plan to cover uninsured New Yorkers.

The letters exchanged by Spitzer and hospital lobbying groups are here.

Ryan Sager returns to the New York Sun with a bloggy website about politics.

246 36 city lobbyists and 428 of their clients face fines for not registering with the city clerk.

Rudy Giuliani said he'll campaign in Iowa next month, but declined to say much more about his family.

Barack Obama invested $50,000 in two companies whose major investors included his biggest political donors.

The Times editorial board said the conviction of Scooter Libby shows the administration cherry-picked favorable info about Iraq, and wasn't duped by faulty intelligence.

The Post editorial board wants to free Scooter Libby.

And the Politico published a criticism from Media Matters accusing them of excessive coziness with Washington Republicans.

-- Azi Paybarah

Ben doesn't think much of her apparently big advantage among women.

Thrush doesn't think much of the analysis of her Southern accent.

Eliot Spitzer wondered aloud how hospital groups opposing his health care spending cuts can afford a $65 million advertising campaign.

Dennis Rivera, president of 1199 SEIU Healthcare Workers East, has some questions for Spitzer [added].

The downstate chairman of the Economic State Development Corporation will visit the Atlantic Yards site on March 22.

ReformNY said that a rules fight in the state Assembly is over.

Final campaign finance numbers are available for the recent hotly contested state Senate race in Nassau.

Consultant Dan Gerstein, who is no fan of the netroots, wondered why the big media outlets ignored Ann Coulter's f-bomb at a conservative convention recently.

Andrew Sullivan wondered if Vice President Dick Cheney should resign in light of his poor health and the conviction of his former chief of staff today.

Congestion pricing is gaining support in Stockholm. Can you feel the momentum?

And above is Brooklyn Tech senior Dwayne Jones, who said he was glad to see Mayor Bloomberg at his high school today, but wasn't quite sure whether he'd support him for President.

-- Azi Paybarah

The full transcript of the WNBC interview is here.

-- Azi Paybarah

Well, Dennis Rivera and Ken Raske, guys who represent health care workers and hospitals, respectively, are putting Hillary's statements yesterday to work in their public campaign against Eliot Spitzer's budget.

In a letter the two men sent to Spitzer, and reporters, they quoted Hillary saying that GME "is one of the reasons why American health care is so good. Because we invest in the training of those who take care of us. That too is on the chopping block."

One thing worth noting is that before Hillary lavished praise onto the GME program yesterday and, ostensibly, took a swipe at Spitzer's budget, she explained where her information about some of these cuts were coming from.

From Hillary's remarks at yesterday's press conference:

"And Ken Raske just told me the budget eliminates Medicaid payments for something called Graduate Medical Education. Now that would cut, according to Ken's calculation, $1.2 billion to the state of New York."

It's safe to say Spitzer's information about the program was coming from someone else.

-- Azi Paybarah

Departing union leader Dennis Rivera has a message for Spitzer: "We're not going to be a punching bag for anybody."

Spitzer and Sheldon Silver met but reached no deal about the comptroller, according to Fred Dicker.

Bill Hammond likes how Spitzer is acting tough in Albany.

Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weitzman has a scathing report about Nassau County Clerk Maureen O'Connell, a Republican who just happens to be running for state Senate in next month's special election.

Mike Bloomberg's budget doubled the subsidy for the Atlantic Yards Project.

Although Rudy Giuliani supported the assault weapons ban as mayor, he doesn't anymore, according to a leading supporter in New Hampshire.

LI Rep. Peter King is convinced that Giuliani will run, and he's on board.

White House spokesman Tony Snow said Hillary Clinton thinks Hillary Clinton needs to take some responsibility for Iraq.

Mitt Romeny skirted federal campaign contribution limits by setting up campaign committees in three states that don't have those kind of caps.

And if you can get around the Times Select wall, Clyde Haberman looks at the unstoppable activist Michael Harris.

-- Azi Paybarah

The major bump up for Rivera comes right when Eliot Spitzer is about to (what's Hillary's phrase for this kind of thing?) drop the hammer on health care spending in New York, and, presumably, look for more federal aid to offset some of the costs. That's where Rivera, now an official national union leader, may have an impact.

In other words, they'll be speaking to each other in slightly different negotiating positions.

Official statement after the jump.

-- Azi Paybarah

1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East
Politics & Legislation Department

For Immediate Release:
January 29, 2007

HEALTHCARE UNION LEADER DENNIS RIVERA ACCEPTS NEW POST
NY Champion of Workers and Quality Healthcare to Leave 1199SEIU to Chair New National Health Union

Will Lead National Effort For Quality Healthcare For All, and To Unite 10 Million U.S. Healthcare Workers

(New York, NY) -- Dennis Rivera, the creative leader of the nation's largest local union of healthcare workers, the New York-based 1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East, will leave that post this spring, following the Union's campaign to defend against the annual attempt to cut health services for New Yorkers in Albany, to become chair of SEIU Healthcare, a new national Union of nearly one million healthcare workers inside the Service Employees International Union, of which 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East will be the largest component. The Union will conduct its triennial election of Union officers in April, and Rivera will not be on the ballot for the first time since 1986.

Under Rivera's leadership, the Union has forged a partnership with management leaders of New York's hospitals, nursing homes and homecare agencies, that have successfully worked with both parties in New York's legislature to protect healthcare delivery in the state.

Rivera's move to the new national Union comes with the blessing and full support of the 1199SEIU leadership because of the importance of fixing the nation's broken health care system for patients and workers. The change is expected to be a smooth one. Rivera has been a leading force in SEIU's Healthcare Division for many years and has been a national leader in the political/legislative arena, especially in the effort to expand healthcare coverage to every American.

Under the Union Constitution, George Gresham, Secretary-Treasurer will assume the Presidency. "We expect a seamless transition," Rivera said. "George Gresham has been an 1199 leader in the effort to improve healthcare and workers' lives at every level for over 30 years. No one is more qualified to lead this dynamic organization."

For his part, Gresham said, "Of course we'll miss Dennis' day-to-day counsel, but he isn't going far. By building the national Union of healthcare workers, he will in fact be giving all of us additional strength. And as the biggest single unit in the new Union, we will be there to support him in his efforts."

The new national Union's goal is to unite the 10 million healthcare workers in America to stand up for quality care, comprehensive health care reform, and good jobs that support families and encourage people to pursue careers as nurses and other healthcare workers.

Kenneth E. Raske, President of Greater New York Hospital Association, and a long-time partner of Dennis Rivera through the 1199SEIU/GNYHA Healthcare Education Project said, "We extend our warmest congratulations to Dennis, a trusted ally on healthcare policy issues. We look forward to working with Dennis in his new role on both his continued active involvement in New York matters as well as on national healthcare issues of concern to GNYHA's member institutions, their patients, and their entire workforce."

"Dennis Rivera knows how to unite people to change lives and lift up communities," said SEIU President Andy Stern. "He has reached out to employers to create pioneering partnerships for change. He has reached out to other healthcare organizations and Unions, and he has worked with elected leaders of both parties to bring healthcare to millions and improve quality care in hospitals, nursing homes and homecare settings.

"Dennis is tough, smart, and compassionate, just what's needed to transform healthcare in this country," Stern said. "At this moment in history, as the winds of change are blowing toward fundamental healthcare reform, and as SEIU redoubles its efforts to fix our broken health care system, Dennis' decision to shift his focus to the national effort couldn't come at a better time."

****

As Liz notes, the move is a sign of the tension that exists between union president Dennis Rivera and Governor Eliot Spitzer, who have very different views of health care spending. It's also an indication of the union's enduring (and pragmatic) alliance with Joe Bruno and the Senate Republicans who are, after all, still in the majority.

In the all-politics-is-local category, the 1199 announcement contains another reason for the endorsement: O'Connell is a former nurse who sided with them while serving in the Assembly. From the release:

-- Azi Paybarah