"He was superb," Farrell told me by phone this morning. Sutton, a former assemblyman, Manhattan borough president and political dean in Harlem passed away this weekend. He was 89.

I asked Farrell for a story that captured the man, and he recounted one from Sutton's unsuccessful 1977 mayoral bid.

 "He would never say he didn't get a fair shake. He would use humor to point out there might be a problem."

"It was very hard to get any form of coverage in the campaign," Farrell said. "At one point, I remember he said to the press: 'If I announced I was going to jump off the Empire State Building, you wouldn't meet me up at the top for the announcement, you'd be at the bottom.'"

Sutton, outside of politics, invested in media outlets like the Amsterdam News, in which he held a stake from 1971-75. But Farrell said he wouldn't have complained directly.

"He would never say he didn't get a fair shake," he said. "He would use humor to point out there might be a problem."

“If he endorsed me I would accept it,” said Green.

Green made his comments when he was asked about the controversial Bronx lawmaker during a press conference outside City Hall where Green announced the support from several lawmakers and clergy members, mostly from Harlem.

“He’s a lawfully seated, popularly elected member of that body,” said Green.

At the event were Assembly members Herman Denny Farrell, who said he doesn’t comment on the other legislative house, Karim Kama of Brooklyn, and Keith Wright of Harlem.

Espada has been criticized for, among other things, living outside his district, hiring relatives, evading public requirements for his campaigns and pulling down a handsome salary as the head of a health network.

On the other side of the Capitol, after wrapping up a session, a few Democratic state senators lingered in their chamber and discussed the Spanish word for shoes. The chamber does not have the quorum needed to hear budget bills because the chamber's Republicans have not yet taken their seats.

"We're reviewing information we just got this morning," said Republican State Senator George Maziarz. "I would suspect it's going to be at least an hour."

I asked Maziarz if he felt Republicans should be blamed for delaying the passage of an on-time budget—by statute, a spending plan should be in place by midnight tonight.

"So they would want to vote on something they never read?" He said. "That's not something I would do."

Democrats in the Assembly say they will pass the budget today—regardless of what happens in the Senate. You can watch them live here.

He announced with Democratic legislative leaders that he would use federal stimulus money for health care to roll back proposed taxes on "movie tickets, haircuts, health club memberships and digital downloads."

And oh yes, the "fat tax" is gone too.

"We didn't get to some of these taxes and fees that we added on to the budget until we were $13 billion in deficit," Paterson said. "In this budget, we can restore some of these basic inconveniences that we caused New Yorkers to endure."

"We are chagrined that we had to address those situations in the first place," he said. "We hope New Yorkers understand we don't address it out of insensitivity, but out of an attempt to balance our budget at a very difficult time."

He promised future budget cuts, but eliminating these proposals might take some popular pressure off him, and may even improve his standing in the polls.

While he was flanked by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, Senate Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, Assembly Ways and Means Chairman Denny Farrell and Senate Finance Chairman Carl Kruger, Paterson fielded all the questions. He was asked whether, given these rollbacks, there was any realistic possibility that a proposal fomenting in the legislature to raise taxes on the wealthy would not be enacted.

"If I have anything to do with it, it's realistic possibility," Paterson said. Sheldon Silver has left open the door to such a proposal, and stood silently. Paterson did note that "everything is on the table only because we don't know where the floor of this crisis is."

The announcement was immediately criticized by the Healthcare Association of New York State, with President Daniel Sisto issuing a statement saying the money was intended for health care (it's being funneled through the Medicaid program) and the move is "out of step" with President Obama's intent.

"It is also puzzling how the state will eliminate taxes on soda and hair cuts, but leave in place a proposed gross receipts tax on hospital patient care. The latter seems far more a nuisance tax than any other," Sisto said.

There is, of course, already minimal love between various healthcare lobbyists and Paterson.

Here are the answers of three key people whose support would be needed if a bill requiring a term-limits referendum is to be approved by state government, when they were asked after Jonathan Lippman's swearing in ceremony.

"When it's on my desk, you'll know how I feel about it. I'm not going to comment on any proposed or one house bill. For me to deal with it, it's gotta be real," said David Paterson.

So it would have to be passed by the Assembly first.

"It has to go through another committee, and as part of our legislative process, if it comes out it comes out," said Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

So it would have to be passed by the Assembly's Ways and Means Committee.

"I haven't thought of it, I haven't looked at it," said Assemblyman Denny Farrell, the committee's chairman. "I don't talk in concept."

In a budget hearing this afternoon, Assemblyman Denny Farrell asked the question quite pointedly, saying Klein has done a good job representing the mayor but that he felt "tension" was needed in the schools leadership.

"I've never liked the term 'mayoral control,'" said Farrell, one of the ranking members of the chamber and chairman of the Ways & Means Committee. "Before, as the chancellor, they saw their job as being the voice of the people."

He was unspecific in his recommendation - the Assembly will be holding hearings on the subject, starting tomorrow in Queens - but thought maybe the creation of a "sub-chancellor, or super-chancellor, or uber-chancellor" would do the trick.

"I don't know who speaks for the parents...who speaks on behalf of them," Farrell said.

A few minutes earlier, Klein was asked by State Senator Suzy Oppenheimer about the debate over mayoral control.

"I think it will play out in a constructive way," Klein said. "We have to have further discussion about the details. But what I saw today was constructive engagement on something that matters, and I do believe and am reasonably confident that as this moves forward, we'll go forward with a system of mayoral control in the city, regardless of who the mayor is. It's been right for the city."

The Post has reported that Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver doesn't like Klein, and that Klein's continuance in the post might jeopardize legislative re-authorization of mayoral control. I asked Klein if he wanted to stay on, even in the event of a change of administration.

"I've never had a better job -- it's enormously rewarding to work for kids in a city like ours," he said. "I don't discuss my discussions with any candidates, any of them."

Klein was testifying at a budget hearing, and made the case that funding cuts would be more manageable - and would likely result in fewer layoffs - if state lawmakers would loosen restrictions on funding provided through contracts for excellence.

That's State Senator Liz Krueger, vice chair, and State Senator Carl Kruger, chair, sitting next to Assemblyman Herman "Denny" Farrell, the longtime chair of the Assembly Ways & Means Committee.

Senate Democrats insist they are ready to hit the ground running on budget issues, even though the committee currently has no secretary.

Krueger told me yesterday that it's been particularly hectic running from meeting to meeting, getting ready to deal with the coming budget with less than a week's notice.

Today's hearing focuses on environmental conservation, with Department Commissioner Alexander "Pete" Grannis first on the docket.

Assemblyman Denny Farrell, a longtime associate and ally of the governor's father, made his comments while questioning Brian McMahon, executive director of the New York State Economic Development Council at a hearing this morning, after McMahon spoke about the importance of a strong workforce for attracting businesses to the state.

"To keep that quality workforce, we have to keep educating," Farrell said. "They can't get to college if they can't get to kindergarten."

"We have to spend more on education. It's not something we do because we want to buy the Cadillac of education—notice I didn't say Lexus, I said Cadillac—we need to make sure that we continue to educate. Right now, they're going to North Carolina, the companies that do go down, all they're going to do is go down there and drive their taxes up, because North Carolina is going to have to educate on the level that we're educating."

He concluded: "Education seems to be the base of all the other things that we do."

David Paterson announced $5.2 billion in cuts to various state programs yesterday, included an $800 million reduction in promised aid for schools. Union leaders and school districts quickly made the case that mid-year cuts would cause them considerable pain.

Farrell's comments were echoed by many of the half dozen members of the panel, including Assemblyman Jeffrion Aubry and Assemblywoman RoAnn Destito. Yesterday, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver called today's hearings, and said in a statement that "the Assembly will not shrink from tough choices and plans to confront New York's fiscal crisis head-on, based on the principle of shared sacrifice."

Majority Leader Dean Skelos, the Republican leader of the State Senate (for now), took a much harder line on education cuts, saying late yesterday he is "personally ruling them out."

The hearing indicates some Assembly Democrats are following suit.

In a very specific way, at least, the origins of Clinton's Senate career can be traced back to the 125th Street offices of Charlie Rangel, who, Clinton lore has it, was the first person to suggest she run for office. Rangel is also credited with finding Bill Clinton his uptown headquarters.

On the rainy Saturday afternoon, Rangel sat on one side of the church's marble altar and Bill and Hillary sat on the other.

"He loves being home," Clinton said of Rangel when it was her turn to talk.

"It's great getting off that plane and being able to come back to Harlem. Isn't it, Charlie?"

The audience was thrilled to have Rangel and Hillary on the same stage.

(So, apparently, was the Republican National Committee. As Clinton spoke at the podium about building a better future for America's children, a statement was sent out to reporters about the "Rangel/Clinton" tax hikes.)

The program started with remarks from local elected officials. When the Clintons arrived, the church's choir, standing in crimson and gold robes in the stained-glass lighted balcony above them, sang Happy Birthday to the senator, now 60. Then, reflecting the air of triumph surrounding the Clinton campaign more than two months before the first vote is cast, the choir immediately transitioned into a song with the chorus "Victory is mine."

Volunteers in the upper tiers held handmade signs with messages like "Harlem for Hillary." A supporter waved a placard that said, "A Clinton White House is the Right House."

The audience of parishioners and New York elected officials chanted "Hill-a-ry" and applauded euphorically from the pews at the sight of Bill Clinton.

Taking the podium, Rangel, in a dress shirt opened at the collar, spoke of Hillary as the candidate who could give the country a second chance.

"The nightmare is just about over," he said of the Bush administration. He then sought to reinforce the Clinton's uptown credentials: "Where else do you have a former president who has an office just down the block?" The line prompted loud and sustained applause. Rangel also declared that Hillary was "married to one of the greatest presidents our nation has ever seen."

Bill Clinton, dressed in gray pants and a blue blazer, spoke next, pitching his wife as the only candidate ready to do the job.

"She is the only member of the armed services committee" in the race, he said, adding "We need somebody who can win."

He said that the intention of her rivals to be more blunt in their attacks on her revealed that she was clearly the candidate to beat. "When all these guys that are running against her jump on her, I think they know something, don't they?" he said.

After more than an hour of speeches, Clinton herself spoke at the podium before a black grand piano and under silver and gold organ pipes. Dressed in a turquoise jacket and black pants, she started with some overtly religious language.

"On this earth God's work is our own," she said at one point. At another point she declared, "The spirit is with us.”

She spoke often about New York.

"So much about what matters to New York matters not just to New York but to the rest of the country and the world," she said.

"When Bill and I were leaving the White House we were so excited about coming here,” she said. “And the fact that he does have his office on 125th Street has been such a joy for him and for all of us."

Near the end of the speech, she said she looked forward to the day that "George Bush and Dick Cheney finally leave."

After the speeches, Loretta Faison, a 49-year-old welfare worker wearing a t-shirt that said "Praise God," said she planned on supporting Clinton.

"She is the best qualified right now and let's face it, she was there," she said. She also said she thought that Barack Obama would be ready in the "next election."

Outside, veteran Assemblyman Denny Farrell stood under a large white umbrella, providing yet more testimony about Hillary Clinton’s local bona fides.

"She is from New York and she is a New Yorker," he said. "That was validated with the vote she got last year."

Of the Clintons, he said, "They are New Yorkers first. United States people second, and world third."

At one point, I and two other reporters ran into Denny Farrell, who was hanging out with his daughter. He cheerily noted that earlier in the day he’d gotten another pro-congestion price mailing, making it three so far. “It must be good to be a billionaire,” he said. (The mayor, about whom Farrell was referring, has denied that he's providing any direct funding for the effort.) Then, Farrell rhetorically asked how many phone calls he’s gotten, smiled, and made a big zero with his fingers.

In introducing Christine Quinn, Assemblyman Jose Rivera, the county leader, said, “If I decide to go back to the City Council in ‘09, I want her to be my speaker again.”

Assemblyman Jeff Dinowitz told me he won’t be in town when Sheldon Silver convenes his conference meeting in Manhattan on July 16.

Non-Bronx officials who made their way to the dinner include David Weprin, Melinda Katz and Simcha Felder - all comptroller candidates in 2009, Assemblyman Michael Gianaris, and state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli. Also floating around the room were former City Council Speaker Gifford Miller (no tie!) and Democratic Mayoral candidate Fernando Ferrer.

And state Senator Efrain Gonzalez, who was indicted last year for misusing public money, was at the dinner before I arrived and stayed after I left, seemingly having a good time.