It's always a nice idea, in theory: the candidate of upstate New York, the perennially ignored constituency, rides a wave of northerly support while the rest of the field splits the city and suburbs into little pieces.

We'll have to see about the surprises that await us at the convention in Buffalo, but I suspect the problem for her will be the usual one, that too few of the state's Democrats live in places like Chautauqua County for those endorsements to matter.

It's a simplistic analysis, admittedly, but for now, the math doesn't seem to work out no matter how you add it up.

She'll just have to hope for the rapid onset of Cuomo-fatigue in the Democrat-rich areas around the city.

Full announcement after the jump.

For Immediate Release Contact: Abigail Gardner
May 24th, 2006 Phone: 917.653.4929
Putnam, Columbia Counties Join Many Throughout New York to Endorse
O'Donnell for Attorney General
New York, NY - Last night two more counties joined the growing list of New Yorkers who are rallying around Denise O'Donnell to be the Empire State's next attorney general. In Putnam County, Denise won the Democrat's County Committee vote by an impressive 11:1 margin over the only other nominated candidate, Andrew Cuomo. In a similar landslide in Columbia County, O'Donnell overwhelmingly won the committee vote to beat second place finisher Mark Green. Putnam and Columbia join the counties of Broome, Rensselaer, Chautauqua, and Erie in endorsing O'Donnell's bid to be attorney general.
O'Donnell also received recent endorsements from Wyoming County Chair Anne Weidman, Schenectady City councilwomen Barbara Strangfeld and Barbara Blanchard, and State Committee member Sharon Jordan. Repeatedly, support for O'Donnell has originated at a grassroots level and has spread through committees because her message simply resonates with voters. The only career prosecutor in the race to become attorney general, O'Donnell has dedicated her career to public service and is qualified to fill the role Eliot Spitzer has created. In addition to grassroots support from Putnam to Erie, O'Donnell has also gained the endorsements of former US Attorney General Janet Reno, former New York State Comptroller H. Carl McCall, Emily's List, NOW- New York State Chapter, the Women's Campaign Fund, the Flushing Democratic Club in Queens and the Broadway Democrats in Manhattan, and just this week the Buffalo Building Trades, which represents workers from 17 unions in over 26 counties in Western New York.
Of her recent endorsements, O'Donnell said, "I am so moved by the Democrats in Putnam, Columbia, Wyoming and all the counties who have endorsed me. When I have the opportunity to speak to voters, all over the state, they respond to my career, my experience, and my potential to become a great attorney general who is serious about cleaning up corruption in Albany."
Putnam County Committee vice chair, Susan Spear said, "Putnam Democrats voted overwhelmingly for Denise O'Donnell as our next Attorney General because we believe she is the most qualified candidate for the job. With Denise O'Donnell on the Democratic ticket along with Eliot Spitzer for Governor, we have the opportunity to show all New Yorkers how our team of Democrats would govern differently."
Barbara Strangfeld, Schenectady City councilwoman added, "The position of New York State Attorney General is a critical one. We need someone with the character, the integrity, the intelligence, the courage and the prosecutorial experience to fill this position. I believe that one candidate alone has all of these qualifications and that candidate is Denise O'Donnell."
Wyoming County Committee chair, Anne Weidman also praised O'Donnell, "We Upstate Democrats are pleased to have another upstater do so well, attending local and regional schools, and practicing her trade with distinction. Denise is a product of Buffalo and has risen to the top. With a great legal record, she has done well by playing by the rules with vigor and good humor. What an asset she will be to the new team in Albany, as a woman and as an outstanding attorney."
O'Donnell was born and raised in New York. She was the first member of her family to attend college, and after graduation she became a social worker in New York City. As a working mother, she attended law school, graduating summa cum laude and became a federal prosecutor. In 1997 she was appointed U.S. Attorney for Western New York and served as vice chair on Attorney General Janet Reno's advisory committee. In total, she has worked as a prosecutor for over 17 years and has tried some of the area's most difficult cases, from the prosecution of Timothy McVeigh to tracking down international fugitive and FBI's 10 most-wanted, James Kopp. To read more about Denise's career and how it has prepared her to be New York's next attorney general, please visit www.odonnell2006.com.

Taking a break from our coverage of the Fairway opening yesterday, we walked over to the Ikea site that sits on the Erie Basin. While officially inaccessible, smart adventurers know how to gain access to the site--which is where we found this creepy tableau that's suggestive of horrors too eh, horrible to mention. These children's bicycles were found, as is, feet from a former homeless encampment adjacent to the Ikea site.

Peering into the actual site, we found that demolition is going ahead quickly. Where there was once a large warehouse, now only its skeletal shell remains. Since the sun was going down, and it being a dangerous construction site and all, we decided to venture no further. We should, within a week or so, get some better pictures of the actual property. We need to see if the graving dock is still around, or if it's already been filled in.

Nearby is the Added Value community farm. We blogged a bit about it yesterday, and we wanted to know if our future salad has yet sprouted. From the look of this picture, it seems that everything is coming up green! Since it sits directly across the street from the Ikea site, we're very curious as to what'll happen when the box store opens. We've a call out to the farm's jefe maximo, and we'll be getting back to you on it soon.

-Matthew Grace

Yeah, it's clever of Ikea to use a Dire Straits song for its animated walk-through of their planned Red Hook store (the Erie Basin and the long struggle to get this store approved are but two referents we can think of immediately), but "Walk of Life"? Song blows, yo. Nonetheless, this video (click on connection speed at top of page) shows a livable compromise between Ikea's big boxiness and public access to the waterfront. The cranes in Ikea yellow and blue does seem like a sellout--can't they be kept decrepit and maritime?

(Via Amy's New York Notebook.)

-Matthew Grace

Here's his letter: