I'm up in Albany for the New York State Democratic Committee Spring Business Meeting at the Desmond Hotel, a few miles away from the capitol.
Since the first meeting I was hoping to attend–the Council of Black Elected Democrats– is closed to the press, I figured I'd post notes from chat with two Assembly members I spoke with yesterday.
The two officials, Assemblyman Keith Wright of Harlem and Hakeem Jeffries of Brooklyn, have something in common. Unlike some Democrats — Eliot Spitzer, Sheldon Silver, Andrew Cuomo, David Paterson and Malcolm Smith, among others — they won't be endorsing Hillary Clinton on Monday.
Jeffries said he would probably make his decision sometime in June, along with Brooklyn lawmakers Rep. Yvette Clarke, State Senator Eric Adams and Assemblyman Karim Camara.
Wright, by contrast, doesn't seem to be on any timetable at all.
“So far, I don’t have any plans,” Wright told me. “I haven’t had my chat with Hillary. I know she’s busy. And lord knows I haven’t had any talks with Barack.”
I asked Wright if he was more disappointed in not getting a call from Clinton or from Obama.
“I’m not disappointed in either,” he said, laughing.
“I remember in ‘92, Clinton was calling people left and right. I just haven’t heard from any of them, if you will,” he said, referring to the 2008 candidates. “I’m not making anything of it.”
And, based on the line of questioning about black officials in New York still holding out on their endorsements, he also offered me the following:
"It sounds like you’re going to write a story. I love it. I love it. Make us important with our unimportance.”
Yes, sir!
