Fight The Power

4:46 pm, 10/4/07

Fight The Power

29 New York County Clerks rise up against Governor Eliot Spitzer.

County clerks from across New York on Thursday came out against Gov. Eliot Spitzer's policy to allow illegal immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses, with some clerks vowing to turn their backs on the governor's directive.

Twenty-nine clerks, all but one a Republican, voted in favor of a resolution to oppose the Democratic governor's recent policy change to allow illegal immigrants to obtain drivers' licenses without having Social Security numbers.

And 13 of those - including from Monroe, Putnam and Greene counties -- pledged to disobey the governor, even if they are ordered to follow the policy.

"This is not the right time" for the policy, said Putnam County Clerk Dennis Sant. "We're in war and we're at war with terrorists that came in here and attacked our state and the greatest city in the world, and we have got to put a stop on this."

Spitzer's policy has increasingly come under fire from Republicans and county clerks after he announced it last month. Assembly Republicans are threatening to sue, while Senate Republicans plan to pass legislation to thwart the plan.

The clerks' line in the sand may also set up a court fight with the Spitzer administration, which has vowed to implement the policy in December and has warned clerks that as agents of the state, they need to comply.

Clerks were so incensed that a presentation on the policy by Swarts and other state officials was often interrupted so clerks could fire off complaints. Finally, the presentation was cut short, and the meeting turned into just a question and answer session.

At one point, Rensselaer County Clerk Frank Merola stormed out.

"Give them a license. Make them say 'illegal' on the front. That's all I ask for," Merola, one of the most outspoken critics, shouted in the hallway.

At another point, Monroe County Clerk Cheryl Dinolfo got up and asked the state to rescind the policy.

"What we are doing here is legitimizing illegal behavior," she said. "And I find it wrong."

That's because it is, unless they're building a database for mass deportations.