While reps from across the state are voicing concerns over the licensing of illegals the political appointee county clerk Kathy Hochul makes a real genmeric statement. See this is one of the major problems with so many political appointees, they are afraid to come out with a firm position. They have to be supportive of their boss yet, they can and do compromise their own positions and really can interfere with the proper operation of their departments.

It’s not simply about security there is a host of other reasons why this is wrong. One word says it all, Illegal..

Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul, appointed to her job by Spitzer, said she is an agent of the state when it comes to the motor vehicle law and will carry out Spitzer’s policy.

“I have no ability to pick and choose the laws we follow,” she said. Hochul said she has voiced some “security concerns” about the Spitzer decision to the state Department of Motor Vehicles

Spitzer’s driver’s license policy for illegal immigrants draws wide criticism
Critics site concerns of national security

ALBANY — Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s order that permits illegal immigrants to obtain New York state driver’s licenses is meeting fierce resistance across the state, with opponents ranging from families of September 11 terrorist victims, to county clerks to state lawmakers, to the mayor of New York City.

One critic in the Legislature called the governor’s plan “nutsy,” and all say that Spitzer’s action threatens the state’s security and is also illegal without legislative approval.

New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg raised questions about the idea Thursday, saying that the city’s lawyer “does believe that in fact this would make New York’s state driver’s licenses ineligible to be used to get on an airplane.”

He added: “I’m really skeptical that we should be issuing driver’s licenses willy-nilly, because it then leads to lots of other problems in terms of voter registration and other things. But it’s the governor’s call.”

But the governor has dug in his heels, insisting he holds the authority to arbitrarily change the licensing requirements, and the administration threatened legal action against any county clerks who refuse.

Spitzer, in a Rochester appearance Thursday, derided Bloomberg’s position as “dead wrong, factually wrong, legally wrong, morally wrong, ethically wrong.”

Spitzer allies, especially labor unions and immigrant rights groups, are defending his plan and calling critics “anti-immigration extremists” trying to tar illegal immigrants as terrorists.

(Excerpt) Read more at BuffaloNews.com….