On last night’s program, the four members of our Consultants Corner debated who will control the state Senate. Watch the video above.

Tonight’s guests include: Brooklyn Borough President Marty Markowitz; Our NY1 Wiseguys.

Jeremy Peters looks at how Reps. Steve Israel and Carolyn Maloney are in the shadow of Caroline Kennedy while they pseudo-campaign upstate for Hillary Clinton’s soon-to-be-vacant Senate seat.

Nick Confessore reports: “Candidates hoping to be appointed to the United States Senate by Gov. David A. Paterson are being asked to divulge details about their finances, job history and any criminal record, several of them said on Monday.”

Fernanda Santos notes: “A decisive round in the battle over who can run for re-election in New York City in November played out on Monday in a packed courtroom in Brooklyn, where lawyers for the city and for a group challenging an extension of term limits argued their cases before a federal district judge…Judge [Charles] Sifton, who last month denied a city request to have the case moved to Manhattan and combined with another lawsuit challenging the law, did not set a date for his decision. ‘I’ll issue a written opinion as fast as I can,’ he said.”

Manny Fernandez reports: “Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg’s plan to create or preserve 165,000 units of housing for low- and moderate-income families by 2013 has been pushed back one year because the economic recession has stifled the financing of low-cost housing.”

With a sigh, NYC columnist Clyde Haberman previews the three “State of the….” speeches.

With a Brennan Center report in hand, the edit-heads hope things will change in Albany if the Democrats take control of the State Senate.

New York Post

Fred Dicker reports: “Senate Democrats yesterday demanded a criminal probe of a bombshell memorandum showing Republicans plotting to use their state-funded Senate staffers for campaign purposes.”

Haberman & Topousis write: “Former Gov. Eliot Spitzer's handpicked economic-development czar, who has overseen projects that wound up mired in delays and cost overruns, is stepping down as president of the Empire State Development Corp.
But Avi Schick's resignation, effective at the end of this week, doesn't cover his role as chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corp., which has come under fire over the Deutsche Bank deconstruction.”

The edit-heads cluck their tongues at Medicaid fraud allegedly being perpetrated by several New York hospitals.

New York Daily News

Columnist Juan Gonzalez gets an exclusive interview with State Sen.-elect Hiram Monserrate, who angrily denies charges he beat up his girlfriend.

Adam Lisberg notes: “Back in 2008, when Mayor Bloomberg looked like a man closing out his last term in office, he spent a lot of time talking about energy policy, visiting Europe, and consulting with business leaders about the economy. So far in 2009, when he wants voters to give him another term in office, he's paid a courtesy call on a nation important to New Yorkers - and filled a Brooklyn pothole.”

Lovett & Benjamin write: “Caroline Kennedy's popularity has plunged as her push to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate hit rough patches, a new poll finds. The survey by North Carolina-based Public Policy Polling (PPP) found 44% of New York voters have a lesser opinion of Kennedy than they did before she started vying for the seat a month ago.”

Brendan Brosh looks at how some Queens neighborhoods could benefit by Malcolm Smith’s ascendancy in the State Senate.

Lisa Colangelo writes about the candidates duking it out Hiram Monserrate’s City Council seat.

Op-ed columnist Bill Hammond notes: “In his quest to become majority leader of the state Senate, Queens Democrat Malcolm Smith is talking to the wrong people. He should tell the renegade Democrats known as the ‘three amigos’ -- who have been shaking him down in exchange for their support - to take a hike. Instead, he'd be better off reaching out to his ‘enemigos,’ the 29 Republicans on the other side of the aisle.”

In the wake of an awful story in Brooklyn, the edit-heads wonder if the state is doing enough to screen bus drivers.

Newsday

James T. Madore writes: “Democrats tomorrow will take control of the State Senate for the first time in 43 years if they convince three party rebels to back Sen. Malcolm Smith in a leadership vote.”

Michael Frazier notes: “New York City has passed several laws and invested millions of dollars to help make construction safer after two deadly crane collapses that occurred less than three months apart last year.”

Until tomorrow.

Bob Hardt

To drop us a line, write to political_itch@ny1.com.