Generally I hate it when Democratic executives name Republicans to cabinet-level security posts (as Clinton did with Defense), since it strongly reinforces the notion that national security is somehow a particularly Republican area of competence (despite all the evidence to the contrary).

So I might annoyed by today's announcement that Governor-elect Spitzer has tipped Nassau Republican State Senator Michael Balboni for his top homeland security post - "deputy secretary for public safety security." But it's all good: Senator Balboni's district has a Democratic registration advantage. As the Times points out, the appointment is yet another blow to the GOP majority in the state Senate. Nibble, nibble...

Update: Balboni's Democratic challenger last month was Joseph Hand (scroll down), who took 30,768 votes to Balboni's 42,198 (including almost 7,000 votes the incumbent received between the Conservative and Independent lines). Can we assume Hand would try again in the special election, or does anyone in Long Island know if there's somebody waiting in the wings?