NEW YORK, NY January 17, 2006 —Al Sharpton's Martin Luther King Day gathering is an annual rite for politicians, especially in election years. Yesterday brought together dozens of candidates seeking office in New York City, Albany and Washington. WNYC's Fred Mogul has more.

REPORTER: Most of the hopefuls for state Attorney General were there, including Republican Janine Pirro, and Democrats Mark Green and Richard Brodsky. So were Senators Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer, Mayor Bloomberg and newly minted City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. All praised the legacy of Martin Luther King, and said we have come far as a society but still have a long way to go in the quest for equality.

The most intensely political moment of the day came when Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, testing the waters for a possible gubernatorial run, was asked why he opposed selling valuable county-owned land in Garden City for affordable housing.

SUOZZI: It's like saying let's try and sell a piece of property on Park Avenue and sell affordable housing on that location and the symbolism would be wonderful but I would take from the sale of that land $10 million and invest it in an affordable housing fund.

REPORTER: Later, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the only declared Democratic candidate for governor, also got the third degree. Spitzer was asked to reinstate controversial lawyer Alton Maddox, who was disbarred almost 20 years ago for falsely accusing prosecutors of sexual misconduct in the Tawana Brawley case.

SPITZER: The ball is in his camp right now to file a motion to be reinstated, and we have made it clear, we would not stand in the way of that.

REPORTER: Spitzer's answer seemed to satisfy Sharpton and the audience. Maddox in the past has said he has not applied for reinstatement because he will not appear before a panel of lawyers and express contrition.