Paterson wants to replace O’Neill?

St. Lawrence County has enjoyed an unusual amount of political influence the last few years, for a rural Upstate county, at least. That’s because at a time when the Democratic Party has made a clean sweep of power in Albany, its leader, June O’Neill, lives in the teeny hamlet of Morley, just down the road from where I write this in Canton.

O’Neill (right in photo) has built an impressive resume: keeping the 20th Congressional blue (Gillibrand’s former district), winning the 48th State Senate (Aubertine’s district) twice, both Republican strongholds. Oh yeah, and there’s winning the Senate majority for the first time in decades.

But as Governor David Paterson’s standing in New York continues to freefall, and the Democrats near-monolithic power may be more of a curse than blessing, O’Neill’s job may be in jeopardy.

Political insider Elizabeth Benjamin reports Paterson wants a new party chair. Thing is, the party’s finances are tanking with the economy and no one wants the job:

The economy has turned an already thankless job into a nearly impossible one, observers say. The meltdown is putting a dent in fund-raising at a time with both the governor and his hand-picked U.S. senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, could face expensive primary challenges next year. “Who’s going to sign up to take over what might make the Titanic look like a small boat in a bathtub?” said a Democrat familiar with the thinking of a candidate who turned the governor down

O’Neill was appointed to the top post by ex-Gov Eliot Spitzer. But she told Benjamin she has “an excellent relationship” with the current Governor.

But Paterson may want a confidant of his own to help steer him through what looks like a perilous (and potentially losing) election campaign. The question is whether anyone wants to answer the call.