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Albany, NY -  - The speaker of the Assembly, Sheldon Silver, is confronting a democratic upheaval in his Lower Manhattan district, where he has wielded power with token opposition since the beginning of the Carter administration.

The talk around Albany is that the 64-year-old speaker is vulnerable. His Grand Street base is fading, replaced by a wealthier and more independent voting bloc that is less tolerant of his intrigues against the public interest, his obeisance to trial lawyers and public labor unions, and the staleness of his vision.

To a large degree, Mr. Silver’s staying power rests on the millions of dollars of pork he delivers to constituents every year, but the kingdom is coming under threat from a popular revulsion against the most famous symbol of Albany blight. Now, for the first time in two decades, Mr. Silver is running opposed.

Mr. Silver, who would prefer not to deal with the tiresome business of a primary, has the good fortune to be running against two opponents, a neighborhood activist, Paul Newell, and a corporate contract lawyer, Luke Henry

Mr. Silver is taking this race seriously. He’s marshalling the resources of the Working Families Party and, according to a source, has hired a legislative aide to conduct opposition research on Mr. Newell, but not on Mr. Henry. On Friday, his campaign blanketed the East Village with fliers announcing in three languages (English, Spanish, and Chinese) that Mr. Silver was setting up a mobile district office to hear constituent complaints.

Mr. Silver, of course, is no tyrant but an elected official who happens to play the political game better than anyone else. The question is just how good is he?

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