Anatomy of a "Deal?"

Somewhere along the way to Assemblyman Lloyd "The Bachelor Wannabe" Levine endorsing his longtime Chief of Staff Stuart Waldman for his soon to be termed out seat (a seat the Waldman was and is far more qualified for than Levine could ever hope to be) insiders said a deal was made that threw the loyal Waldman under the proverbial bus.

The alleged deal goes like this. Levine, locked in a tough primary race against fellow Assemblymember Fran Pavley for a State Senate seat, needs some juice to have a shot against the popular Pavley. So, along with his mentor and daddy - political strategist Larry Levine - Lloyd goes to local king maker Congressman Howard Berman.

The tale continues. Yes indeed Howard will give his blessing to young Lloyd. But there's a price. Levine must retract his endorsement for Waldman to succeed him and transfer it to Berman's protege, Bob Blumenfeld.

Then in a move that baffled many at the time, Levine unceremoniously pulls the endorsement and fires Waldman from the job he held and excelled at for many years - several of those years with Levine's predecessor Bob Hertzberg.

Though Levine issued statements that hinted no deal was made; visit Levine's website and indeed - Berman's endorsement is prominent!

So tell us - there was no deal?

By the way - can anyone tell us why Lloyd has a legal defense fund with contributions from the likes of AT&T?