Malcolm eat & greet with GOP

New York Post: A possible fusion ticket will be on the menu when state Sen. Malcolm Smith dines with the city’s five county Republican bosses on Monday to discuss his potential mayoral bid, sources said.

Smith’s meeting comes a week after The Post reported that Smith, a Queens Democrat, met with New York state Republican Party Chairman Ed Cox about running for City Hall as a GOP “fusion” candidate.

After hearing the news, some of the city’s GOP leaders ridiculed the idea. They cited Smith’s baggage — his brief and rocky tenure as Senate majority leader and ties to a shady Queens not-for-profit and an Aqueduct racino bidding scandal. Still, they agreed to break bread with Smith at Ricardo’s steakhouse in East Harlem.