The speculation that Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi may be running for governor may not be speculation anymore. It's looking more and more like the popular Nassau leader will be facing off against Attorney General Eliot Spitzer in a primary for the Democratic nomination to be the next governor of New York.

Suozzi announced last week plans for a statewide issues tour as he filed papers with the State Board of Elections to create a campaign committee to explore a Democratic bid for governor.

As county executive, Suozzi formed a "Fix Albany" campaign aimed at tackling the problem of high property taxes he believes come from statewide issues.

According to his campaign, Friends of Tom Suozzi, Suozzi will hold meetings across the state over the next several weeks with community, civic and business leaders to get their perspective on the major challenges facing their regions and what the next governor could do to help address those problems.

"It has become painfully clear to me that local taxes, especially property taxes - 72 percent above the national average, the highest in the nation, are crushing the residents I serve in Nassau County, as well as residents throughout Long Island and the state. There will never be effective solutions to reduce property taxes, especially school taxes, as well as improve low-performing schools and create high-paying jobs, unless we fix Albany," said Suozzi. "I want to hear from people in other parts of the state to see if they feel the same way, what they would like to see changed, and if they would be interested in working with me to reform the system and make it work for New York once again."

Meanwhile, Spitzer, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, is also apparently preparing for a showdown with Suozzi. Last week, Spitzer delved into Suozzi's area by announcing the formation of Nassau Leaders for Spitzer, which included Assemblymen Thomas DiNapoli and Harvey Weisenberg, North Hempstead Town Clerk Rocco Iannarelli and North Hempstead Town Board member Fred Pollock along with 20 others.

"Nassau is a crucial county in any statewide election and I look forward to working closely with this esteemed group over the next months," Spitzer said.

Suozzi is no stranger to primaries. He defeated DiNapoli in 2001 for the Democratic nomination for Nassau County executive.