An hour before Governor Pataki delivered his State of the State speech yesterday, the speaker of the City Council sought to pre-empt him, predicting the address would be “a lot like an episode of Seinfeld” and “mean absolutely nothing at all.”

Gifford Miller criticized Mr. Pataki for what he characterized as empty promises in everything from education to money for homeland security. Though the attack was directed at Mr. Pataki, Mr. Miller went out of his way to link Mayor Bloomberg to the Republican governor.

“In the last three years, the mayor’s approach to dealing with the governor in Albany has been to talk softly and carry a small stick,” Mr. Miller said. The speaker also quoted the mayor as saying Mr. Pataki was a “great partner” for the city.

Painting Mr. Bloomberg with a Republican brush is not new for Mr. Miller. The effort has, however, intensified in recent months while Mr. Miller prepares to run in the Democratic mayoral primary.

Political experts said yesterday that Mr. Bloomberg, who changed his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican to run in the 2001 election, will not be as vulnerable as the Democrats’ 5-to-1 voter registration edge over the Republicans might suggest.

“The thing Speaker Miller should remember is that New York has had 11 consecutive years of Republican mayors,” a Columbia University political science professor, Steven Cohen, said.

Besides, Mr. Cohen said, Messrs. Bloomberg and Pataki “would be middle-of-the-road Democrats somewhere else.”