Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer met with majority and minority leaders of both houses of the state Legislature Monday and pledged a “more open and transparent” state government.
After a successful campaign that included the slogan “Day One: Everything Changes,” Spitzer now says he is “ready to rally the public.”
In reality, Day One (Jan. 1, 2007) likely will include more talk than substance.
Spitzer is inheriting an Assembly dominated by Sheldon Silver and a Senate controlled by Joseph Bruno.
The new governor will have an ally in Democrat Silver only to a point. The entrenched Assembly speaker isn't likely to embrace all of Spitzer's promises when it comes to conducting the state's business in a more open fashion.
And Spitzer will have to find a way to work with Bruno, the state's most powerful Republican. Bruno blames Washington - not Albany - for a perceived wave of public discontent that swept Democrats into New York offices on Election Day.
The public's discontent over the war in Iraq certainly played a part in the strength of Democratic campaigns nationwide, but plenty of New Yorkers were getting tired of the way things were going in Albany, too.
It's not uncommon for politicians to promise more than they can deliver, and Spitzer's “everything changes” promise has a hollow feel to it. Everything won't change.
But we remain optimistic that a lot of things can change.
If more lawmakers in Albany are brought into the decision-making process previously dominated by Silver, Bruno and Gov. George Pataki, New Yorkers will begin to see the kind of representation they deserve - and have rightly demanded.
The time for slogans and promises is over. We will be paying attention to how quickly Albany can change in the weeks and months after Day One.
In reality, Day One (Jan. 1, 2007) likely will include more talk than substance.
Spitzer is inheriting an Assembly dominated by Sheldon Silver and a Senate controlled by Joseph Bruno.
The new governor will have an ally in Democrat Silver only to a point. The entrenched Assembly speaker isn't likely to embrace all of Spitzer's promises when it comes to conducting the state's business in a more open fashion.
And Spitzer will have to find a way to work with Bruno, the state's most powerful Republican. Bruno blames Washington - not Albany - for a perceived wave of public discontent that swept Democrats into New York offices on Election Day.
The public's discontent over the war in Iraq certainly played a part in the strength of Democratic campaigns nationwide, but plenty of New Yorkers were getting tired of the way things were going in Albany, too.
It's not uncommon for politicians to promise more than they can deliver, and Spitzer's “everything changes” promise has a hollow feel to it. Everything won't change.
But we remain optimistic that a lot of things can change.
If more lawmakers in Albany are brought into the decision-making process previously dominated by Silver, Bruno and Gov. George Pataki, New Yorkers will begin to see the kind of representation they deserve - and have rightly demanded.
The time for slogans and promises is over. We will be paying attention to how quickly Albany can change in the weeks and months after Day One.
The Citizens' Say
There are No comments posted.