ALBANY - David Paterson on Friday said all the right things for an incoming governor: His first goal as governor will be to revive New York's economy, especially upstate, and improve inner city schools. Then he tantalizingly hinted that finishing disgraced Gov. Eliot Spitzer's term might be only the beginning.
The Associated Press
New York Lt. Gov. David Paterson, left, meets with Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, in Paterson's office at the state Capitol in Albany, Friday. Paterson on Monday will replace Gov. Eliot Spitzer who resigned Wednesday.
New York Lt. Gov. David Paterson, left, meets with Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith, D-Queens, in Paterson's office at the state Capitol in Albany, Friday. Paterson on Monday will replace Gov. Eliot Spitzer who resigned Wednesday.
Asked if he would run for governor in 2010, Paterson quipped: “I guess I'll try it out for a while and get back to you.” When pressed, he said more soberly, “Yeah, I think there's a possibility I could run.”
Paterson will be sworn in Monday to finish the term started by Spitzer, who will resign after being caught up in a high-price prostitution ring.
On policies, Paterson, a Democrat, refused to rule out an income tax increase for the wealthiest New Yorkers, which is proposed by the Assembly's Democratic majority but opposed by the Republican-led Senate. Spitzer also opposed the idea.
“In the end, we have a job to do,” Paterson told reporters. “We want to try to do this without raising anyone's taxes, because that's what's driving people out of the state. This is pretty much the highest taxed, per capita, state in the union, except for Hawaii.”
The proposal would provide $1.5 billion a year in revenues. But the Working Families Party, influential with Democrats, is pushing a stronger proposal that would increase the income tax for New Yorkers making $250,000 a year. Under the Working Families Party idea, half of the $5.1 billion in revenue raised would be used to relieve local property taxes.
Assembly Democrats see “this as a possible scenario and I wouldn't want them to think I am coming to the table automatically rejecting anything,” said Paterson, a former Senate minority party leader. “One of the problems we had when I was a legislative leader is that sometimes we felt that Gov. Pataki had made up his mind without ever having a conversation with us.”
The budget is due April 1. Paterson will negotiate with legislative leaders
beginning next week. The proposed $124 billion budget includes a deficit of more than $4.6 billion. Budget forecasts also call for a nearly inevitable recession, which would drive revenues down more. Spitzer's budget would have increase spending by about 4.8 percent.
“If I had a dream and it were to be realized, it would be to bring back the economy of the state, particularly to make up for the jobs we lost in the last decade in places like Rochester and Buffalo and Binghamton and Utica and the North Country,” said Paterson, a Harlem Democrat. “I would (also) hope the children in New York City and Buffalo and Rochester get a better education.”
Those goals don't include other priorities of bolstering stem cell research, creating a better energy policy and others associated with his liberal agenda in 20 years in the state Senate. During the three years, he'll keep pushing on those issues but he said a better economy is the first task because the revenues it would drive will help fund more programs.
“Sometimes, it's not juggling all of the supplies on the bus, it's getting the right supplies on the bus,” he said. “And in my opinion, the way to do that is a well educated work force and be creative the way New Yorkers have been for 200 years.”
On Thursday, Republican Sen. George Winner said the Senate would be watching their former colleague carefully.
“We'll have to see if he has moderated,” Winner said, citing Paterson's past that rankled gun owners and New Yorkers who support the death penalty. “He would have trouble getting elected on his own.”
Paterson spent much of Friday trying to build the bipartisan coalition he promised when Spitzer ended his tenure after 14 months, most of it spent in pitched conflict with the Legislature.
He met privately with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, both Democrats, Democratic Senate leader Malcolm Smith, and Republicans Joseph Bruno, majority leader in the Senate, and James Tedisco, Assembly minority leader.
Bruno and Spitzer had been in such serious conflict and name-calling spats that action in Albany was stalled for more than six months. On Friday, instead of receiving the 78-year-old Republican leader, Paterson went to Bruno's office. Reporters asked why.
“Because Senator Bruno bought lunch for me, and I don't know if that qualifies as a gift, but I think it was a nice thing to do, and so I'm going to partake,” Paterson said. He then added about his longtime friendly political adversary: “I brought my own taster with me.”
Bruno laughed and posed for pictures with Paterson, who has often said he felt an almost father-son relationship with the upstate Republican.
--
AP Writer Michael Virtanen contributed to this report from Albany.
AP-ES-03-14-08 1643EDT
Paterson will be sworn in Monday to finish the term started by Spitzer, who will resign after being caught up in a high-price prostitution ring.
On policies, Paterson, a Democrat, refused to rule out an income tax increase for the wealthiest New Yorkers, which is proposed by the Assembly's Democratic majority but opposed by the Republican-led Senate. Spitzer also opposed the idea.
“In the end, we have a job to do,” Paterson told reporters. “We want to try to do this without raising anyone's taxes, because that's what's driving people out of the state. This is pretty much the highest taxed, per capita, state in the union, except for Hawaii.”
The proposal would provide $1.5 billion a year in revenues. But the Working Families Party, influential with Democrats, is pushing a stronger proposal that would increase the income tax for New Yorkers making $250,000 a year. Under the Working Families Party idea, half of the $5.1 billion in revenue raised would be used to relieve local property taxes.
Assembly Democrats see “this as a possible scenario and I wouldn't want them to think I am coming to the table automatically rejecting anything,” said Paterson, a former Senate minority party leader. “One of the problems we had when I was a legislative leader is that sometimes we felt that Gov. Pataki had made up his mind without ever having a conversation with us.”
The budget is due April 1. Paterson will negotiate with legislative leaders
beginning next week. The proposed $124 billion budget includes a deficit of more than $4.6 billion. Budget forecasts also call for a nearly inevitable recession, which would drive revenues down more. Spitzer's budget would have increase spending by about 4.8 percent.
“If I had a dream and it were to be realized, it would be to bring back the economy of the state, particularly to make up for the jobs we lost in the last decade in places like Rochester and Buffalo and Binghamton and Utica and the North Country,” said Paterson, a Harlem Democrat. “I would (also) hope the children in New York City and Buffalo and Rochester get a better education.”
Those goals don't include other priorities of bolstering stem cell research, creating a better energy policy and others associated with his liberal agenda in 20 years in the state Senate. During the three years, he'll keep pushing on those issues but he said a better economy is the first task because the revenues it would drive will help fund more programs.
“Sometimes, it's not juggling all of the supplies on the bus, it's getting the right supplies on the bus,” he said. “And in my opinion, the way to do that is a well educated work force and be creative the way New Yorkers have been for 200 years.”
On Thursday, Republican Sen. George Winner said the Senate would be watching their former colleague carefully.
“We'll have to see if he has moderated,” Winner said, citing Paterson's past that rankled gun owners and New Yorkers who support the death penalty. “He would have trouble getting elected on his own.”
Paterson spent much of Friday trying to build the bipartisan coalition he promised when Spitzer ended his tenure after 14 months, most of it spent in pitched conflict with the Legislature.
He met privately with Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, both Democrats, Democratic Senate leader Malcolm Smith, and Republicans Joseph Bruno, majority leader in the Senate, and James Tedisco, Assembly minority leader.
Bruno and Spitzer had been in such serious conflict and name-calling spats that action in Albany was stalled for more than six months. On Friday, instead of receiving the 78-year-old Republican leader, Paterson went to Bruno's office. Reporters asked why.
“Because Senator Bruno bought lunch for me, and I don't know if that qualifies as a gift, but I think it was a nice thing to do, and so I'm going to partake,” Paterson said. He then added about his longtime friendly political adversary: “I brought my own taster with me.”
Bruno laughed and posed for pictures with Paterson, who has often said he felt an almost father-son relationship with the upstate Republican.
--
AP Writer Michael Virtanen contributed to this report from Albany.
AP-ES-03-14-08 1643EDT
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