ALBANY - Gov. David Paterson said Monday some Albany lawmakers are like Count Dracula, showing pleasant faces to lull citizen advocates, only to become bloodsuckers when the sun goes down.
Then the Democrat - known for his use of humor - backed off.
After making the comparison during a speech to an advocacy group, he explained to reporters that he was trying to illustrate the frustration of watching lawmakers appear sympathetic to a cause, but then take no action after advocates leave the Capitol.
“There were legislators who I used to think practiced their own versions of being Count Dracula - in that they were very nice to the advocates when they came to Albany,” Paterson said. “And then (the advocates) get back on the buses by four o'clock. By five o'clock the sun would go down and they'd go back to being who they really are - a bunch of blood suckers.”
Paterson, who is legally blind, was urging an organization that lobbies on issues affecting the disabled to keep pushing their case despite the frustrations.
The comments came the day before several incumbants - including Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat - faced some tough primary races around the state.
“Good grief, here we go again?” said Albany Assemblyman John McEneny. “If that's the comment, I can't see where that comment would be at all productive, and it seems inconsistent with Governor Paterson's oft-stated goal to deal with the legislature through mutual respect.”
New York legislators have welcomed the collegiality of Paterson, who was a senator for 20 years, after the conflicts with former Gov. Eliot Spitzer that gridlocked Albany in 2007. In March, Paterson succeeded Spitzer, who was named in a prostitution scandal. When Paterson took over, politicians on both sides of the aisle said they were relieved to have a more congenial governor.
“The governor's comments were flip and not very amusing - in fact they were ‘Spitzeresque.' Coming from the legislature, he should know better,” said Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, a Long Island Republican.
In his explanation to reporters, Paterson said, “I didn't say that my colleagues were blood suckers. I said that there were certain people who listen to advocates, and as soon as they left and it got dark, were acting in that way - like Count Dracula - because they really didn't care. And (they) were not about to do anything about what the advocates were in Albany to try to persuade.”
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After making the comparison during a speech to an advocacy group, he explained to reporters that he was trying to illustrate the frustration of watching lawmakers appear sympathetic to a cause, but then take no action after advocates leave the Capitol.
“There were legislators who I used to think practiced their own versions of being Count Dracula - in that they were very nice to the advocates when they came to Albany,” Paterson said. “And then (the advocates) get back on the buses by four o'clock. By five o'clock the sun would go down and they'd go back to being who they really are - a bunch of blood suckers.”
Paterson, who is legally blind, was urging an organization that lobbies on issues affecting the disabled to keep pushing their case despite the frustrations.
The comments came the day before several incumbants - including Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, a Manhattan Democrat - faced some tough primary races around the state.
“Good grief, here we go again?” said Albany Assemblyman John McEneny. “If that's the comment, I can't see where that comment would be at all productive, and it seems inconsistent with Governor Paterson's oft-stated goal to deal with the legislature through mutual respect.”
New York legislators have welcomed the collegiality of Paterson, who was a senator for 20 years, after the conflicts with former Gov. Eliot Spitzer that gridlocked Albany in 2007. In March, Paterson succeeded Spitzer, who was named in a prostitution scandal. When Paterson took over, politicians on both sides of the aisle said they were relieved to have a more congenial governor.
“The governor's comments were flip and not very amusing - in fact they were ‘Spitzeresque.' Coming from the legislature, he should know better,” said Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, a Long Island Republican.
In his explanation to reporters, Paterson said, “I didn't say that my colleagues were blood suckers. I said that there were certain people who listen to advocates, and as soon as they left and it got dark, were acting in that way - like Count Dracula - because they really didn't care. And (they) were not about to do anything about what the advocates were in Albany to try to persuade.”
On the Net
http://www.ny.gov/governor/
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