Legislators Cheer Paterson,
Seek "Era of Good Feeling"
No Solutions Presented Yet
By Henry J. Stern
March 18, 2008
The tumult and the shouting dies
The captains and the kings depart...
~Rudyard Kipling
Yesterday in the Capitol in Albany, there was tumult and shouting. The state political world packed the Assembly chamber for a joint session with the Senate to witness the swearing in of David Paterson, 55th governor of the state of New York. The 49th was Nelson Rockefeller, who was elected four times. Then came Malcolm Wilson, Hugh Carey, Mario Cuomo, George Pataki and Eliot Spitzer, whose name was unmentioned by the new governor, Spitzer's hand-picked as his running mate in 2006. Appropriately, the presiding officer was Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, whose tenure as the state's most powerful Democrat was never really interrupted.
Today the captains and the kings departed from Albany, among them three governors: Jon Corzine of New Jersey (whose elected predecessor, McGreevey, made news of a different sort today - something about triangulation), M. Jodi Rell of Connecticut (who, as lieutenant governor, completed the term of John Rowland, her elected predecessor, who was impeached and then imprisoned for fraud), and Deval Patrick of Massachusetts (currently the only elected African-American governor of any state)
A particularly honored guest was Basil A. Paterson, former secretary of state of the State of New York and the governor's father. His mother, Portia, his wife Michelle, her daughter Ashley and their son Alex were introduced. Basil Paterson is a highly regarded New Yorker who was deputy mayor under Mayor Koch in 1978. He is a partner in a leading Nassau County law firm and represents labor unions. His parents must have been enormously proud to see their son sworn in, and my mind went back to Bernard and Anne Spitzer, generous and charitable New Yorkers who had the same pride on January 1, 2007.
United States Senators Chuck Schumer and Hillary Clinton, who were seated next to each other, are back at their day jobs, hers being the effort to get an even better job. Mayor Bloomberg, accompanied by Mayors Koch and Dinkins, flew back to New York City. They did not fly on a city plane (attention Senator Bruno), since the mayor used one of his own. The trip from LaGuardia to Albany took twenty-five minutes. He also paid for the gas.
The official who got the most applause, apart from the new governor, was Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, whose selection by the Legislature on February 7 was the first of string of defeats suffered by Spitzer. On the dais were Chief Judge Judith Kaye, who swore in Governor Paterson, attorney general Andrew Cuomo and senate majority leader Joseph Bruno. Former Governors Carey and Pataki were introduced, as well as the current mayor and his two predecessors and traveling companions, Mayors Koch and Dinkins. Specially recognized was former Lieutenant Governor Stan Lundine, who left Congress to serve eight years waiting in vain for Governor Cuomo to go national. Mario Cuomo did not attend the inaugural yesterday, but his son, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, was on the dais, contemplating how the unexpected transition would play out in 2010.
Andrew had withdrawn his first candidacy for governor in 2002 because, he said, he did not want to oppose then-State Comptroller Carl McCall, also present, and introduced yesterday in Albany, the first African-American major party candidate for governor in New York State. Cuomo will either seek re-election or run for governor in 2010. It will depend in part on how well Governor Paterson performs, what the state's economic condition will be, whether Mayor Bloomberg takes the Republican nomination, and in part on unexpected events involving health, love, lust and criminal law. We try not to do predictions.
Both Silver and Patterson made extensive introductions of honored guests, and the substantive part of the governor's address was not prolix. He made a strong plea to his colleagues for co-operation and good will . He had kind words for Senator Bruno and other legislators with whom he must work. His attitude was positive, and the packed chamber was rooting for him to succeed, at least until they got into the details.
Paterson's first words on issues, well into his speech, were an expression of concern for single mothers trying to make ends meet, and then, the high cost of college tuition, which he would have to pay in a few years for his son, Alexander Basil Paterson, now 14 years old and entering the Beacon School, a public high school on the west side of Manhattan.
David Paterson is neither a John F. Kennedy or a Barack Obama. However, we just had an editor of the Harvard Law Review as governor and it didn't work out so well.
Fate has brought us a successor with greater skills in dealing with people, and if he succeeds, credit will go to Spitzer, who selected him for the position. Paterson should have mentioned him, just as Spitzer should have been gentle with Pataki, rather than referring to him as Rip Van Winkle, an early resident of the Hudson Valley.
It is anomalous, however, that the first in line of succession after Paterson is Joseph L. Bruno. According to the New York Times, Bruno has legal problems of his own which seem to be taking a considerable length of time to sort out. The Justice Department acted much more swiftly in the Spitzer case. Rule 10- "I wonder why."
Now is the time to begin the process of amending the State Constitution to conform with the United States Constitution. Under the 25th amendment, ratified in 1967. When there is a vacancy in the office of Vice President, the President selects a successor, who nomination must be confirmed by a majority vote in both houses of Congress. This amendment has been used twice, when Spiro Agnew was convicted of corruption, President Nixon nominated Congressman Gerald R. Ford. When Nixon resigned in 1974, President Ford nominated Nelson Rockefeller to fill the then vacant vice presidency, and Rockefeller was confirmed by Congress. On seeking election in 1976, Ford dumped Rockefeller as too liberal and chose Senator Dole of Kansas as his running made. It didn't help, the pair lost in November to Carter and Mondale.
The most important part of Paterson's speech was his recognition that the state's financial condition has deteriorated along with the economy. New York is particularly dependent on the FIRE sector (finance, insurance and real estate), which is usually good for us. However, in the spreading sub-prime collapse, substantial job losses have occurred and more are predicted.
The revenue shortfalls will impact a state budget which already carries a $4.3 billion deficit, to be made up in part by gimmicks like monetizing, i.e. mortgaging future lottery receipts. That is as bad as borrowing against future cigarette settlement receipts, which was the scheme Governor Pataki used to conceal operating deficits in his budget.
The truth is that the Governor, Senate and Assembly have in the past differed only in degrees of fiscal irresponsibility. The legislature is prisoner of the forces of spending. There is no sign that anyone is prepared to propose the spending cuts necessary to balance the budget. Unions and hospitals rally to force the state to spend even more.
Senator Bruno is determined to oppose tax increases, a position he must hold to in order to keep his slim majority. Remember the first President Bush. He said at the 1988 Republican convention "Read my lips, no new taxes," a line credited by Wikipedia to Peggy Noonan, now a columnist with the Wall Street Journal. In 1990 Bush 41 found that promise impossible to keep because uncontrollable rising expenditures were increasing the Federal deficit. The broken pledge was a particular target for Democrat Bill Clinton, who increased social security taxes after he was elected in 1992.
Governor Paterson has shown that he understands the fiscal crisis the state is facing, and believes that all parties must make sacrifices to resolve it. He called for a moratorium on "personal politics, party advantage and power struggles." He anticipates meeting with government and business leaders. We do not know whether he realizes that they are not necessarily adversaries, like business and labor in a zero-sum game. It is the role of government to find the balance between economic forces, not to be a constant ally of labor in its quest for pensions, privileges and statutory protections. He knows the score, but he is now playing for a much broader constituency than his state senate district.
Today is March 18, which means there are thirteen days remaining under the law to agree on a state budget. In Alaska, there is an annual betting pool called the Nenana Ice Classic, held each spring. Last year the jackpot was $303,272. People throughout the world wager on the date and time when the winter ice will break on the Tanana River. A continuing record has been kept since 1917. Last year the ice broke on April 27 at 3:47 p.m. Tickets are available until April 5, and you need not be present at the river in order to win. We are surprised that New York State has not done something similar since they seem to be into every other form of lottery.
One could wager with a friend (no vigorish) as to whether this year's state budget will be agreed to before the ice breaks on the Tenana. Knowing the legislature, we suspect that they may approve an outline of a budget to attempt to comploy with the law and to appear to be doing their jobs, leaving the heavy work for later in the year.
Albany is visibly pleased at Governor Spitzer's departure. Sadly, we observe that, with all his flaws, he may be better than some who will profit from his absence. We will learn over the months to come what happens when the residents take over the house of refuge. As always, we hope for the best. Excelsior. And, paraphrasing our new governor, God save New York.
#456 3.18.2008 1657wds
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