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STATE NEWS
Paterson
NY Times (Jeremy Peters): Paterson Repeats Vow to Not Bow Out
If the White House believed its message to Gov. David A. Paterson to bow out of the 2010 governor’s race would be graciously heeded, it had a disappointment on Sunday when Mr. Paterson took to national television to reaffirm his intention to seek election. Appearing on “Meet the Press,” Mr. Paterson tried to cast himself as both a sympathetic figure and a governor with resolve, insisting he would not be pushed out of the race. “I’m blind, but I’m not oblivious. I realize that there are people who don’t want me to run,” he said. “But let me just tell you at the outset: I am running for governor in 2010.”
See also:
Albany Times Union (Casey Seiler): Governor: ‘I have a state to run’
Daily News (Kenneth Lovett): Gov. David Paterson: New York voters will decide my future – not President Obama’s administration
NY Post (Frederic Dicker): ‘Dead meat’ Dave will quit early: Dem
NY Post (Brendan Scott): Paterson: NYers can pick own guv
Buffalo News (Tom Precious): Paterson insists he remains in governor’s race
NY Observer (Steve Kornacki): Paterson Wastes His ‘Meet the Press’ Moment
NY Post (Geoff Earle): Paterson MIA from O’s speech
Gov. Paterson was noticeably absent from a high-profile meeting of powerhouse black political leaders last night, featuring President Obama as the keynote speaker. Instead, the governor, who is being pressured by the White House not to seek re-election, sat in a hotel room nearby, readying himself for an appearance on “Meet the Press” today, according to Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens). The annual Congressional Black Caucus conference dinner, at the Washington Convention Center, is a who’s who of the African-American community, with more than 5,000 people attending.
Buffalo News (Tom Precious): Paterson’s push fails to sway party figures
Since being unceremoniously undermined by President Obama, Gov. David A. Paterson has sprung to life. He talks of a “mission” to run next year; rebukes lawmakers, unions and others who make his job harder; and makes nonstop appearances designed to undo talk of a dead-in-the-water politician. Could the White House strategy to keep Paterson from running be backfiring? Might New York’s Democrats – no slouches when it comes to geographic pride – be upset with Chicago politicians telling them what to do? Hardly. “He’s toast,” one Democratic state senator said Friday.
Politics, Etc
Daily News (Patrice O’Shaughnessy): Andrew Cuomo: From Horror on the Hudson to Democrats’ chosen son
…Cuomo would not have been there at all if he hadn’t transformed himself from the Horror on the Hudson – an arrogant, bare-knuckled political operative for his father, Mario, the governor – to a respected, and respectful, public servant deserving of that office himself. Spending time with his daughters and overcoming personal setbacks have contributed to the evolution, observers say. “As you grow older you mature, and you understand what’s important,” said Democratic consultant Hank Sheinkopf, who has known Cuomo since 1977. Former Mayor Ed Koch, a bitter enemy in the 1977 mayoral race in which he beat Cuomo’s father, said Cuomo has “vastly changed, and for the better.
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NY Post (Maureen Callahan): Andrew Cuomo’s makeunder: Can the softening of the ‘Prince of Darkness’ propel him into the governor’s seat?
Daily News (David Saltonstall): Charlie Rangel rips President Obama for asking Gov. Paterson to drop out
Rep. Charlie Rangel, the dean of New York’s congressional delegation, gives the Obama White House and its local emissaries flunking grades for trying to bully Gov. Paterson into retirement. “The whole thing to me was not presidential,” Rangel said contemptuously of the Sept. 14 sitdown when a top Obama aide asked the governor to reconsider his political future. “It wasn’t good for the President, and it wasn’t good for the governor,” Rangel, 79, told the Daily News in his harshest comments to date… But many believe there’s a dose of sour grapes in Rangel’s words, and that it is mostly his own fault that the White House went around him.
Labor, Workforce
Newsday (James Madore): Furloughs, layoffs may be state’s next steps
Gov. David A. Paterson and some lawmakers are raising the specter of furloughs – and even layoffs – of state workers to help close the growing budget deficit, as other big states have done. “We’ve not had to furlough or lay off any workers, but the means of balancing budgets are becoming less and less available, and everything is on the table,” Paterson said recently. “We are going to have to make sure New York can still meet its obligations, that we don’t delay payments which would injure our financial status.” New York has been the exception among large states in not slashing its 200,000-person payroll.
Budget, Taxes
Newsday (James Madore): Obama’s push against Paterson may cost taxpayers
In undercutting Gov. David A. Paterson’s 2010 election bid, the White House may have inadvertently crippled his ability to deal with New York’s No. 1 problem: a budget deficit that is worsening by the week, experts said. Lawmakers now could be more prone to ignore Paterson’s call for quick action to erase the $3 billion in red ink. If they procrastinate too long, the experts said, there will be no option besides slashing social services and aid to localities, hiking property taxes and laying off state workers. Money is leaving the treasury faster than tax collections are coming in, they said.
Albany Times Union (James Odato): Gaming receipts erratic
As state leaders plan for some $400 million more a year in revenue from a proposed Aqueduct Race Track racino, they would do well to bear in mind the need for conservative spending. That’s due to the risks of relying on gambling revenues, perils that are examined in a new report from the Rockefeller Institute. In the study, researchers Robert B. Ward and Lucy Dadayan found just how weak casino, racino and lottery revenues became nationwide and in New York during this recession. The bottom line: Even in good economic years, gambling revenue growth won’t keep pace with the growth in state spending. Here in New York, everybody’s talking about the next racino that’s going to be opened,” said Ward.
NYC NEWS
Politics, Etc.
NY Times (Sam Roberts): A Lingering Question: Are Runoffs Superfluous?
Here is how the primary runoff in New York was supposed to work: To avoid nominating a politically vulnerable fringe candidate for the general election in November, a second election would be conducted between the top two vote-getters if no one received at least 40 percent of the vote. Here is how it has worked since the first runoff, in 1973, in a city where enrolled Democrats outnumber Republicans by about 6 to 1: More often than not, the citywide candidate who finished first in the primary but failed to win by 40 percent won in the runoff and then went on to easily win the election in November…Democratic Party regulars, who lobbied for runoffs originally, have been largely supplanted in organizational skills by the Working Families Party and the labor unions that form the basis of the party’s support. Working Families is supporting Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Liu. “This is a test of the Working Families Party,” Mr. Sheinkopf said, referring to the runoff. “They haven’t done this before.”
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NY Post (Sally Goldenberg): Runoff frenzy
NY Times (Jack Healy): Rep. Maloney’s Husband Dies on Tibet Trek
The husband of Representative Carolyn B. Maloney of New York died after scaling a mountain peak during an expedition in Tibet, Ms. Maloney’s office announced on Saturday. Her husband, Clifton H. W. Maloney, 71, had returned safely to a high-altitude base camp after reaching the summit of the 27,000-foot Himalayan peak Cho Oyu, according to a statement from George Arzt, a family friend. Mr. Maloney said he was “the happiest man in the world,” went to sleep and never woke up, the statement said. The cause of death had not been determined, but an autopsy was expected to be conducted when Mr. Maloney’s body was brought back to the United States, Mr. Arzt said.
See also:
Daily News (Katz et al): Mayor Bloomberg mourns death of Rep. Carolyn Maloney’s husband during mountain expedition in China
NY Post (David Seifman): Council sharks circling Quinn
THE long knives are out for City Council Speaker Christine Quinn. Emboldened by the results of this month’s Democratic primaries, in which five council incumbents were defeated and a sixth held on by a whisker-thin margin, critics of Quinn (right) are assessing whether there’s an opening for a coup. At least four of the five losers were reliable Quinn allies. Tom White (D-Queens), another ally, squeaked through by five votes. Sources said Brooklyn Democratic leader Vito Lopez, whose relationship with Quinn is strained, is planning to meet with his Bronx counterpart, Carl Heastie, to determine whether they can round up the 26 votes needed to install their own candidate in the speaker’s job.
NY Times (Michael Barbaro): Bloomberg Campaign Attacks Thompson on His Record in Education
Despite what aides say is a comfortable lead in the polls, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg has unleashed a harsh television advertisement that seeks to undercut his rival’s record on public school education, an issue at the core of the mayor’s bid for a third term. The commercial compares the performance of New York City schools under Mr. Bloomberg and under Comptroller William C. Thompson Jr., the Democratic nominee for mayor, who served as president of the now-defunct Board of Education from 1996 to 2001. It highlights a familiar theme in Mr. Bloomberg’s re-election bid, portraying Mr. Thompson as a vestige of an old, broken system and suggesting that the mayor has capitalized on his political independence to institute positive reforms.
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NY Time (The Ad Campaign): Comparing Effectiveness in the City’s Schools
NY Post (Maggie Haberman): Schools cannot pay this Bill: Mike
Daily News (Elizabeth Benjamin): Obama may sit out New York City mayor’s race between Bloomberg and Thompson
President Obama is refusing to get involved in the city mayor’s race unless Bill Thompson can somehow close the gap with Mayor Bloomberg. And that’s not looking likely. “I think he’s going to hedge,” a Democrat close to Thompson glumly predicted. “The first black President who tells the first black governor to get out, and he won’t help the guy who wants to be the second black mayor? The irony is thick.” There’s just five weeks until the mayoral election.
NY Times (Julie Bosman): A Tall Tale Enlivens a Primary
In politics, it is generally considered a good and electorally favorable thing to be the tallest man in the race. Bill de Blasio, who is 6-foot-5, holds that distinction in the race leading up to the Democratic-primary runoff for public advocate on Tuesday.. He is so tall that he routinely adopts a slight stoop while talking to voters. And he appeared to scare the wits out of an older voter on the Upper West Side two weeks ago, when he walked into a senior center to shake some hands. “Is he eight feet tall?” the voter shouted from the back of the room. “Only six-five,” Mr. de Blasio called out, trying to sound reassuring.
NY Post (David Seifman): Yassky: Beware Liu as 3rd party’s ‘plaything’
The union-backed Working Families Party will use the Comptroller’s Office as its “plaything” if its candidate for the office, John Liu, wins Tuesday’s runoff election, rival candidate David Yassky charged yesterday… “There are special interests who want to make sure that they control the city Comptroller’s Office.” Asked if he was referring to the Working Families Party, Yassky added: “The Working Families Party has certainly launched an enormous effort to make sure they have a say in which person is elected comptroller. My goal is to make sure every New Yorker has his or her say.” Juanita Scarlett, Liu’s spokeswoman, responded that Yassky didn’t seem to have any qualms about the WFP when he was seeking its endorsement earlier in the campaign. “Every candidate for comptroller aggressively sought support of the Working Families Party,” she said. “John is proud to be endorsed by the WFP primarily because of the principled position he took on term limits.”
Daily News (Adam Lisberg): Veterans groups AWOL from Mayor Bloomberg’s list of endorsements
Mayor Bloomberg appears to have a veteran problem. As of last week, his campaign counted more than 400 endorsements – but just one of them was from a veterans group. And that group doesn’t even exist. The “Panamanian and Ethnic American Veterans Political Action Committee,” which has its own page on Bloomberg’s Web site, has never filed any paperwork, made any donations or endorsed a candidate – besides Bloomberg… “At the beginning, we weren’t doing anything politically,” Martino said last week. “This year, they came over and asked us to give them our support.” He said a Bloomberg campaign worker told them the mayor could help them get a building for their center – but did not offer any specifics, or offer it as a quid pro quo.
Transit
NY Times (Michael Grynbaum): M.T.A. Is Easing Its Strict, Sometimes Combative, Approach to Outside Web Developers
For months, entrepreneurial software designers have tried to create programs that ease the hassle of getting around New York. But in many instances, the designers encountered an unexpected bug: the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. The agency would demand thousands of dollars in fees and might also send a cease-and-desist order to the digital doorsteps of local developers who used system timetables, maps and routes in their applications.
Etc.
Daily News (Pearson and Wilkins): Coney Island food stamp office closing, forcing poor to travel to Manhattan
A heavily trafficked Coney Island food stamp office is slated to be closed by city officials next month – and area residents say they’ll have to go to lower Manhattan for service. “They already closed my old one and that was a pain in the neck,” said single mom Tina Morales, 25, of Borough Park. “This is really bad. The next closest one is downtown Manhattan. It’s horrible.”
WESTCHESTER/ROCKLAND/HUDSON VALLEY NEWS
Journal News (Brian Tumulty): Section 8, colleges get much of local stimulus; Putnam sees little
Direct grants and contracts awarded locally under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act have been unevenly distributed among Putnam, Rockland and Westchester counties. Of the money distributed so far, rural Putnam County has received only $9.15 per capita, while Westchester County has received $69.50 per capita and Rockland has $96.21 per capita, according to a USA Today database that tracks grants and contracts awarded so far from Washington to state and local governments, colleges and community organizations. Much of the money that has flowed into the Lower Hudson Valley has been for Section 8 low-income housing assistance.
LONG ISLAND NEWS
Newsday (Rick Brand): Levy’s Suffolk budget plan called overly optimistic
When Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy conducted a briefing on his proposed $2.4-billion 2010 budget earlier this month, he took pains to emphasize he did not include any “speculative revenues.” Although Levy was not specific, it was clear he was referring to fellow Democrat Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi’s budget, which is banking on $16 million in new revenue from a $1.50-a-pack cigarette tax that needs Albany legislation and so far has gone nowhere. But Levy’s own budget is not without his own fiscal “leap of faith,” forecasting a 5 percent growth in sales tax revenue next year at the same time he is projecting 2009 receipts to plummet 6 percent.
Newsday (Dan Janison): Will incumbents stay full term if re-elected?
A standard question for incumbents seeking re-election: Will you stay the full term if voters choose you again? Of Nassau’s four countywide elected officials, only Maureen O’Connell, the county clerk, offers a plain “Yes.” Democratic Comptroller Howard Weitzman responds: “I expect to be with the county for another four years.” Democratic District Attorney Kathleen Rice draws mention as a prospect for state attorney general next year. On a full term, Tucker Green of her campaign says: “There isn’t a single person in any profession that can make that promise honestly, because things happen and life and landscapes change…”
CENTRAL NY/FINGERLAKES/SOUTHERN TIER NEWS
Democrat and Chronicle (Jill Terreri): GOP proposes new whistleblower law
A local law that would strengthen protections for whistleblowers in county government will eventually face the scrutiny of county lawmakers. If this sounds familiar, it’s because this local law, proposed by majority Republicans in the Monroe County Legislature, is similar to one proposed by Democrats in July. At that time, Legislature President Wayne Zyra, R-Sweden, said the legislation was “out of order.” The legislation – Democrats called it “Strengthening the Whistleblower Protection Law,” Republicans use “enhancing” instead – is sponsored by Legislator Jack Driscoll, R-Henrietta.
Democrat and Chronicle (Gary Craig): GOP chief among few accused of ‘rewarding official misconduct’
When county grand jurors recently indicted a high-ranking Monroe County Republican official for “rewarding official misconduct,” they were turning to a felony statute rarely used in New York. There have only been 25 arrests on charges of rewarding official misconduct in New York since Jan. 1, 2007, according to the state Division of Criminal Justice Services. One of those arrested was Andrew Moore, the now-suspended Monroe County GOP executive director, who also is an elected member of the Penfield Town Board.
CAPITOL REGION/NORTH COUNTRY NEWS
Albany Times Union (Brendan Lyons): Judge to act in vote case: Court anticipated to name special prosecutor to probe Troy primary absentee ballot fraud allegations as WFP officials call for investigation
A special prosecutor is expected to be appointed Monday to investigate widespread allegations of voter fraud linked to dozens of absentee ballots on the Working Families Party line in the city… The voting scandal centers on allegations that people associated with the city’s Democratic party forged absentee ballots attributed to several dozen voters, including students and people living in the city’s public housing complexes. The ballots were listed under the names of people who had registered to vote on the Working Families Party line. The WFP has been a battleground third-party line between the city’s Republicans and Democrats for years… Karen Scharff, co-chair of the Capital District WFP, on Saturday called for an outside investigation. “It’s extremely troubling that local Democrats in Troy appear to have committed fraud in an attempt to win a primary fight with Troy Republicans for our ballot line,” Scharff said. ”We call on the district attorney to investigate this matter immediately and prosecute any acts of voter fraud to the fullest extent of the law.”
Albany Times Union (Lauren Stanforth): Activist group alive
The city’s ACORN chapter, the only one of its kind in New York state outside the New York City area, is still alive despite having no leader since August, members of the organization say. Harold Miller, the community organization’s upstate director, said Sunday the Schenectady chapter of the nonprofit advocacy group has been without a leader since organizer Chris Franklin departed more than a month ago. Miller said he will take over as chapter director by Oct. 5. Miller left the Capital Region temporarily to work on election campaigns in New York City. Franklin left his ACORN job to return to school, Miller said.
WESTERN NY NEWS
Art Voice: REUNITED
Looks like Mayor Byron Brown and Steve Pigeon are together again, again. Their on again, off again political relationship appeared to be down for the count just two months prior to the September 15 Democratic primary, in the fallout of the NYS Senate coup that stalled Albany this summer. At the time, the Buffalo News described Pigeon as “radioactive,” explaining why Brown’s campaign declined a June 25 fundraiser Pigeon was to host. The event might have raised $100,000 for the mayor’s campaign. Now, Pigeon is on the State payroll for $150,000 as counsel to Pedro Espada (the off again, on again Democratic senator who left and rejoined the party along with Hiram Monserrate this summer), and he is also serving as Mayor Brown’s lawyer, according to this petition filed last Friday.
NATIONAL NEWS
NY Times (Herszenhorn and Pear): Reid the Quarterback May Call on Obama to Referee
As the Senate majority leader, Harry Reid, Democrat of Nevada, takes on the delicate task of melding two competing versions of major health care legislation, aides say he will lean heavily on President Obama to arbitrate a number of contentious issues that still threaten to divide liberal and centrist Democrats and derail a final bill. Mr. Reid’s challenge is to stitch together legislation that can win 60 votes to stop a Republican filibuster. It must satisfy liberals demanding more generous subsidies and safety-net provisions for the middle class, without alienating centrist budget hawks or Senator Olympia J. Snowe of Maine, the only Republican who has indicated she might back the bill.
NY Times (Sheryl Stolberg): Taking Health Care Courtship Up Another Notch
With its swanky wine bar and jazz pianist, the 701 Restaurant is one of those downtown spots where lobbyists woo clients and couples pursue romance. But it was a political courtship – President Obama’s quest for a health care overhaul – that brought the White House budget director, Peter R. Orszag, and Senator Susan Collins of Maine together for a recent dinner there. Ms. Collins is one of a handful of moderate Republicans who might provide the president a pivotal vote, but she is playing hard to get. Over entrees – she had lamb loin, he had Scottish salmon – they talked about cutting health costs and about “the Mayo Clinic experience,” Ms. Collins said.
NY Times (Robert McFadden): William Safire, Political Columnist and Oracle of Language, Dies at 79
William Safire, a speechwriter for President Richard M. Nixon and a Pulitzer Prize-winning political columnist for The New York Times who also wrote novels, books on politics and a Malaprop’s treasury of articles on language, died at a hospice in Rockville, Md., on Sunday. He was 79. The cause was pancreatic cancer, said Martin Tolchin, a friend of the family. There may be many sides in a genteel debate, but in the Safire world of politics and journalism it was simpler: There was his own unambiguous wit and wisdom on one hand and, on the other, the blubber of fools he called “nattering nabobs of negativism” and “hopeless, hysterical hypochondriacs of history.”
