Results tagged “governorpaterson”

New York State's dire budget situation gets the front page treatment from the NY Times today. And the Times sounds the alarm bells and points a finger in the direction of a certain state body:

"Without a budget deal, New York will be left with just $36 million in the bank by the end of December, according to current projections. And the money will last that long, officials say, only if the state chooses to fully exhaust its emergency reserves by tapping several billion dollars’ worth of temporary loans from its rainy-day fund and short-term investments.

Continue reading "New York State Running Out Of Money"

Even though the State Legislature has been in special session the past few weeks at Governor Paterson's request because of the state's huge $3.2 billion deficit, no action has been taken to, you know, deal with the deficit and cut the state budget. Yesterday, Paterson asked for special, emergency power to cut the budget himself, which lawmakers, naturally, thought was crazy. Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos declared, "This is not the old Soviet Union."

Albany is doing what it does best—not coming to an agreement about important stuff! Lawmakers are holding another special session to try to deal with the state's $3.2 billion deficit, something they've been meeting about for the past two weeks. The Assembly is apparently upset the Senate can't get their act together and may even consider a two-way deal with just Governor Paterson. State Senate President Pro Tem Malcolm Smith told NY1, “I think the governor wants the $3.2 billion; we're trying to indicate to him that we may not get exactly there, but we're very close, and I think that's where the stalemate is."

Perhaps realizing that blaming NY State's woes on Governor Paterson's blindness wasn't a great idea, media mogul Rupert Murdoch apologized to Paterson. The Daily Politics reports, "Apparently, Paterson was willing to chalk Murdoch's bizarre comments up to a 'random misstatement,' according to this source, and did not try to negotiate more favorable coverage from the tab while he had the news mogul on the line. (Remember: This is the same newspaper that portrayed Paterson as Pinocchio in the wake of the Caroline Kennedy debacle)." Gawker is hopeful: "We look forward to more random misstatements in the near future."

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch blamed some of New York's troubles on Gov. David Paterson's blindness, which the Australian billionaire claims makes it hard for Paterson to "really know what's going on."

A day after voicing his opposition to plans to try Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspected terrorists in New York, Gov. David Paterson backtracked from those statements and blamed the press for sensationalizing his remarks. "We don't need to spend a lot of time on this," he said. "The decision is made. That's the president's decision. We're Americans. We will follow the decision and we'll trust the President."

Gov. David Paterson followed former Mayor Rudy Giuliani's lead yesterday, when he denounced plans to hold the trial for Kalid Shaikh Mohammed and four other suspected terrorists in New York.

From the Post: "Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has opened up a staggering 59-point lead over Gov. Paterson after the embattled governor spent $500,000 on personal TV ads aimed at trying to fix his image... Cuomo extended his already massive lead over Paterson in a potential primary next year for the state's top job. The poll found Cuomo would beat his fellow Democrat 75-16 in a hypothetical 2010 match-up, according to the statewide Siena Research Institute."

With growing outrage over the state's plan to charge all drivers $25 for new license plates—up from the current $15 and up from $5.50 in 2001—Governor David Paterson said yesterday, "If the Legislature works with me, prior to the release of the 2010-11 Executive Budget, to identify real, recurring savings that will replace the revenue that would be lost, I will eliminate the new license plate requirement."

Naturally, not many people are happy with the state's decision to change license plates and charge $25 in the process. Governor Paterson said he'd nix the fee—if there was some other way to generate $129 million, "I'm optimistic I can find a way to replace the $129 million hole -- and I'll reconsider it. I'll go back and take a look at the license plates because it has upset so many people... What I would like is help figuring out how to replace it." So, we guess that the DMV's explanation that the license plates had to be changed for safety reasons is BS, then?

The State Senate failed to vote on a measure legalizing same-sex marriage yesterday, but after a two hour closed door meeting with Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson, Senate President Malcolm Smith, and bill sponsor Thomas Duane, Governor Paterson finally emerged to tell reporters that an up-or-down vote on same-sex marriage will be held "at a date not certain between now and the end of the year." Earlier, when pressed about the bill's chances in the Senate, Paterson said, "I can't explain the dynamic of the Senate, because nobody can."

While addressing the special session of the State Legislature, Governor David Paterson made it clear that the state's budget problems were real—and that the lawmakers had to deal with it. Paterson, who has proposed $3 billion in cuts to, mostly, education and Medicaid, said, "I will mortgage my political career on this plan. We stand on the brink of a financial challenge of unprecedented magnitude in the history of this state. This is a historic moment. We’re going to have to make historic decisions." He also added, "Unless immediate action is taken, we are going to have challenges to our state financials and cash flow in 4½ weeks. Frankly, we're running out of money. Right now we stand on the brink of a financial challenge of unprecedented magnitude in the history of the state. That's not opinion, that's not exaggeration -- that's fact."

Get ready for some Albany-style bickering! Tomorrow, Governor Paterson will convene a special session of the Legislature to discussion issues like the $3 billion budget deficit and—possibly—gay marriage, but the NY Times is worried enough that it has an editorial, "Albany’s toughest and most important job right now is to make certain that New York does not become another California, running out of cash, paying bills with i.o.u.’s and watching state credit ratings deteriorate."

Embattled by the state's economy and some of his (and his staff's) own missteps, Governor Paterson is considered an underdog to run for governor next year. But here he is, releasing television ads touting his case. The NY Times says of the pair of ads, "The two ads, each 30 seconds long, highlight his biography and address criticism Mr. Paterson has faced from labor unions and business interests over his proposed cuts to the state budget. Both directly confront what polls say is Mr. Paterson’s central political problem: widespread public skepticism that he has the ability to lead the state effectively."

Governor Paterson on how the State Senate doesn't want to head to Albany for a special session to deal with issues like the budget and gay marriage: "I'm getting some push back about even being allowed to speak before my colleagues. Now if this was Bosnia or in the middle of Tehran, maybe I would understand why this is happening, but this is New York State and the United States of America." This is how the Daily News explains it, "Senate Democrats don't want to return to Albany if there is no budget deal. And if there is a deal, there is no reason for Paterson to address lawmakers, the aide said." Jeez, can they do their jobs already and figure out the budget?

Yesterday, the Post reported that Governor Paterson had attended Game 1 of the World Series with his son, his son's girlfriend, and two aides after "secretly solicit[ing]" the tickets. Now, the state's ethics committee is looking into the incident.

Governor Paterson has declared a state of emergency over swine flu. The AP reports, "The executive order means that far more health care professionals -- including dentists -- will be permitted to administer vaccines with only brief training. The order is needed to suspend provisions of state law.State officials say the number of vaccine doses is also being increased. The federal government is ramping up availability of the vaccine, allowing the state to order twice as many doses as a week ago, a trend that's expected to continue." President Obama declared swine flu a "national emergency" a few days ago.

What's this? Governor Paterson, who has repeatedly said he will run for governor next year, is reportedly going to "reassess" his chances of winning the race, if his approval ratings continue to suck. A Democratic source told the Daily News, "He's in it, he's planning to put the team together, but he's said if his numbers don't improve by the beginning of the year, he would have to reassess his campaign."

Remember when Caroline Kennedy was, you know, thinking about, you know, taking over Hillary Clinton's, you know, Senate seat? Governor Paterson seemed poised to appoint her but then she dropped out quickly and all these rumors about tax problems or issues with a domestic worker popped up...and it turned out the leaks were from Paterson's own staff! Well, nine months later, Paterson won't have to face heat over that, because the state's Ethics Panel doesn't think there's anything to it.

With his proposed $3 billion budget and other issues to contend with, Governor Paterson has called a special session of the State Legislature next month—plus he wants a "leaders meeting" in NYC this Thursday, which seems like it would include State Senator Pedro Espada Jr. among the leaders, since he is the Senate Majority leader.

Earlier this week, Paterson announced he would put the bill in front of the Senate during next week's special session. He had proposed the bill back in April, and the Assembly passed it in in May, but the bill was placed on the back burner after the Senate coup. However, the Senate is notoriously split on the issue and Paterson doesn't have much juice to twist Senators' arms.

Uber-popular Gov. Paterson is not only pushing ahead with his fat tax, he's also bringing the same-sex marriage bill back to the Legislature in next week's special session, which will deal with unresolved bills and other matters that were tabled in the midst of the summer coup. According to aides, the Gov. wants to force the Senate to deal with Senator Tom Duane's marriage-equality bill one way or the other—even though he can't force them to vote on it. Some think, considering his dismal ratings, this is a go-for-broke move that aides hope can help his ailing political fortunes.

In December, Governor Paterson floated the idea of an 18% tax non-diet soft drinks, as part of a plan to close the $3 billion budget gap and perhaps influence New Yorkers to choose healthier beverages. Then the beverage industry opened up a can of whoop-ass, and Paterson backed off, explaining that "often publicity is as important as legislation." Now, perhaps inspired by a 3 cent tax on soda being considered in Washington, Paterson has revived his own soda tax dreams.

A new Siena poll reveals that voters are still unhappy with Governor Paterson: His job performance is 19% positive, 79% negative and only 15% of respondents want to re-elect him (72% say there should be someone else). Here's something to think about: Rudy Giuliani is gaining on Andrew Cuomo in a hypothetical 2010 gubernatorial matchup: last month, Cuomo got 52% and Giuilani 39% while this month, it's Cuomo 50% and Giuliani 43%. Giuliani beats Paterson 56% to 33%.

In an exclusive interview with NY1, Governor Paterson discussed his 2010 prospects and revealed that he wouldn't mind appearing on Saturday Night Live, which has skewered him repeatedly. In fact, Paterson also dissed the show, "I've offered to come on 'Saturday Night Live' because I thought I would help them get the ratings. Because clearly that humor that they had when they first had Chevy Chase, Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi... has gone [with] this [current] cast of characters. I thought I would show some benevolence as governor and help them out a little bit."

After his $3 billion in budget cuts weren't warmly received by some lawmakers, Governor Paterson continues to be on the offensive. The Post reports that yesterday, Paterson called lawmakers who opposed his $1 billion in cuts to education and Medicaid "selfish" and "obtuse." And he had this to say to special interest groups: "We are in a recession. You can't say, 'I understand we're in a recession,' and not have any idea of what that actually means in terms of sacrifices we all have to make."

After unveiling his $3 billion in budget cuts for this year (not to mention another $2 billion next) on Thursday, Governor Paterson is on the offensive, appearing on numerous radio and TV stations. Why the media blitz? Because some state lawmakers have complained about the cuts, leaving Paterson to fire back, "They can find all kinds of ways to spend money but never seem to be able to meet obligations."

As he suggested—and as everyone expected—Governor Paterson's deficit reduction plan was indeed grim: He proposed cutting a total of $5 billion from the budget over two years, $3 billion for this fiscal year and $2 billion from next. Paterson pleaded for the State Legislature to work with him, "During a time of uncommon difficulty, we need to work together for the common good and enact a consensus plan that helps us avoid the severe consequences faced by other states that failed to swiftly address their budget problems. This will mean hard and painful choices, but that is exactly the type of leadership New Yorkers deserve from their public officials."

Today, Governor David Paterson will present his plan for about $2.5 billion in budget cuts. When asked about it, Paterson previously only said, "Pain," but he also told the Daily News, "It's going to be pretty grim. It's going to be fair. It's going to be across the board. It's going to be hard to endure, but the consequences [of doing nothing] are harder."

Today is the day that the hard-fought changes to the Rockefeller-era Drug Laws go into effect, and lawyers for hundreds of low-level drug offenders in New York prisons are preparing petitions for shortened sentences or release. Once among the harshest in the nation, the laws were enacted more than 30 years ago under Governor Nelson Rockefeller, and required mandatory prison terms for a variety of drug crimes.