Paterson May Hit Reset Button as Polls Bottom Out

With new poll numbers coming out yesterday that look absolutely abysmal for Governor Paterson, his closest confidante is encouraging the governor to clean house and turn his staff upside-down. In their first meeting since O'Byrne was brought back into the fold this weekend, Politicker NY reports that the former chief of staff told Paterson to "get rid of some advisers and institute a wholesale change in staff." Paterson has already seen a rash of departures among his team since his public image went into freefall following the Senate replacement process. The reuniting of the governor and O'Byrne, who had resigned after revelations that he did not pay years of taxes due to depression, appears to have happened overnight—all beginning simply with the Post's suggestion in a Friday editorial that O'Byrne's return would be a "fascinating idea." Before his departure, O'Byrne was so domineering of Paterson's affairs that major figures in government allegedly referred to him as "governor" and some questioned how powerful his influence over Paterson was due to O'Byrne's control of what information could get through to the governor, who does not read.