Results tagged “statedemocrats”

With the latest poll showing Governor Paterson now trailing Andrew Cuomo by a margin of over 4:1, state Democrats are continuing to quietly take one more step away from the governor and his election hopes while his attention is elsewhere. When asked if polls were giving him pause, Paterson said, “No, but where there is no pause is [in] the seemingly excessive printing of political polls. If there were one or two, I might have actually thought about it, but because there are 50, I’m finding it curiously odd." A new piece on the state of the campaign in the Observer quotes Democratic leaders saying that Paterson's time limit might be the end of the year before officials begin forcing him aside, possibly even sooner before labor leaders call for him not to run. The Paterson campaign seems to be counting on his continued hard-line stance against an unpopular legislature to give him a boost, but few seem to be giving Paterson good odds at gaining much traction against a headstrong state senate. One Democratic chair upstate says, “I’m going to see what Paterson decides. Things could happen. Maybe Obama will appoint him ambassador or something and he won’t run.”

Rudy Giuliani sure didn't sound like someone on the verge of making a run for governor while speaking at a Crain's New York breakfast this morning. Giuiani joked about the state GOP, “There’s no question that if you have to rely on George Pataki and me, you’re in big trouble." He said that he wasn't paying close attention to state issues and added, "I got elected mayor, I believe, on the theory of — it can't get worse. So if it gets to that point, maybe I'll decide [to go for it]." (But he does NY's got big problems!) Meanwhile Governor Paterson was shrugging off speculation about Democrats this week who gathered and talked about how poor his chances were of getting elected. He said, "A lot of people are voicing concerns when they should be focusing on the fact that this state overspends, that this state has unfortunately paid more attention to personal interests than the interests of the entire group of people that live here in this state." The governor also made a personal appearance in town this morning—partying at the nightclub Taj while Funkmaster Flex Dj'd until 1 a.m. A Gawker tipster spotted the governor said, "He need to get his blind ass home."

New poll numbers released today indicate that Governor Paterson hasn't been able to bounce back in the eyes of voters despite recent moves to introduce gay marriage legislation, push the MTA bailout through legislature and an aggressive stance indicating that he has every intention of running in next year's election. A Quinnipiac poll shows the governor's disapproval rating remaining at over sixty percent (versus 28% approving) statewide and still significantly trailing Andrew Cuomo, including among black voters. Will a Cuomo challenge continue to be presented as alienating to African-Americans if that remains the case? Interestingly, despite Paterson stepping up his early 2010 campaign, over sixty percent of New Yorkers don't believe he will run—almost half also believe that such a run would be "bad for other Democrats."

New York Congressional Democrats are warning the state chairwoman not to anoint Kirsten Gillibrand as the party's candidate for Senate in 2010 just yet. Ten representatives signed a letter sent to the party's chair, June O'Neill, telling her not to use party resources to back the incumbent senator. The letter said, "The members of the Democratic State Committee deserve to make a [Senate] choice without being impaired or prejudiced in any way...Some of the cosigners of this letter may support Senator Gillibrand. Some are considering running for the seat." Those who signed and are considering a run include Carolyn McCarthy, Carolyn Maloney and Steve Israel. Gillibrand's reception from many state Dems since being named to the Senate in January has been chilly to say the least. Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer was the most recent Democrat to make it clear that he'd like to see another Democrat representing New York in the Senate—even if he has to run to do it.

The Paterson administration sounds like a very fragile operation right now. Even as the Kennedy-Gillibrand Senate debacle moves further into the rear view, sources are telling local papers that the state house is in shambles and possibly has been since the resignation of the governor's top aide, Charles O'Byrne. A Democratic leader tells Elizabeth Benjamin of the News, "He refuses to lead, and nobody is empowered enough to set things straight." Another one tells her, "(Paterson) has to demonstrate something he hasn't shown yet—that he can do the job." The Post doesn't talk to anyone much kinder to the governor with a policy expert describing one of his top aides as "insecure, easily rattled, verbally abusive...she's in totally over her head." Fred Dicker of the Post sums it all up by referring to Paterson's staff as "a collection of indecisive bureaucrats whose day-to-day operations are wracked by internal chaos and fraught with divided loyalties."

After his $500,000 donation to NY State Republicans was revealed, Mayor Bloomberg explained why he did it to reporters while attending a Mayors Against Illegal Guns conference, "I've said repeatedly, I will help those who help us. They have stood up for the city a number of times — when we needed to have a voice in Albany and we didn't have that voice from the Assembly or from the governor, whether it was the last governor or this governor."

"With Spitzer, it seems like he’s walked into buzz saws of his own devising." - Richard Norton Smith, biographer of former Gov. Thomas E. Dewey, to the NY Times Today, Governor Spitzer dropped in on the State Assembly Democrats' annual meeting, which has been characterized as being "almost like a pre-game show to the session," held at the Marriott in downtown Brooklyn. According to video from Elizabeth Benjamin at the Daily Politics, an almost warm-and-...