All Over Albany

Reaction to the legislative assault on salt

All this should probably taken with a grain of... well... you know.

As you might have heard, state assemblyman Felix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn) has proposed a bill that would ban restaurants from using salt in the preparation of food.

That hasn't exactly gone over well. A quick spin around the table for reaction after the jump.

Also: a scan of Ortiz's other fun-filled legislation.

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Embarrassed to be New Yorkers

David Paterson's favorability ratings since becoming governor, as tracked by the Siena poll

The Siena poll out today reports that 54 percent of respondents said they agree that "What's going on in Albany makes me embarrassed to call myself a New Yorker."

SRI also reports that 55 percent of those polled said they think David Paterson should serve out his term. That reverses a recent slide for Paterson across a handful of polls:

March 2: Marist reports 66 percent say Paterson should stay stay

March 3: Quinnipiac reports 61 percent say stay

March 5: Quinnipiac reports 46 percent say stay

March 8: Siena reports 55 percent say stay

Not that people are warming back up to David Paterson. This most recent Siena poll reports that Paterson's unfavorable rating is at its highest point (67 percent).

Here's the full listing of the poll results.

Speed reading the coverage of David Paterson

In retrospect, not exactly a dream team.

We've read (too) much of the reaction to David Paterson's decision to exit the race for the governor.

Here are a bunch of the quick-scan highlights -- about lame duck status, Paterson's work habits, calls for resignation, the budget, Andrew Cuomo and... yet another SNL skit.

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A quick scan of the Paterson budget

David Paterson at today's budget presentation.

Updated at 1:44 pm

The Paterson administration officially released its proposed 2010-2011 state budget today. David Paterson called the state's financial picture "lugubrious" and said his proposal was "a budget of necessity." He also criticized past budgets: "We can no longer afford this spending addiction."

A (relatively) quick scan of the proposed budget is after the jump. It includes items about a soda tax, wine in supermarkets, speed cameras, The Egg and ultimate fighting.

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Paterson enters the octagon

"Sources" tell NYDN that David Paterson will include a measure legalizing ultimate fighting in his proposed budget plan later this month.

Reps from the Ultimate Fighting Championship have been lobbying for legalization in NY the last few years -- and apparently Paterson sees this as a way to generate revenue. A Bronx assemblyman floated the same idea earlier this year.

Colonie assemblyman Bob Reilly has been one of the most outspoken critics of legalizing MMA. That prompted a UK paper to wonder if Reilly was "the most hated man in MMA."

photo: Flickr user Lee Brimelow

State of the State speed read

You could spend half an hour listening to David Paterson's State of the State speech from today... or you could skim through this quick scan version.

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Poll: almost half of New Yorkers "disappointed" by same-sex marriage vote

So reports the Siena poll out today.

When asked if they were "pleased" or "disappointed" by the state Senate's rejection of the same-sex marriage vote, 47 percent of respondents said they were disappointed (41 percent said they were pleased).

The poll also asked people whether they would like to change the current system in which state legislators can have outside jobs (perhaps this question was prompted by the Joe Bruno trial). Sixty-three percent of respondents said they favored "changing the system" (31 percent said they favored keeping the same).

Of those people who said they wanted to change the system, 43 percent said they wanted legislators to "publicly disclose the size and source of their outside income." Twenty-six percent said they'd like to see legislators prohibited from having other jobs -- with no pay increase. And 23 percent say they'd like to see legislators prohibited from outside jobs -- but with a pay raise.

Here are the results broken down by demographic categories.

Speed reading the coverage of the Joe Bruno guilty verdict

We've sifted through the coverage of Joe Bruno's conviction on federal corruption charges.

Here are a bunch of the quick-scan highlights...

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Joe Bruno guilty on two counts

The jury in the Joe Bruno case has found him guilty on two counts, not guilty on five and they're stuck on one of the counts. [@WNYT]

Here's a list of the counts. [CBS6]

The jury found Bruno guilty on counts 4 and 8 in the indictment (here's the TU's plain English description of the counts).

Those counts both involve Loudonville businessman Jared Abbruzzese:

• Count 4 alleged that Bruno, as "part of the scheme and artifice to defraud" the public of his honest services, took $200,000 from two Abbruzzese companies for "consulting." (indictment page 23)
• Count 8 alleged that Bruno, through his Mountain View Farm, sold a virtually worthless horse to Abbruzzese for $80,000 -- prosecutors argued the sale was compensation for a canceled consulting contract between Bruno and an another telecommunications company with which Abbruzzese was involved. (indictment page 24)

Abbruzzese testified during the trial -- under an immunity agreement -- that he had brought in Bruno for the state senator's contacts and "aura." He admitted to buying the horse from Bruno in order to settle a "moral obligation" regarding the canceled consulting contract. (He also said that Bruno introduced him to Donald Trump.) [TU] [Troy Record] [NYDN]

Each count carries a maximum 20 year sentence and fines up to $250k. Sentencing is scheduled for March 31. [DOJ/TPM] [@timesunion]

NYDN reports that Bruno left the federal courthouse in downtown Albany "looking pale and shaken" -- and told reporters "I think it's far from over." [NYDN]

New York's next First Lady-friend?

Page Six Mag had a piece this past weekend on the relationship between Andrew Cuomo and his ladyfriend, Food Network star Sandra Lee. Apparently it's all rides on the Harley, watching Ice Road Truckers on the couch and eating lasagna made with canned tomato soup.

Cuomo and Lee haven't said much publicly about their relationship. But it does come up. Lee recently said on a talk show that she would cook in the Governor's Mansion (and bring "great garnishes"). She's said Cuomo is "the most amazing person I've ever met in every way" and referred to his kids as her "weekend daughters."

And the two do sometimes appear together at events together. From Anthony Bourdain's blog post about his encounter with Lee and Cuomo at the Julie & Julia premiere:

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Speed reading the coverage of the state Senate same-sex marriage vote

Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson speaking before yesterday's vote.

Updated Thursday at 5:30 pm

We've sifted through the coverage of yesterday state Senate vote on the same-sex marriage bill. Here are a bunch of the quick-scan highlights, including details of a protest planned for tonight...

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Paterson's proposed budget cuts

Updated Friday morning

David Paterson released his slate of proposed cuts today aimed at closing the $2 $3 $4 billion (it seems to just keep going up) budget gap.

The Paterson Administration says the plan would cut $5 billion over the next two years (including $3 billion this year).

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Paterson on Meet The Press

David Paterson was on Meet The Press yesterday. David Gregory tried to get him to say that the White House told him to not run for governor next year:

Here's another clip. He attributes his negative poll numbers to the difficult circumstances the state has been facing. (Last week he said Andrew Cuomo would have low poll numbers, too, if he were governor now.)

SNL also went back to the Paterson well last week. That Paterson New Jersey joke isn't getting any funnier -- no matter how many times they use it.

The clip is embedded after the jump...

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Paterson loses key mustache demographic

One issue not covered by that Siena poll: the gubernatorial 'stache, which is -- sadly -- no more.

Laments the American Mustache Institute after David Paterson appeared completely clean shaven today:

As one of the only Mustached American U.S. governors, Gov. Patterson would have certainly been a fine candidate for the prestigious "Robert Goulet Memorial Mustached American of the Year" honor, which will be awarded at 'Stache Bash 2009 featuring John Oates on Oct. 30 in St. Louis.

But the Governor's calous, selfish, and ignorant act has done a great disservice to people of Mustached American descent who were willing to support him in his reelection efforts. Now, more than likely, our community will shun him, and in an election year, it was a decision that was clearly made without great thought.

As it happens, "people of Mustached American descent" was the only demographic still supporting David Paterson.

[via @tenacioustj]

photo: ny.gov

Stop us if you've heard this before

So it goes.

The latest Siena poll is like a replay of the last few months:

+ People continue to have an unfavorable view of David Paterson (29/59 favorable/unfavorable)

+ People continue to prefer someone else as governor (71 percent)

+ Andrew Cuomo continues to hold a strong lead in the hypothetical gubernatorial race (52-39 over Rudy Giuliani)

+ And people continue to say they don't know enough about Kirsten Gillibrand (47 percent)

Here's something new: the poll has started asking people whether they think the state budget gap can be closed without new taxes or fees. Eighty percent of people said they didn't think that was going to happen.

By the way: Paterson said today that it's looking like the mid-year budget gap will be $3 billion.

State's high court affirms Ravitch appointment

Richard Ravitch and David Paterson back in July when the appointment was first announced.

New York State now has a lieutenant governor.

The state Court of Appeals (New York's highest court) ruled today that David Paterson did have the authority to appoint Richard Ravitch to the vacant job.

Writes Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman in the 4-3 majority decision:

The issue on this appeal is whether the Governor of the State of New York has the authority to fill a vacancy in the office of Lieutenant-Governor by appointment. We now hold that he does.

The decision goes on to argue that the post of lieutenant governor falls under "a catch-all" provision of state law that allows the governor to make appointments for positions that don't otherwise have rules laid out for their replacement (lieutenant governor being one of these jobs).

From the dissent, written by Judge Eugene Pigott:

Under the majority's rationale, the possibility exists that the citizens of this State will one day find themselves governed by a person who has never been subjected to scrutiny by the electorate, and who could in turn appoint his or her own unelected Lieutenant-Governor.

photo: ny.gov

Paterson beats Spitzer

Yes, yesterday's Marist poll shows David Paterson's approval rating at 20%, but apparently there's at least one guy he could take in an election -- Elliot Spitzer.

According to a new Marist poll released today in a hypothetical race between the Luv Gov and the accidental governor, Paterson would beat Spitzer by a 60%-31% margin.

The same poll pits Spitzer in a hypothetical senate race agains Kirstin Gillibrand where she beats him by a margin of 57% - 29%.

In fact 69% of registered voters polled said they didn't think Spitzer should run for any New York office at all. 27% are waiting for his comeback.

Spitzer, the series

CBS has a new show on its schedule called The Good Wife -- but they could have probably called it Silda. Juliana Margulies (of ER fame) plays the lead character, whose politician husband resigns over a sex scandal.

The producers come right out and admit they've been ripping from the headlines -- and that shot from the show (on the right) is basically a recreation of the infamous Spitzer press conference.

Of course, this being TV Silda's Margulies' character's husband goes to jail, she joins a law firm and touching life lessons are learned. We can only wonder if her husband runs for office again.

And yes, she does slap him when he apologizes.

photo: CBS

New Yorkers: let's start over

Where's the reboot button on this thing?

In the Siena poll release today, 54 percent of respondents said they wish they could throw out all the state legislators and start over. In fact, it sounds like New Yorker are longing for the good old days (which are apparently about the same time as Sterling Cooper's heyday).

From the poll....

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Move over David Paterson

It appears that New Yorkers have found something they dislike even more than David Paterson: the state Senate.

The Siena poll out today reports that 74 percent of respondents had an unfavorable opinion about the state Senate. And 77 percent said that the statement "I'm angry that the Senators wasted more than a month of valuable time accomplishing nothing" best described the way they felt about the Senate mess.

Not surprisingly, Pedro Espada led the pack of disliked senators with a 46-11 unfavorable/favorable split.

The poll also asked whether people would like to see Democrats, Republicans or a coalition control the chamber -- 30 percent said Dems, 17 percent Republicans and 52 percent coalition. (Maybe there's needs to be a "none of the above" option.)

It would be interesting to a see the results of a question that asks people what they think about their individual state senator.

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Yep. Right. Sure.

Pedro Espada explaining things Thursday afternoon

The state Senate Democrats -- now back in power after making a deal with Pedro Espada -- got together for a press conference this afternoon to talk about everything that went down. And we gotta say, some of their comments were almost unbelievable.

So here are eight quotes that made us go "What?! Seriously?!" Just a warning -- these comments may make your head explode.

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Richard Ravitch, come on down...

You're the next contestant on the bizarre reality show that is New York State government. David Paterson just announced that he's appointing Richard Ravitch to the post of lieutenant governor.

Ravitch theoretically will now be able to cast a tie-breaking vote in the frozen state Senate (if quorum ever comes together). The key word is theoretically -- because Paterson's appointment will almost surely set off a flurry of lawsuits. If Ravitch's appointment holds, it would at the very least clear up some of the questions about the gubernatorial line of succession.

So who is this Ravitch guy? A quick primer after the jump.

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F My State

Paterson has his hands full with this match-up.

Earlier this week the LA Times pointed at New York's legislature and essentially said, "At least California's not that bad." And then both NY and CA appeared on Politco's list of worst states to govern.

OK, fine. So let's do this. Which state is the biggest loser?

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Pedro Espada's many characteristics

Pedro Espada -- one of the key players in the state Senate mess -- gets the cover story treatment in the most recent New York Mag.

Espada comes off as quite the multi-faceted character. He's described -- by others, himself, events -- as: a nihilist, scrappy, a fighter, a meticulous dresser, a guy who talks about himself in the third person, Evita-like, a thief, a villain, a score settler, charismatic, a shrewd political tactician, amoral, a self-aggrandizer, an outsider, self-reliant, needy, a contradiction, an opportunist, a scofflaw, and a tool.

We're going the wrong way

Turn around.

The Siena poll out today has some interesting -- if not necessarily surprising -- results.

People are still down on David Paterson (though marginally less so) -- but they've also turned against pretty much everyone else in state government (with one exception).

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David Paterson stands out

This situation may be beyond even Oprah's abilities.

Reporting that David Paterson is "deeply unpopular" these days is a little bit like reporting "Earth revolves around sun" -- tell us something we don't know.

This new NYT/Cornell/NY1 poll just adds to the already-established story -- the short version of which is: people have very little confidence that David Paterson can lead the state in the right direction.

OK. But here's the story from a perspective we hadn't seen: how does Paterson's (un)popularity compare to that of other governors around the country?

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Where to plot your legislative overthrow

The place to rock with your conspirators

This NYT story about all the recent drama in the state Senate has some great details about the planning of the legislative overthrow -- including a few scenes "on location" around Albany.

After Tom Golisano's now infamous/absurd Blackberry-stained meeting with Malcolm Smith, he began plotting with Republicans. Where?

Mr. Golisano gave up on the Democrats and Mr. Pigeon moved quickly to set up a meeting with three top Senate Republicans. Secrecy was imperative, so they decided to meet at a small Albany rock club, Red Square, an unlikely locale for lawmakers.

"You wouldn't find anybody there that we knew," recalled Senator George D. Maziarz, a Republican from western New York who attended.

And after you've ambushed the majority and taken over the Senate, where do you party?

That night around 9, Mr. Espada, Mr. Monserrate and members of their staffs adjourned to Salsa Latina, a restaurant in Albany, to wind down. Mr. Skelos briefly stopped by to congratulate them. They quietly recounted the day, and began planning for what would happen next.

Where else would they go? Monday is $2.99 margarita day at Salsa Latina.

Scanning the coverage of the Senate switch

It looks like Republican have taken back control of the state Senate by getting two Democrats to caucus with them. Dean Skelos was voted majority leader (again) and Bronx Democrat Pedro Espada -- one of the two switchers -- becomes Senate president pro tem (he's also now the person who becomes governor if something happens to David Paterson). [TU] [NYDN] [AOA]

Here's a quick read of the coverage of yesterday's big switch...

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State Senate control back to Republicans

It appears the state Senate Republicans are in the process of taking control of the chamber again by getting two Democrats to switch parties. Pedro Espada and Hiram Monserrate appear to be the Dems who flipped, giving the Republicans a 32-30 majority. Dean Skelos will be majority leader again and Espada will become the Senate pro tem.

Republicans sent out a press release this afternoon telling the media to show up for "a historic change in leadership." Then as this was apparently all going down, the video feed from the Senate chamber was cut.

The move apparently caught Democrats -- including now-former majority leader Malcolm Smith -- by surprise.

As of 4:20 this afternoon, there was no mention of the switch on the Senate's web site or Twitter feed.

One of the immediate political consequences of the switch: the same-sex marriage bill now has probably no shot of passage this year.

Update: Malcolm Smith says the flip was "an illegal and unlawful attempt" -- and asserts that he's still majority leader.

Sources cited, in order: Capitol Confidential, Daily Politics, WNYT, Capitol Confidential, NYT

Poll respondents: when does Cuomo start?

Fair to say his public opinion ratings are, uh, less bad?

The Siena poll out today reports that the public's perception of David Paterson hasn't gotten any worse -- but it's not really any better, either.

Seventy-one percent of people polled said they still preferred "someone else" as governor in 2010. And people say they still prefer Eliot Spitzer to Paterson (21/11).

In hypothetical 2010 matchups, people say they prefer Andrew Cuomo to David Paterson 70-19 -- and Cuomo over Rudy Giuliani 53-41

A few more tidbits -- about same-sex marriage, Kirsten Gillibrand and tax caps -- after the jump.

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Capitol nutrition facts

After we heard that David Paterson was proposing that restaurants add calorie counts to restaurant menus, we started thinking about other places this sort of information could help.

And, really, what better place to start than the Capitol itself?

(That link will take you to a bigger version.)

The Capital Region pork report

Oink.

The New York State Assembly recently published its list of member items for this budget year. If the phrase "member item" doesn't ring a bell, you might know them by their more common name: pork.

But, really, one person's pork is another's bacon. Thanks to a big help from NYPIRG (see note), a breakdown of the Capital Region's bacon haul -- names, organizations, totals -- is after the jump.

All counted, the Capital Region scored a little more than $1.46 million in Assembly member items this year. The Assembly gave out $85 million total.

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Local Assembly same-sex marriages votes

We know a bunch of people who read AOA are following the same-sex marriage issue, so we looked up how local Assembly members voted yesterday (the Assembly as a whole passed a bill allowing for same-sex marriage 89-52).

The list -- with a comparison to votes on the 2007 version of the bill -- is after the jump.

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SNL needs new material

SNL used the "people prefer Spitzer to Paterson" poll numbers for a skit on this week's show. It was... uh... well... here it is...

We can only hope the next poll of New Yorkers includes a question about whether these skits are funny.

The state Senate goes social

Malcolm in the middle.

The New York Senate's web site gets the social media makeover today. "We like to think of this as returning government to the people ... They paid for it. This is citizens first," says the guy who built it.

In theory, this sounds great. We're all for opening up the governmental process to the public. And stuff like RSS feeds for individual Senators (Neil Breslin, for example) and a "plain language initiative" for public data are all encouraging. Thank you. Yes. This is good. More, please.

But, like with Kirsten Gillibrand's new site, we're also a little wary of this technology just becoming gloss on an otherwise old and broken system. As Bob at Planet Albany posted today:

"No doubt it will be an improvement, but the preview I saw contained photos of public meetings that might leave the unwary with the impression that the Senate is a model of democratic discourse. In fact, on every contentious issue from the budget to the MTA to gay marriage, it is operating under standard Albany rules of closed government."

In the end, the technology is just a tool. Let's hope it's put to good use.

Earlier on AOA:
+ Where's our CongressTube?
+ Schenectady mugshots on Twitter
+ The Albany crime map: keep trying

In an alternate budget reality...

David Paterson has proposed that the state tie its spending increases to the rate of inflation -- and, as his budget people figure it, that would have meant $17 billion less in state spending over the last five years.

OK, but what would the size of the state budget look like if it had been tracking inflation over the last two decades? Hey, look, we already have a chart for that.

Short story: if the budget had been tracking inflation all that time, this year's budget would be almost $47 billion smaller.

New Yorkers: we'd rather have Spitzer back

Fifty-one percent of New Yorkers would rather have Eliot Spitzer as governor right now than David Paterson, according to Marist poll out today.

In fact, a plurality of voters in every demographic category preferred the Steamroller. Only two categories were even close: NYC suburbs (44/43 Spitzer) and 18-29 (49/46 Spitzer).

Possible backhanded compliment by the populace: 66 percent of respondents in the Marist poll said they thought David Paterson was working hard at his job. But 77 percent said his performance in that job was only fair or poor.

Earlier on AOA: It's all downhill for David Paterson

photo: ny.gov

The essence of Eliot Spitzer's current state

Newsweek's recent profile of Eliot Spitzer's current state is a whopping 5,295 words. Because we live in the postprint era, we've decided to save you time by boiling the entire article down into a haiku:

Eliot Spitzer

Not really a normal guy

As much as he tries

Earlier on AOA:
+ Call it a comeback
+ It's a tragedy, sure, but Shakespearean or Greek?

It's all downhill for David Paterson

November was the high point.

Just when you thought that David Paterson couldn't get any more unpopular -- he has. According to a Siena poll out today, Paterson's favorable/unfavorable numbers hit 27/63. That's the lowest point so far.

A few more notes -- including one about New Yorkers' support of same-sex marriage -- after the jump.

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Call it a comeback

He likes to use the word "egregious."

It's official: Eliot Spitzer is back.

After making a few steps into the public spotlight over the last six months, the former Guv is now making the rounds to apologize -- and comment on Wall Street's turmoil.

Could a return to public service be in his future?

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Scanning reaction to the state budget

One person described this year's budget process as having "Kremlin-like secrecy."

This year's almost $132 billion state budget has provoked quite a few, uh, passionate reactions.

Here's the condensed version of what people are saying...

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The state budget gets bigger and bigger and...

There's a much bigger and easier-to-read version.

We were a little taken a back when we saw Monday morning that this year's total state budget is shaping up to be almost $132 billion. All we'd been hearing about was how there was no money -- and yet this year's budget is almost 9 percent bigger than last year's.

As it happens, we shouldn't have been surprised. At all. New York's total budget has been on this path since the late 1990s. Almost any budget is going to grow over time because of inflation. But even when you consider inflation, New York's total budget has been skyrocketing.

We've put together an annotated chart comparing the growth of the total budget to the track of inflation. It's kind of shocking laid out like that.

Discussion, notes and caveats after the jump.

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Paterson's (not) too sexy

Poor David Paterson can't catch a break these days. The economy's tanking, his poll numbers just keep on dropping-- and now this. Boston's alt weekly newspaper, The Phoenix, has named New York's accidental governor to its list of the 100 Unsexiest Men of 2009.

The Phoenix doesn't define sexy the same way as, say, People Magazine. Their "most unsexy" list is made up of what they call "the 100 most karmically bankrupt men on the planet."

Where did NY's governor land on the list? And who is he keeping company with?

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Eliot Spitzer surfaces

The former Guv will be talking about Wall Street regulation and his own uh, downturn, this Sunday on CNN at 1pm.

In the interview, which was conducted by Fareed Zakaria, Spitzer reportedly says:

"I have flaws as we all do, arguably. I failed in a very important way in my personal life. And I have paid a price for that."

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The spitzering: one year later

No one's clapping now.

The news that Eliot Spitzer had been caught in a prostitution sting went public a year ago today.

It almost seems like it's been even longer than that -- so much has happened since then. After a year, who's up? Who's down? We've put together a scorecard.

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Behold, the gubernatorial thighs

An interview with David Paterson appears in this month's issue of Runner's World. And it includes a pic of the Gov -- in running shorts -- with his foot up on his desk. (And you thought his poll numbers were low before this.)

From the interview:

It's difficult to find the time to run because we travel back and forth to Albany a lot. And I'm unable to read my speeches so I have to memorize them which takes time. These days I might get out [for a run] every couple of weeks. That's why I like some of these local races, because they're projects. If I see it as part of my work, I'm a lot more disciplined.

Paterson ran in the Utica Boilermaker last year. And he ran in the 1999 NYC Marathon (he talks in the interview about being hospitalized after that race).

The New York Post has a bigger version of the pic -- if you dare.

photo: Runner's World

Piling on Paterson (updated!)

Not a favorable trend for the Gov.

The Siena poll out today reports that David Paterson's favorable/unfavorable is now at 40-47. And it's been all downhill since the peak he hit at Thanksgiving of last year (chart above).

The poll also asked people about a hypothetical primary between Paterson and Andrew Cuomo. According to the poll, Paterson would go down hard in the matchup, 53-27 -- which lines up with the result a Q Poll got last week.

Earlier on AOA:
+ Stumbling out of the gate
+ Everybody hates David Paterson
+ Speculate about 2010? Sure, why not.

Update Wednesday morning! Check out Sebastien's interpretation of the graph after the jump!

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Stumbling out of the gate

It seems like all of sudden everyone hates David Paterson. So, how'd this happen?

Well, like most overnight stories (of success or failure), it sounds like this one has been building for some time. From a story in yesterday's NYT (emphasis ours):

Not long after David A. Paterson became governor, he gathered his senior staff at a mountainside estate 30 miles from the capital to shape an agenda for his fledgling administration.

A former executive from the Dale Carnegie Institute was brought in, and gave the bewildered senior advisers promotional T-shirts and copies of his book, which featured advice like "Don't let your BlackBerry become a CrackBerry."

But the real surprise, said several people who attended, came when Mr. Paterson spoke on the second day. He seemed unfocused, even rambling, in a brief appearance, offering few clues about what he wanted to do as governor and leaving many staff members confused and frustrated.

We'd actually be OK with a few crackberry-addled staffers if it meant getting the state on the right track. If anything, crackberry addiction sounds more plausible than "late-filing syndrome."

Oh, yeah, one more thing: Paterson did give staffers the OK to go after Caroline Kennedy.

A quick scan of Tedisco-Murphy

Updated Monday at 11:15 pm

What, you haven't been closely following every exciting turn in the special election to fill Kirsten Gillibrand's former House seat?

Worry not. We've sort of been paying attention so you don't have to.

Here's the quick rundown on where things are at in the race between Republican Jim Tedisco and Democrat Scott Murphy for the 20th Congressional District.

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Everybody hates David Paterson

As we mentioned in Morning Blend today, things haven't exactly been going David Paterson's way lately.

Somehow he's managed to piss off liberals (for picking Gillibrand), conservatives (for trying to tax porn), state worker unions (for giving his staff pay raises), and blind people in wheel chairs (for proposing to cut healthcare spending).

And now Andrew Cuomo is lapping him in a hypothetical 2010 Democratic primary for governor. A Quinnipiac poll out this week reports that registered Democrats prefer Cuomo more than 2-1 over Paterson in such a match-up. Ouch. (A Siena poll had them basically tied in such a race back in January.)

The Q Poll also had some bad news for Kirsten Gillibrand.

Registered Dems in the poll said they preferred anti-gun Rep. Carolyn McCarthy to KG 34-24. That said, "don't know" was leading the pack at 39 percent.

Earlier on AOA:
+ Speculate on 2010? Sure, why not.

It's good to be the majority

Some of the stuff that goes on here will make your head explode.

There's a NYT story today about all the perks Republicans apparently enjoyed as the state Senate majority for the last 40something years.

There are lots of juicy tidbits in it. Some of them will just make you do a double- or triple-take as a taxpayer, whatever party you're aligned with:

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Where's our CongressTube?

Check out this video Liz Benjamin took of Kirsten Gillibrand talking about her position on same-sex marriage. (KG was responding to a story in the NYT that Malcolm Smith said same-sex marriage didn't have the votes to become law in NY this year.)

Gillibrand 'Disappointed' About Gay Marriage Delay from Elizabeth Benjamin on Vimeo.

Two things:

1) We can't help it, but the phrase "Dicker interview" makes us laugh a little bit too much.

2) At the risk of outing ourselves as C-SPAN watchers, it's interesting to see a politician's full answer to a question like this.

Speaking of that: YouTube has created "hubs" for both the Senate and House. Chuck Schumer already has his own channel (um, no surprise), but our other reps aren't set up, yet.

Gillibrand! Tonko! Whoever's the next KG! We want our CongressTube!

Earlier on AOA:
+ Jimmy Tedisco does bad things to Frank on YouTube

Right back at you

There are a bunch of interesting tidbits in a NYT piece today about Kirsten Gillibrand. Among them is Jim Tedisco's apparent admiration for her ability to, well, tell people what they want to hear:

On Sunday, Ms. Gillibrand said she no longer favored branding immigrant-friendly cities such as New York as "sanctuary cities" and denying them federal tax benefits. On Monday, she no longer favored deputizing police officers as immigration officers.

"It's not so much of changing my view as broadening," Ms. Gillibrand said.

Perhaps, although James Tedisco, a Republican assemblyman who is running for her old congressional seat, complimented her: "She's very good at listening and regurgitating it back at you intelligently," he said.

Admiration swells in his voice. "That's the mark of a good politician and a fine public servant," he said.

In other KG news: she let reporters take a look at her tax returns from the past three years yesterday. The short story: she made a lot more money as an attorney.

Scott Murphy

The Democrats picked have picked Scott Murphy to take on Jim Tedisco in the special election to replace Kirsten Gillibrand in the House. So, who is this guy?

Here's a really quick backgrounder.

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Speculate about 2010? Sure, why not.

Cuomo's been gaining on Paterson for 2010. (Numbers from Siena poll)

It seems that "playing against type" is working for Andrew Cuomo. Or, at least, it's working for the public.

A Siena poll reports that Cuomo and David Paterson are pretty much even in a hypothetical 2010 Democratic primary for governor (35-33 in favor of Paterson). And Cuomo's favorable rating is actually higher now than Paterson's (64-60).

And when you throw Rudy Giuliani into the mix, things get even more interesting.

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Speed reading the coverage of Kirsten Gillibrand

We read all the coverage about Kirsten Gillibrand's appointment to the Senate so you don't have to.

And there certainly has been plenty of it.

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Is Joe Bruno going to prison?

Today has become Christmas, Hanukkah, Easter, Halloween, Purim, St. Patrick's Day, Fourth of July and Boxing Day all rolled into one for the political junkies and media in New York State.

Not only has Kirsten Gillibrand been appointed to the Senate, but Joe Bruno has been indicted.

The eight count indictment alleges that Bruno used his influence as state Senate majority leader to score $3.2 million in consulting fees from private clients. (The TU has posted a copy of the indictment.)

Uncle Joe was arraigned this afternoon -- he pleaded not guilty -- and was defiant, saying he's been "a target of a get Joe Bruno campaign."

If convicted, Bruno could get 20 years in prison.

In other news, officials from nearby federal penitentiaries said they're excited about their chances of landing a multi-billion dollar chip fab facility.

Gillibrand is the Top Senator winner

It's official. David Paterson has publicly announced that he is appointing Kirsten Gillibrand to Hillary Clinton's Senate seat.

And we're now reminded of the line uttered by Alec Baldwin's character in State and Main after he flips the station wagon he's driving: "So, that happened."

Toward the exciting Top Senator finale

Updated at 9:15 pm: This TU article contains the best evidence we've seen that Paterson will name Gillibrand on Friday.
___

After supposed front-runner Caroline Kennedy dropped out last night because of (a tax problem?, a nanny problem?, a public speaking problem?, a who-knows-what problem?), the media has picked a new front runner. And it's Kirsten Gillibrand.

As you can probably imagine, that has people scrambling.

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Caroline is out?

Are Gillibrand's chances better now?

Update Thursday morning: Kennedy officially announced early this morning that's she's out.

That's the word going around Wednesday evening. So, what happened?

Well, the depends on who you're reading. The New York Times says Kennedy bowed out of the non-race to replace Hillary Clinton because she's concerned about the health of her uncle, Ted Kennedy (he had a seizure yesterday during the inaugural festivities.) NYT also reports that Kennedy believed the seat to be hers if she wanted it.

But the New York Post is reporting that Caroline found out she was not going to get the seat and then decided to drop out.

The New York Daily News? It's reporting there's confusion over what exactly has happened.

And NBC (David Gregory, specifically) is reporting that Caroline has NOT dropped out.

By the way, Hillary Clinton was confirmed by the full Senate today for Secretary of State. She resigned her Senate seat right after -- which now clears the way for David Paterson to name her replacement. He's said the choice should be public this weekend.

Top Senator final prediction: murky

What are her chances? It depends on who's guessing.

The full US Senate is expected to confirm Hillary Clinton next week for Secretary of State, which means David Paterson will probably announce her replacement shortly thereafter.

So who's the best bet to get the job? Well, it appears the (conventional) wisdom of crowds points toward... well, it points a couple of directions.

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Top Senator rolls on

On the latest episode of Top Senator: David Paterson refrains from getting his gut involved, Maureen Dowd says "thank God," and candidates answer questions about their kids' Facebook accounts.

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All hail the great State of Long Island

The action at the capitol Wednesday included not just David Paterson's State of the State speech, but also the start of the new legislative session.

And that means a bunch of new bills. Among them: A01189, sponsored by Assemblyman Fred Thiele. Here's the description (emphasis added):

Establishes a bi-county commission in the counties of Nassau and Suffolk to study the feasibility of establishing the state of Long Island.

Our only question about this: can they take Staten Island with them?

Hey, this is a time for courage, action and hope.

(Thanks, Peter!)

A quick read of Paterson's State of the State

The state of our state: perilous.

Sure, David Paterson spent 60 hours memorizing today's State of the State speech. But who else has that kind of time? Here's a quick paraphrase/recap of Paterson's speech...

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Spreading the news on "the iTax"

We're not excited about the prospect of a tax on digital music sales, either -- but Jimmy, why you gotta go and do that to Frank?!?

That is, of course, Jim Tedisco. He's put up a site to campaign against David Paterson's proposal to tax sales of music downloads in New York State.

Maybe we need a tax on karaoke instead.

Eliot Spitzer is highly ranked

The end of 2008 is almost here. And, of course, that means year-end top 10 lists. As it happens, our one-time governor made it onto a few of those this year.

OK, it was actually more than a few.

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Where Caroline stands

One of the criticisms about Caroline Kennedy's bid for Hillary Clinton's Senate seat has been that she doesn't have a record of votes or public statements on a number of issues for people to examine.

Well, that changed a bit over the weekend. In a weird arrangement, Kennedy's staff answered written questions from Politico and NYT. Her -- or their -- answers were relatively short -- and we've boiled them down even more.

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Top Senator

All the buzz and speculation about who will get Hillary Clinton's Senate seat seems to be getting to David Paterson. The Gov said yesterday, "[F]rankly, this is a serious issue, which I think is starting to be treated as some sort of reality TV show. No, this is reality of life."

Hey, wait a minute. Turning this into a reality TV show might not be such a bad idea...

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Sweet Senator Caroline?

Caroline Kennedy earlier this year with Barack Obama, to whom she was an advisor

The big buzz right now is that Caroline Kennedy could be in line to replace Hillary Clinton in the Senate.

David Paterson says the daughter of JFK has talked to him about the seat, but he called the conversation "informational" and said Kennedy didn't outright express an interest in the job -- though he did indicate she's "thinking about it." (He also used the situation for some humor at a dinner this past weekend.)

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Eliot Spitzer's best policy

The former Gov has a new job -- as a columnist. Really.

Alas, it's not a how-to column. Slate has hired Spitzer to write twice a month -- in a column called "The Best Policy" -- about government, regulation and finance.

Said the online mag's editor-in-chief of Spitzer to NYT: "He's such a fluent talker, and intelligent and interesting on these issues. He also has a natural instinct to try to be provocative, whereas most former politicians have a tendency not to want to annoy anybody." It seems Slate didn't have try to very hard to convince Spitzer to do it.

The first column was posted last night. It kind of reads like a wonkier version of Tom Friedman.

And the tag at the end: "Eliot Spitzer is the former governor of the state of New York."

Joe Bruno is all about sunshine now

No, really, it's true. He says so in today's New York Times.

OK, what he actually said was:

"I feel like technology is a place that governments at all levels are going to have to look at for relief, to create efficiencies that they want and need, to create the service that people demand these days, to be responsive and to do it in a cost-effective way."

"[The press] can have some fun with that, but I've always really been kind of on the leading edge of being open."

Of course, this is the guy who fought to keep member items (you know, pork) secret. Now that he's pitching computer systems for Latham-based CMA Consulting -- hey, open databases for everyone!

A few other tidbits about what else Bruno's up to these days, after the jump.

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We watched the Ashley Dupre interview so you don't have to

Ashley Dupre -- of Eliot Spitzer "Kristen" infamy -- was on 20/20 Friday night. She talked with Diane Sawyer about a bunch of stuff: her life growing up, how she got into the business, her dog.

But we're guessing you're interested in the bits about the former governor (we were). Here they are:

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Scenes from a breakdown

New York Now has put together a highlight reel from yesterday's bizarre leaders meeting at the Capitol (though "lowlight" might actually be the better word).

Watch as David Paterson talks about auditory hallucinations, Sheldon Silver steams as Jimmy Tedisco tries to lecture him, and Malcolm Smith gives Dean Skelos the hand.

You'll laugh. You'll cry. You'll wonder how our state government became an episode of the Jerry Spring Show.

The folks at New York Now promise more clips and analysis on this week's show, which airs Friday at 7:30 pm on WMHT (it also repeats Sunday 11 am and 11 pm).

(Thanks, Matt!)

A quick read of the Paterson budget plan

David Paterson unveiled his plan for cutting $2 billion from the current state budget today. He says this plan will cut $2 billion from this year's budget and $3.2 billion from next year's (in which a $12.5 billion gap has already been projected).

We've put together a quick rundown of the cuts/savings. It includes some possibly bad news for Saratoga.

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It was just too easy

Welcome to the rest of your life.

When the feds announced they wouldn't be prosecuting Eliot Spitzer for his involvement with prostitutes, headline writers in newsrooms all over the world probably couldn't contain themselves. Can't. Not. Make. Cheesy. Pun.

"Spitzer Gets Off, Prosecutorially Speaking" -- Gawker

"Spitzer Gets Off! No Charges for Fallen Gov" -- Village Voice

"WHAT A RELIEF! SPITZ GETS OFF" -- New York Post

"Eliot Spitzer gets off too easily" -- Kansas City Star

"Luv Gov Gets Off" -- NBC Bay Area

"Eliot Spitzer gets off free" -- Daylife

"Spitz' Criminal Charges Get Swallowed" -- TMZ

David Paterson is aiming, not shooting

Next week's NY Mag has a long article about David Paterson (that's him, really close up, on the cover.) There are a lots of juicy tidbits in the piece: about his favorite Albany hangout, his dance moves, his dating life and why, as a kid, he hit another kid in the face with a lunchbox.

Here are some of the highlights:

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Joe Bruno's next job?

In making his "I'm outta here" announcement, Joe Bruno reportedly said he's not looking to kick back and "play with horses." So what's his plan? According to the TU, Bruno is considering a job with CMA Consulting Services, a firm based in Latham.

So, what do they do? We poked around a bit to find out.

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Speed reading more coverage of Joe Bruno

We've sifted, sorted and relentlessly refreshed Google News so you don't have to. It's like knowing what's up with the Joe Bruno story without even trying. Another round of bite-sized facts, bits of analysis, and quotes after the jump.

(Earlier on AOA: Speed reading the coverage of Joe Bruno)

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Speed reading the coverage of Joe Bruno

updated 3:21 pm

We've read the Joe Bruno coverage, so you don't you have to. Many bite-sized facts, bits of analysis, and quotes after the jump.

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Who's in charge around here?

If something happens to him, then what?

So, when David Paterson had to go to the hospital earlier this week, we thought "Oh wow, if something happens to him, that means Joe Bruno is governor." But then we thought, "Wait, what if something then happens to Joe Bruno? Then what?"

So we asked Bennett Liebman, the Executive Director of Albany Law School's Center for Government and Law to set us straight. Here's how it works...

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Dopp kicked

NY Mag has a story this week about how Eliot Spitzer let Darren Dopp, one of his former top aides, get thrown under the bus -- and then watch as the bus stopped, backed up, and ran over Dopp a few more times. Among the juicy details:

+ After agreeing to take the fall for "Troopergate" -- the plan to "get" Joe Bruno by leaking records of his state aircraft use -- Dopp learned about his suspension not from Spitzer or adminstration officials, but from blogs.

+ When Dopp told Spitzer that Bruno would be "torqued" if the records of his aircraft use were released, Spitzered reportedly told Dopp to "Shove it up [Bruno's] ass with a red-hot poker."

+ During his investigation of Troopergate, Albany County DA David Soares reportedly told Dopp that he'd met murderers with more honor than some of the people on Spitzer's staff.

+ Spitzer, who apparently is famously anti-therapy, is now seeing a therapist.

photo: ny.gov

Kindergarten lessons for legislators

It's actually a very large playground.

After watching our esteemed state legislature squabble and whine itself toward another year's budget, we couldn't help thinking that perhaps our leaders had forgotten some fundamental life lessons. You know, nothing especially profound -- just the kind of stuff that any five-year-old would know.

So, here are a few kindergarten lessons that legislators and other elected officials might want to review before their next ride on the budget merry-go-round:

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Governor Hillary?

Can you imagine her sparring with Joe Bruno over the budget?

Newsweek's Jonathan Alter reports that there's some talk within the Democrat Party that Hillary Clinton could drop out of the presidential race to become... Governor of New York:

In the event that Paterson had to resign, the New York State Constitution calls for a gubernatorial election this November. Clinton would be the favorite in that contest if she were interested. Were a politically wounded Paterson to serve out Spitzer's term, which ends in 2010, Clinton would no doubt be a strong potential candidate to succeed him.

Earlier on AOA:
+ Governor Hillary?

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Paterson's swearing-in speech: the quick scan

Sure, you could actually take the time to read -- or listen to (video link) -- David Paterson's speech from yesterday. But why read when you can scan? Here's the text of the speech broken down into the 75 words that appeared with the greatest frequency. Think of it a little like that refrigerator magnet poetry -- just arrange the words into some sort of plausible order to make it sound like you actually know what's going on. For example:

Co-worker: Hey, how about Paterson's speech?

You: Yeah. Wow. He really focused on working to serve people going forward... and, um, New York.

So, yes, there are limits. Use with care...

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Speed reading coverage of David Paterson

Starting today, David Paterson will be in the foreground.

We're Spitzered out, so... on to the next guy! We've sifted through the growing mountain of David Paterson coverage to pick out the essential and the interesting. Among the details this time around: the unusual past of Paterson's top adviser, questions about conflicts of interest, lobbying by the Obama campaign, and hugs for Jimmy Tedisco.

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It's a tragedy, sure, but Shakespearean or Greek?

Shakespeare, Spitzer, Aeschylus

Sure, the story of Eliot Spitzer spitzering himself is tragic, but no self-respecting journalist would just leave it at that. Simple "tragedy" is never enough... it has to be some kind of tragedy. And, of course, the two go-to categories for tragedy are Shakespearean and Greek.

Both have gotten a fair share of use this week. Maureen Dowd can always be counted on for a Shakespeare reference, but she wasn't alone. As for the Greek treatment, USA Today has helpfully compiled examples.

OK, but which is it? If you're going to take the time to sound like a cultural elite, you might as well be right. So we checked with an expert.

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Speed reading even more of the Spitzer coverage

Yep, according to the Times, that's her.

OK, here we go again. We've picked through piles of the coverage of Spitzer spitzering himself to pull out facts and details so you don't have to.

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Seven things to know about David Paterson

David Paterson and Eliot Spitzer in 2007.

+ Yes, he really is legally blind. He lost his vision due to an infection in his childhood. One eye is totally blind and the other has 20/400 vision. He can see enough to read for short periods of time, though.

+ He comes from a politically-connected family in Harlem (though he grew up in Brooklyn and Long Island). His dad, Basile Paterson, was in the state senate and later became NY's Secretary of State. David held the same senate seat as his dad before becoming lieutenant governor.

+ He went to Columbia, and then Hofstra law -- but he never passed the bar. He ran out of time in his first and only attempt with someone reading the questions to him and then writing down his answers. (He later worked to change the rules to make the test more accommodating of people with visual impairments.) Paterson apparently intended to re-take the test, but he won a special election for state senate before it ever happened.

Four more after the jump, including where he picked up tips on how to deal with Joe Bruno...

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Speed reading more coverage of Eliot Spitzer and his spitzering

Hey, look, the media circus is in town.

Updated Wednesday at 11:59 AM

So, he's done. We've read through the piles of coverage about it so you don't have to... many new bite-sized facts and details from Wednesday's coverage after the jump.

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Speed reading the coverage of Eliot Spitzer spitzering himself

Wrecked steamroller.

Updated Tuesday at 4:04 PM

We've read through the piles of coverage so you don't have to... many bite-sized facts and details after the jump.

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A new definition for screwing up

spitz · er

v.tr.

1. To unexpectedly -- and spectacularly -- destroy your career in a single act so obviously wrong that having someone tell you "you should know better" would be blatantly redundant: Bob was on track to make regional manager until he spitzered himself

n.

1. An act as described in the logs of a federal investigation in which [REDACTED BECAUSE THIS IS A FAMILY WEBSITE]

Budgetspeak

The governor released his budget proposal today and the conversation around this kind of stuff tends to be a little, um, dense. Thankfully, Susan Arbetter has a "Budget to English" guide. Here's a clip:

"We will be cutting expected growth in health care spending"

ACTUALLY MEANS

"healthcare spending will increase, I just wanted to use the most circuitous way of saying it to confuse people who are only sort of paying attention".

State of the State: the super quick scan

Sure, you could actually read Eliot Spitzer's State of the State speech. But why read when you can scan? Here's the text of the speech broken down into the 75 words that appeared with the greatest frequency. Think of it a little like that refrigerator magnet poetry -- just arrange the words into some sort of plausible order to make it sound like you actually know what's going on. For example:

Co-worker: Hey, how about that State of the State?

You: Oh, yeah, Spitzer really talked a lot about health and education... and, um, New York.

OK, so there are limits. Use with care: