Items tagged with 'Rick Lazio'
Lazio out
Rick Lazio announced today that he's dropping out of the race for governor. Even though he had lost the Republican primary, he still had a spot on the Conservative line. [State of Politics YouTube]
Said Lazio: "While my heart beckons me forward, my head tells me that my continued presence on the Conservative line would simply lead to the election Andrew Cuomo..."
Not that Lazio's a fan of Paladino. He went on to criticize both candidates -- and many of the shots were aimed right at Paladino.
I look at the two major party candidates and I see flawed individuals -- flawed in terms of public character, flawed in terms of commitment to ideas and principles that will restore restore growth and pride to our great state ... I 'll be watching very closely to see if either candidate can prove to me -- and to New York -- that they can rise above the empty slogans and the name calling. ...
I strongly believe that Andrew Cuomo can not bring about change. But I remain unconvinced that Carl Paladino will bring the improvement that New Yorkers need, deserve and want.
The people deserve a civil campaign and a vibrant exchange on the challenges real New Yorkers face. They deserve leaders who are good, decent, responsible people who will put citizens first. They deserve real results from public servants who are accountable for what they say, how they say it, what they don't say and what they truly deliver.
As it happens, getting Lazio off the ballot isn't as simple him saying, "Thanks, you've all been wonderful, I'm out" -- and it looks like he'll be nominated for a state Supreme Court judgeship in order to complete the maneuver. [Daily Politics]
Lazio's exit should clear up the polling picture a bit. The polls from last week that included Lazio had him at 8 and 9 percent. That's not much -- but if Cuomo and Paladino are close, it could have made a difference.
Earlier on AOA: Rick Lazio finished as just a shot glass in AOA gubernatorial beer poll
Another day, another poll
A Marist poll out this morning reports that Andrew Cuomo is leading Carl Paladino 52-33 in the race for governor. Rick Lazio registered at nine percent. The poll surveyed "likely voters" and the margin of error is 3.5.
So, to recap this week of conflicting polls:
Quinnipiac: Cuomo leads Paladino 49-43 (out Wednesday)
A poll of likely voters. Rick Lazio not included.
SurveyUSA: Cuomo leads Paladino 49-40 (out Wednesday)
A poll of likely voters. Rick Lazio not included.
Siena: Cuomo leads Paladino 57-24 (out Thursday)
A poll of registered voters. Rick Lazio included (8 percent).
Marist: Cuomo leads Paladino 52-33 (out Friday)
A poll of likely voters. Rick Lazio included (9 percent).
There's been a lot of talk this week about how these polls are put together -- whether Lazio should be included and whether the surveys should be of registered voters or "likely voters." Some experts have argued that it's too early to start sorting people people based on whether they're likely to vote. [FiveThirtyEight] [TU]
Election Day is now 39 days away.
By the way: AOA's completely unscientific "Who would you like to have a beer with?" poll showed Andrew Cuomo up on Carl Paladino 48-43 (Rick Lazio 9 percent). Of course, it should be noted that we didn't include a "none of the above -- please let me drink alone" option.
Gubernatorial beer poll results
Poor Rick Lazio -- his pint looks like a shot glass.
Yesterday Jeff suggested that we poll people on which of the major gubernatorial candidates they would most like to have a beer with. The utterly unscientific results are above (as of about 4:30 pm Thursday). More than 200 people voted.
It looks like a tight race to the bar. And you never know what's going to happen in a race that close. (Will one of the candidates buy? Come on, Carl! You're worth $150 million!)
This could be (probably is) coincidental, but the beer poll results actually match up pretty well with this week's Q Poll that showed Paladino trailing Cuomo, 49-43.
Earlier on AOA:
+ Siena poll: Cuomo still has a big lead
+ Cuomo vs. Paladino -- stop the landslide?
Fine print: This is a completely unscientific poll. Results have been rounded. Margin of error? Depends on how much you drink.
Siena poll: Cuomo still has a big lead
The Siena poll out this morning reports that Andrew Cuomo leads Carl Paladino 57-24 in the race for governor (margin of error +/- 3.5). And Rick Lazio registers at... eight.
So, that's quite a different result from yesterday's Quinnipiac poll that reported Cuomo was ahead by just six points. And a Survey USA poll also out yesterday reported Cuomo was ahead by nine points.
There are a few differences between the Siena poll and the other two. First, Siena included Rick Lazio and the others did not. And the Siena poll surveyed registered voters, while the others surveyed "likely" voters.
Polling data uber-nerd Nate Silver examined the likely voter issue after Wendnesday's surprising Q Poll result. Likely voter models tend to favor Republicans a bit. But after talking with people at Quinnipiac, Silver concluded it probably doesn't explain Paladino's surge in the poll.
So... who knows where things are at right now. There are still 40 days before Election Day, which is plenty of time for the situation to change. Let's hope for a debate or two. Or at least a more interesting exchange between the candidates than a Photoshop competition.
A few other bits from the Siena poll
+ Chuck Schumer leads Jay Townsend 64-30.
+ Kirsten Gillibrand leads Joe DioGuardi 57-31 (though, that Survey USA poll only had her up 45-44)
+ No one knows who's running for attorney general. Both candidates -- Eric Schneiderman and Dan Donovan -- have don't know/no opinion scores over 60. The same thing goes for the comptroller matchup between Tom DiNapoli and Harry Wilson.
Lazio and Paladino in "virtual dead heat"
Rick Lazio and Carl Paladino are in "a virtual dead heat" for tomorrow's Republican primary for governor, according to a Siena poll of likely primary voters out this past weekend. Lazio leads Paladino 43-42 -- but that's within the 4 point margin of error.
The Siena poll reports that support for the two candidates is skewed geographically. Lazio, who's from Long Island, has a 55-30 lead among downstate Republicans. And Paladino, who's from Buffalo, leads 53-32 percent among upstate Republicans.
Paladino has picked up a lot of ground with Republican voters over the last month. A mid-August Siena poll had Lazio leading 43-30 among Republicans (they both were way behind in hypothetical matchups with Andrew Cuomo). It seems Paladino's angry-guy-taking-a-baseball-bat-to-the-establishment message is resonating with some people. Or maybe it's the campaign mailers that smell like garbage. [NYT] [NYT]
Paladino was in the Capital Region Sunday. He accepted separate endorsements from the Tea Party and Troy mayor Harry Tutunjian. [WTEN] [Troy Record]
Earlier on AOA:
+ Who is Carl Paladino?
+ Carl Paladino is one of those people who won't stop forwarding crap
image via Paladino campaign
Cuomo crushing
Things are looking pretty good for Andrew Cuomo -- and pretty bad for Rick Lazio.
Cuomo's campaign reported yesterday that it has $23.6 million in cash on hand. Lazio's campaign? Almost $689k. Yep, that's thousand.
And in the Siena poll out this week, Cuomo was ahead of Lazio 60-28 in a hypothetical gubernatorial matchup. (Carl Paladino, who's trying to get on the ballot to challenge Lazio in a Republican primary, doesn't fare any better -- he loses 64-23 against Cuomo.)
With a lead like that, we might take an RV campaign vacation, too.
campaign finance totals via the NYS Board of Elections
Paterson now snagged in Yankees ticket flap, new Troy city hall won't be cheap, Proctors expanding, cookies for Oscar
The state Commission on Public Integrity announced yesterday that it's asked prosecutors to look into whether David Paterson should be charged for giving false testimony during an ethics inquiry about Yankees World Series Tickets. The commission says it found:
"... there is reasonable cause to believe that Governor Paterson solicited, received and accepted an unlawful gift; and falsely testified under oath that he had always intended to pay for the tickets for his son and his son's friend when, in fact, the Governor's intention was to receive and accept the tickets without paying for them until a press inquiry caused him to submit a backdated check as payment for the tickets."
When asked yesterday whether he lied during the ethics investigation, Paterson said: "No." Paterson's story about how he ended up with the tickets has changed multiple times. In response to one of the Paterson administration's versions, the president of the Yankees told the NY Post the governor was "a liar." The Paterson aide who reportedly approached the Yankees: David Johnson. [NYS COPI] [TU] [NYT] [NY Post] [NYDN]
Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio was in Scotia yesterday and told a gathering of Republicans that "the people of New York deserve better than what they've been getting." He also criticized Andrew Cuomo for "ducking and bobbing and weaving - avoiding taking positions." [CapNews9] [Daily Gazette $] [Fox23]
"Several hundred" people showed up for yesterday's state parks rally outside the Capitol. Jack McEneny said he's been getting more mail about the parks closures than all proposed budget cuts combined. [TU] [Troy Record]
The 12 jurors for the Steven Raucci case have been selected. Potential jurors were screened for their thoughts on firecrackers and the use of informants. As part of jury selection, potential witness lists surfaced -- and many current and former top officials for the Schenectady school district are on the lists. [TU] [Daily Gazette $] [WNYT] [Daily Gazette $]
Consultants for the City of Troy report that building a new city hall could cost somewhere between $21 million and $25.5 million. Here's a live blog transcript from last night's meeting. [TU] [City of Troy]
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.
Weekend of shootings, Victoria Pool on secondary closure list, college student killed on Thruway
Schenectady police say a man was shot five times and killed on Maple Ave in the Vale neighborhood early Saturday morning (map). It's Schenectady's first homicide of the year. The SPD says two officers were injured by a ricocheting bullet as the SWAT team executed a search warrant on the same street Sunday night -- one of the officers was reportedly saved by his bulletproof vest. Police aren't saying whether the warrant is connected to the earlier shooting. The SPD says eight people were detained. [Fox23] [CapNews9] [Daily Gazette $] [CBS6] [CapNews9] [TU]
Albany police say a man was shot four times while walking between apartment buildings near Tivoli Park in Albany Friday night (map). And a teen was shot in the leg Thursday night in south Albany (map). There were a total of five shootings last week in Albany. [WNYT] [TU] [WTEN]
The Victoria Pool, Grafton Lakes and Peebles Island are on a secondary list of state parks and facilities slated for closure, depending on whether the legislature allows the state parks office to use capital funds for operational costs. The planned closure of Thacher Park -- which was officially announced on Friday -- is expected to save $255,000. If the budget plan is approved (a big "if"), parks on the first list would start to close April 1. [Daily Gazette $] [TU] [AOA] [TU] [Troy Record]
David Paterson officially announced his gubernatorial candidacy Saturday on Long Island. In his speech, he tried to position himself as the anti-establishment candidate and said, "I've done more in my two years as governor that most governors have done in two terms." Perhaps a bad sign for the governor: getting more than 100 people to show up at a campaign stop is described as "beating expectations." [NYT] [Daily Politics] [NYO] [NYDN]
Paterson attacks rumors, police say listening system reported gunshots first, county sending out prescription discount cards
In an interview with the AP, David Paterson defended himself against the still-unknown accusations that may or may not be included a New York Times article that may or may not be published. The frenzy of anticipation has led outlets to print all sorts of rumors. Rick Lazio called out the NYT yesterday in a letter, writing that if it doesn't have a story, it has "a moral obligation to stop the drama and the psychological warfare" on the governor. Neither NYT officials or reporters are commenting. And now some are saying Paterson might even come out ahead in all this. [AP/Post-Star] [NY Post] [Daily Politics] [Fox23] [NYO]
The bid to override David Paterson's veto of the ethics reform bill failed yesterday in the state Senate. Twenty-five Republicans and one Democratic voted to sustain the veto. Hugh Farley and Roy McDonald both voted to override. [TU] [NYT] [Daily Politics]
Troy police say a man was shot in North Central Friday night -- and they first heard about the shooting via the city's ShotSpotter system. The TPD says the system alerted officials 10 minutes before the first call related to the incident. [TU] [Troy Record] [WTEN]
A 19-year-old from Troy has been arrested for allegedly shooting an 18-year-old last week in north Albany. [TU]
During his State of the City address, Schenectady mayor Brian Stratton said last night that the city is freezing hiring and cutting other expenditures in an attempt to cover an upcoming $12.8 million budget gap. The city council also voted yesterday to move toward freeing itself from being responsible for taxes not paid to the school district. [WTEN] [Daily Gazette $] [CBS6] [Daily Gazette $]
The construction company that's building the GlobalFoundries chip fab at Luther Forest is moving its headquarters to the Watervliet Arsenal. Also: ATIC, the investment company funded by the government of Abu Dhabi, now owns 66 percent of GloFo. [TU] [Post-Star]
Two Ballston Spa teens were charged with felonies over the weekend for sending explicit text message pics. [WNYT]
Snowfall total way behind, Republicans lining up behind Lazio, shooting in north Albany, Brunomobile still parked
This winter's snowfall so far is about a foot less than typical totals. By the way: Punxsutawney Phil saw his shadow today. [TU] [CNN]
Brian Stratton says Schenectady is facing a budget gap of almost $13 million in 2011. One possible way to help cover the gap: start charging non-profits such as Union College and Ellis Hospital for police and fire services. [TU] [Daily Gazette $]
It's looking like the state Republican Party is lining up behind Rick Lazio as its choice for governor. Lazio was in Colonie yesterday and called out Andrew Cuomo, saying that Cuomo has "locked himself in his office and watched as Albany burned." A spokesman for Cuomo said yesterday that the AG is currently "focused on his public service." [CapNews9] [TU] [NYT] [Fox23]
Skidmore's president announced yesterday that the college will not have to go through with planned layoffs. He said the college's financial is improved because of an upswing in the endowment, as well as the results of attrition and a hiring freeze. [Daily Gazette $] [TU] [Post-Star]
... said KGB about Drawing: What's something that brought you joy this year?