Brian Tumulty writes on Pressconnects.com - “Gov. David Paterson said Tuesday he will call a special election “as soon as possible” to fill the 29th Congressional District seat.

That means Southern Tier and Western New York residents of the eight-county district could have a new congressional representative to succeed former Rep. Eric Massa of Corning as soon next month.

A short election timetable could benefit Republican candidate Tom Reed, a former mayor of Corning who has been campaigning for the seat since last July.”

To read more click here.

Jimmy Vielkind of the Times Union writes - “Republicans are having a second thought about gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio. His name is Steve Levy.

Top party officials convened Tuesday morning at the Fort Orange Club to meet with Levy, the Suffolk County executive who is a Democrat. That the GOP would even consider Levy is a sign of growing frustration with Lazio, a former Long Island congressman who has secured the support of the weighted majority of Republican leaders.

To read more click here.

71% Do Not Want Him Impeached If He Doesn’t Resign
Confidence in Popular Attorney General to Conduct Fair Investigation
54% of Voters Are Now “Embarrassed” to Call Themselves New Yorkers

The Siena College Poll out this morning says - “A clear majority of voters, 55 percent, would prefer Governor David Paterson serve the remainder of his term, compared to 37 percent who would like him to resign and allow Lt. Governor Richard Ravitch to serve as governor for the remainder of the year. And an even larger majority, 71 percent, would rather see the Governor finish his term, while 21 percent would like the State Legislature to move to impeach the Governor if he does not resign, according to a new Siena (College) Research Institute poll of registered voters.

Attorney General Andrew Cuomo remains strongly popular with voters and a majority thinks he will conduct a fair and impartial investigation of the Governor and his staff, although two-thirds of voters would prefer to see the investigation conducted by an independent, outside prosecutor. While 70 percent of voters agree with the statement that New York has never been more dysfunctional than today, by 54-41 percent voters also say that what’s going on in Albany makes them “embarrassed” to call themselves New Yorkers.

“More voters have an unfavorable view of David Paterson now than at any time, and more voters view the job he’s doing as governor as poor than at any time in the two years he’s been governor. Yet, a clear majority want to see him serve out the remaining nine months of his term rather than resign by a more than three-to-one margin, voters do not want to see the Legislature begin impeachment proceedings,” said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg. “Republicans and downstate suburbanites are evenly divided on the resignation question, however, a majority of Democrats, independents, New York City and Upstate voters all favor the Governor staying on the job, and at least 65 percent of voters from every party and region oppose impeaching Governor Paterson.”

To read the result of the poll click here.

A poll shows support has plummeted among New Yorkers this week for scandal-plagued Gov. David Paterson to continue to serve out his term.

The Quinnipiac poll released today shows that 46 percent of New Yorkers say he should finish out his term. In a poll earlier in the week that number was 61 percent.

Paterson hasn’t been charged with a crime. He’s being investigated over whether he inappropriately contacted a woman who accused one of his top aides of domestic violence.

And this week a state ethics board accused him of violating a gift ban by seeking and obtaining free World Series tickets.
The poll questioned 1,325 New Yorkers on Wednesday and Thursday. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 2.7 percentage points.

To read the poll click here.

Ariel Zangla writes in the Daily Freeman - “Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy said he has the plan and the will to reform New York state and keep it from going bankrupt.

Levy, a Democrat who is contemplating a run for governor this fall, said his plan includes declaring a fiscal state of emergency and establishing an independent control board to address spending in New York.

His plan also calls for, among other things, allowing the governor to impound 10 percent of the budget; capping state spending; capping local school property taxes; establishing a hard April 1 deadline for state budgets to take effect, with or without Legislative approval; reforming the state pension system to align benefits for new employees with those available in the private sector; and ending mandatory arbitration.”

To read the rest of the story and view the video interview with Levy click here.

Robin K. Cooper of the Business Review writes - “Business lobbying groups fear they’re losing an ally following Gov. David Paterson’s announcement today that he will bow out of the gubernatorial race…

Paterson’s decision not to run renders him a lame duck with 308 days left in his term as governor, which began less than two years ago after Eliot Spitzer resigned amid a prostitution scandal.

“At a time when the state is facing tough economic choices there has been this endless parade of three-ring circuses in Albany,” Elmendorf said.

Besides the changes in the executive chamber, the Legislature also was hobbled by a monthlong battle last summer over control of the state Senate.

“It’s an appropriate step for the governor in terms of suspending his campaign,” said Kenneth Adams, president and CEO of the Business Council of New York State.

“The important thing is for the governor and Legislature to focus on the state budget and the economic crisis,” Adams said. “New York is going to be the poster child for jobless recovery if we don’t get the budget right.”

To read more click here.

A Siena College poll released this morning finds - “Governor David Paterson’s favorability, job performance and electability ratings all slipped over the last month, as he now trails Attorney General Andrew Cuomo by 42 points in a potential Democratic gubernatorial primary and trails former Republican Representative Rick Lazio by seven points, according to a new Siena (College) Research Institute poll of registered voters. By a nearly three-to-two margin, voters think the State Senate was right to remove Democrat Hiram Monserrate from the Senate.

United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand maintains a better than two-to-one lead over former Representative Harold Ford in a potential Democratic primary, and looking at potential general election Senate match-ups, she continues to trail former Governor George Pataki, but she has large leads over former Nassau County Legislator Bruce Blakeman and Daily News publisher Mort Zuckerman.

“After three months of seeing modest gains his favorability and job performance ratings, Governor Paterson has lost ground with voters over the last month,” said Siena pollster Steven Greenberg. “The only good news for Paterson is that voters did not believe the rumors that had been swirling around Albany for weeks that a story would break forcing his resignation. Two-thirds of voters said they didn’t believe the rumors, while only 22 percent of voter believed that the Governor may very well have acted inappropriately in office.”

To read the rest of the findings click here.

Ben Rubin writes on LoHud.com - “After a sizable win in Tuesday’s special election, Republican Robert Castelli described his victory as an expression of voter discontent with the state capital.

Castelli, a retired state trooper and college professor, beat Democrat Peter Harckham for the 89th Assembly District seat by 55 percent to 45 percent, wrenching away a Democratic-leaning district held by Democrats for the last 17 years.

“I think it’s a mandate for change,” Castelli, 60, of Lewisboro, said about his win. “There’s a level of frustration by the electorate, both Republicans and Democrats, who feel they don’t have a voice in Albany.”

While congratulating Castelli’s win, Harckham, a second-term Westchester County legislator, said the results didn’t surprise him. He said he knew independent voters — who make up 25 percent of the 89th District — were trending Republican.”

To read more click here.

Loews Corp. CEO James Tisch writes in a New York Post op-ed that state legislators should learn from the most recent election that New York voters are fed up with high taxes.

He writes:  “While federal taxes are non-negotiable, Americans have a choice when it comes to state taxes. Over the years, many have voted with their feet by moving out of state to avoid our sky-high state and city taxes. A compelling Manhattan Institute study recently documented this trend, showing that those moving out of Manhattan and NYC had much higher incomes than those moving in.

If the study isn’t enough to influence our elected leaders, last Tuesday’s elections should be. I’m thinking especially of Westchester and Nassau counties, where voters — a k a taxpayers — finally stood up and said that they’d had enough of the high taxes.

Over the years, both counties have funded their government and school-district operations with ever-higher property taxes. Last week, the voters said “no” to their county executives and their taxes. Westchester’s Andy Spano is out; Nassau’s Tom Suozzi is hanging on by a thread as he awaits the count of absentee ballots, which could end his once-promising political career.

This is a tectonic shift on the part of voters.”

Read the op-ed. 

John Faso, the co-founder of New Yorkers for Growth, writes in an op-ed in The New York Post, that this year’s election set off a major tremor in New York politics that could become an earthquake next year. He notes the defeat of many incumbents in local races.

He writes:  “The reason for the tumult is clearly concern with taxes and the economy. New York’s state and local budget structure is on the verge of a meltdown. The state faces a $3 billion hole in its current budget, and come December won’t be able to pay all its bills. Next year, Albany is looking down the barrel of another $6 billion to $8 billion deficit — despite having billions of federal stimulus money still available.

Yet the real crisis will unfold after the election of the next governor — when the state must deal with another hole of $15 billion to $20 billion.

The public may not comprehend these multibillion-dollar messes. But it does know that it’s paying among the nation’s highest property taxes. Citizens also see a political culture dominated by public-sector unions and other special interests that view taxpayers and business as simply a source of revenue to sustain salaries, pensions and benefits for those on the public payroll.

New York faces a real crisis that won’t be solved by another round of tax hikes. The state, its localities and school districts will have to fit their spending within available revenues, which are likely to shrink over the next two years.”

Read the full column.