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.

Tom Wilber writes on Pressconnects.com - “Hess Corp., once a major prospect for natural gas development in Broome County, has set its sights south of the New York and Pennsylvania border.

The multinational energy company, working with Newfield Exploration, will likely begin drilling later this year on 87,000 acres in Wayne and Susquehanna counties, according to landowners and company officials.

Hess and Newfield are part of a broad prospecting rush to the Marcellus Shale, the mega natural gas reserve extending under the Appalachian range and southern New York. Pennsylvania state officials are expecting 5,200 new permits to drill in the Marcellus Shale this year — nearly three times the number of permits issued in all of 2009, according to information from the state Department of Environmental Protection.”

To read more click here.

Michael Gormley of the Associated Press reports on LoHud.com - ” New York Gov. David Paterson, defying calls from even fellow Democrats to drop out of the race for a full term, said Tuesday that he would leave only if the voters turned him out through the ballot box, or “in a box.”

Paterson spoke to reporters after several days of rumors sweeping the Capitol about carousing in the governor’s mansion, all of which Paterson strongly denied.”

To read more click here.

Michael Gormley of the Associated Press writes on LoHud.com - “New York Gov. David Paterson has met privately with key Democratic leaders about his re-election plans even as questions continue to swirl around the state capitol about a variety of unproven accusations involving the Democratic governor’s personal conduct.”

Read more click here.

New York Post columnist Adam Brodsky asks if New York City can’t roll back spending now, then when?

He writes:  “Mayor Bloomberg issued a stern warning to state lawmakers last month: Gov. Paterson’s budget cuts would meet stiff resistance in the Big Apple.

“Let me tell you,” Hizzoner huffed, “the cuts the state’s fiscal mess will cause us to make will not sit well with New York City residents.”

Well, maybe not. But it sure is good to see something forcing the city to rein in spending — since Bloomberg would never do it on his own.

Truth is, state-imposed trims might be just the medicine the city needs. If ever there were a time for belt-tightening, this is it.

Indeed, if City Hall can’t roll back spending now – at a time when the economy is said to be the worst since the Great Depression and the city and state fiscal predicament more precarious than in decades — then, let’s be honest, it’s never going to contain the budget.”

Read the column.

The Daily News reports - “Former President Bill Clinton endorsed Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand Thursday - a possible indication that the seat’s former occupant, Hillary Clinton, approves too.

“President Clinton thinks she’s doing a good job and he supports her,” aide Matt McKenna said.

To Read more click here.

Ford, in Westchester, calls for tax cuts

While Gillibrand was picking up an endorsement LoHud.com reports that Ford was in Westchester talking about tax cuts.
“Harold Ford Jr., who is considering a run against Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, continued his listening tour with a stop in Westchester on Thursday — and continued the back-and-forth barbs with his potential opponent.

Ford, a former Tennessee congressman-turned-Wall Street executive, stopped at Westchester Medical Center to learn more about issues facing hospitals and called on President Barack Obama and congressional leaders to cut taxes, particularly on company payrolls.”

To read more click here.

The Buffalo News is reporting - “The base of One HSBC Center played a makeshift Valley Forge late Thursday afternoon for a dozen and a half local tea party activists who descended on downtown Buffalo to continue efforts they are billing as the “Second American Revolution.”

The target: Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver.

Silver, D-Manhattan, was in Buffalo as the headliner for a $2,000-per-head fundraiser on the 31st floor of the city’s tallest building to benefit the Erie County Democratic Party.”

Read the rest of the story click here.

Glenda Gephart of the Star Gazette writes - “Simply requiring a permit before a driveway is built onto a public road is one of many recommended actions Schuyler County municipalities could take to lessen the impact of natural gas drilling.

“The permit could be the trigger to tell us about a planned well,” said Jerry Verrigni, district manager for the Schuyler County Soil and Water Conservation District, at a meeting of the county’s Council of Governments on Wednesday night.

Verrigni was one of the speakers reporting on the work of four subcommittees of the county’s Ad-Hoc Energy Task Force, which was organized in October by the Council of Governments.”

To read the rest of the story click here.

While published reports are hinting that Andrew Cuomo will announce his plans to run for governor in March, The Governor is not taking the new laying down. Fred Dicker of the New York Post writes today –“After months of saying nothing about Andrew Cuomo’s plan to run for governor, Gov. Paterson’s campaign committee yesterday challenged the attorney general to come forward with ideas to solve some of the state’s major problems.

“Since it’s clear Mr. Cuomo is running for governor, it’s time for him to stop ducking the hard questions of how he would close a $7.4 billion deficit, balance the budget and pass ethical and fiscal reforms,” said Paterson campaign manager Richard Fife.
At the same time that Rick Lazio blustered by Scott Brown’s win in Massachusetts continues to raise money, Liz Benjamin of the Daily New Reports that Suffolk County Democrat Steve Levy is telling GOP leaders that he would consider run for Governor on the Republican line – “Democratic Suffolk County Executive Steve Levy has told GOP leaders he’s willing to switch parties and run for governor as a Republican - but only if they clear the field of all foes.

The deep-pocketed Dem doesn’t want to have to compete for the Republican nomination, according to a highly placed GOP source.”

But his delay in making a decision has made the deal hard to seal.”

To read the rest of Fred Dicker’s story click here.

To read the rest of Liz’s story click here.

A poll released yesterday by Siena College fines that, “while New Yorkers overwhelmingly support Governor David Paterson’s call for a spending cap and term limits on state officials, and his favorability rating has inched up for the third consecutive month, Paterson continues to remain electorally very weak in a potential Democratic primary and in general election matchups, according to a new Siena (College) Research Institute poll of registered voters. For the first time since she’s been a United States Senator, more voters now have an unfavorable view of Kirsten Gillibrand than have a favorable view. She maintains a large lead in a potential Democratic primary against former Tennessee Representative Harold Ford, however, now faces a double digit deficit against former Governor George Pataki. As negatively as voters feel about any individuals, they have even greater disdain for the State Legislature.” To read the rest of the poll’s findings click here.