Jul 7, 2009 7:16 pm US/Eastern
Suozzi's Name Floated As Possible Lt. Gov. Pick
Desperate To End Logjam In Albany, Paterson Considering Naming No. 2 To Oversee Senate, But Legal Questions Persist
Nassau County Exec Says He's More Concerned With Re-Election
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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Will Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi one day be lieutenant governor of New York?
CBS
Desperate times call for desperate measures and with no end in sight to the chaos in Albany sources told CBS 2 HD on Tuesday that's what Gov. David Paterson is considering.
Paterson was on Long Island on Tuesday sharing a stage with Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, but the question in political circles is whether Suozzi could soon be sharing another stage with Paterson -- as his lieutenant governor.
"You're putting the cart before the horse," Paterson told CBS 2 HD.
And while he may not pick Suozzi, sources said the governor is so frustrated with the Albany gridlock that he is seriously considering naming a lieutenant governor to preside over Senate sessions and get the deadlocked upper house back to work. The question is whether he has the authority to do it.
"This is such a rare entity in the law and there's very little case law about it, and there is really very little evidence one way or the other," Paterson said.
Sources said that the governor's lawyer talked with supporters of the plan, discussing such key issues of how to roll it out. The talks centered on whether to get a judicial ruling before making the appointment; or just making the appointment and let the chips -- and the suits -- fall where they may.
"Obviously we think the best solution is for the senators to come together," Paterson said.
As for Suozzi, who unsuccessfully ran against Eliot Spitzer for the Democratic nomination for governor in 2006, he said he's happy right where is his.
"Right now I'm focused on being county executive of Nassau County and I'm going to focus on that job and my re-election next year," Suozzi said.
Another name being floated as a possible lieutenant governor is Secretary of State Lorraine Cortes-Vazquez.
Meanwhile in Albany both sides put out plans for bipartisan power sharing, but there was no agreement on letting renegade Democrat Pedro Espada be the Senate president.
(© MMX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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