Jul 28, 2009 2:46 pm US/Eastern
Ex-Gov. Carey Supports NY Lieutenant Governor
ALBANY (CBS) ―
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Gov. David Paterson announces Richard Ravitch will be appointed Lt. Governor during a televised speech on July 8, 2009
CBS
Former Gov. Hugh Carey, who led New York through a fiscal crisis in the 1970s, is supporting Gov. David Paterson's decision to appoint a lieutenant governor, a move now being challenged in court.
Carey says Paterson's surprise decision earlier this month is critical to resolving the current fiscal crisis. Both are Democrats.
In a court filing, he also praises the choice of Richard Ravitch as a stellar, dedicated public servant who served him well in the 1970s crisis.
But Paterson is being challenged by Senate Republicans who argue the constitution doesn't allow for the appointment. It has long been assumed in Albany that the office couldn't be filled until the next election for governor.
Both sides are due in court Thursday. Republicans didn't immediately comment Tuesday.
Last Tuesday, a judge issued a restraining order blocking Ravitch from serving as lieutenant governor.
"The court is convinced that this is the rare case in which a preliminary injunction enjoining an act of the governor of the state is appropriate," State Supreme Court Justice William LaMarca wrote. He ordered another court hearing on the issue on Aug. 25. The judge also denied a request to move the case to the state capital in Albany.
"Were the governor to die, resign, or be removed from office, Mr. Ravitch, if allowed to remain in office, is next in the line of succession," LaMarca wrote. "For an illegally appointed lieutenant-governor to act as governor of the state would clearly constitute irreparable harm." .
The governor's attorney argued that a provision of the state Public Officers Law allows him to fill some vacant posts until the next election. Senate attorneys said the state constitution does not allow for the appointment of a lieutenant governor when a vacancy occurs.
LaMarca sided with the Senate. "Thus, the court must hold that the office of lieutenant-governor is not an 'elective office,"' the judge said.
Paterson appointed Ravitch, a former head of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, earlier this month as a way of breaking a monthlong leadership deadlock in the state Senate.
Paterson's appointment provided a tie-breaking vote in the Senate, which had been deadlocked at 31-31 since shortly after a June 8 overthrow of Democratic leadership. In cases of ties in the Senate, a lieutenant governor casts the deciding vote.
Shortly after Paterson named Ravitch, Sen. Pedro Espada, who sided with Republicans to stage the monthlong coup, rejoined the Democratic conference, restoring a 32-30 Democratic majority.
Paterson was elected lieutenant governor in 2006, but ascended to the governor's office in March 2008 after Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in a sex scandal.
Paterson made no attempt at appointing a successor until the Senate controversy.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo declined to represent the governor in the legal dispute, saying he also believed the appointment was unconstitutional.
The hearing took place in Nassau County, home to Republican Dean Skelos, the Senate minority leader.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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