Nov 5, 2009 2:50 pm US/Eastern
AP: Senate Democratic Majority Will Snub Paterson
Official: 'We're Not Returning For A Photo Op'
ALBANY (CBS) ―
The Senate's Democratic majority won't attend Democratic Gov. David Paterson's joint address to the Legislature Monday, when he will try to build support for attacking New York's latest fiscal crisis, according to state officials informed of the decision.
"We're not returning for a photo op" for Paterson, a senior Democratic official said of the governor, who is languishing in the polls as he seeks election in 2010. The official, who is close to the Senate's majority leaders, spoke on condition of anonymity because he wasn't authorized to speak for the senators.
The Senate's Republican minority and the Assembly's Democratic majority and Republican minority plan to attend the address ahead of a rare joint session of the Legislature in the middle of the fiscal year that Paterson is expected to call for Tuesday. He has called for midyear spending cuts in school aid and health care along with measures to raise revenue without raising taxes to close a $3 billion deficit that he says threatens the state's ability to pay its bills in December.
"It's deplorable and disrespectful to the governor and the office of the governor," said Assembly Republican leader Brian Kolb. "The people they represent should hold them accountable for that ... if the governor wants to bring us all together in one room on this, we should be there."
Senate Democratic spokesman Austin Shafran said he didn't think the senators made a decision yet on whether to attend Monday's session, which lawmakers aren't required to attend. Shafran said the majority would attend the extraordinary session, which lawmakers must attend under the constitution to consider issues presented by the governor. The Legislature isn't required to vote on any measures.
Senate Democrats have held deficit hearings in Buffalo, New York City, and Long Island and, on Thursday, in Westchester. Thousands of New Yorkers spoke and hundreds of groups from labor to school advocates commented.
"We have been conducting the statewide hearings and when the hearings are complete, we intend to continue negotiations with the executive and the Assembly and return to Albany to reach an agreement, but not before that time," Shafran said.
Historically, governors including Paterson have seen at least temporary boosts in their polls when they talk tough to the Legislature about curbing public spending.
In a leaders' meeting a week ago, Paterson and Senate Democratic Conference Leader John Sampson appeared to clash over whether the Senate's hearings were intended to delay action on politically sensitive spending cuts. Sampson insisted they were not intended to delay, but to get public's input and support before any cuts.
Paterson didn't respond to a request for comment Thursday.
The Assembly's Democratic majority and the Senate's Republican minority declined to comment on the Senate Democrats.
Paterson is the first African American governor of New York and also the second legally blind governor of any U.S. state after Bob C. Riley, who was Governor of Arkansas for eleven days in January 1975.
(© 2009 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
2009 Celebrity Deaths
Click to enlarge
Stumble It!
Comments