You didn't need to be a neurosurgeon to see over the last year that this state would be facing a fiscal crisis. Collapsing investment banks - which we used to havem but don't anymore - certainly made clear that the revenue side of the budget would be facing some strain.

Now, the governor is preparing to make cuts to that budget, and it's not going to be pretty.

Gov. David A. Paterson said in an interview on Sunday that he would almost certainly seek billions of dollars in cuts to Medicaid, as well as midyear reductions in school aid, to address New York’s worsening fiscal condition.

He also said he expected to urge labor unions to reopen the contracts they have struck on behalf of public employees as a way to avoid or decrease layoffs.

WFP hasn't yet weighed in with multiple email blasts, but of one thing you can be certain: nobody's cutting a dime to schools while Randi Weingarten yet breathes.

Governor David Paterson spoke before an overflow crowd at the UAW Region 9 hall in Williamsville today urging local voters to help get out the vote (GOTV) for Democratic candidates like Bill Stachowski, who is running for the New York State Senate.

For the first time in more than 40 years, Democrats are likely to take the Majority in the Senate. The ideological shift as a result will better serve economic development and job growth initiatives Upstate and statewide, which have floundered under a failed economic agenda of Senate Republicans. The election of Stachowski is recognized as key to that changeover in power in Albany.

"Bill is one of the most dedicated public servants I have ever had the pleasure of working with," said Governor Paterson. "He has an uncommon understanding of the communities of his district and the concerns they face. New York is in some tough times. We cannot afford to lose Bill's experience, knowledge and vision. Democrats have the first opportunity in more than 40 years to create real change with Bill's election—to grow the upstate economy, bring new green jobs and industries to our state, and ensure every New Yorker gets the education and affordable healthcare they deserve. Anyone who cares about these issues can be proud to cast their ballot for Bill Stachowski on Tuesday."

Speaking to hundreds of supporters, Governor Paterson spoke about the importance of this year's election and why Democrats have earned the chance to lead Congress and the State Legislature. He noted that people who want to see real change cannot stop at Barack Obama for President—they need to vote right down the ballot.

"People should not underestimate the importance of this election and how every race on every level of government can make a difference," said Democratic State Senator Bill Stachowski. "Governor Paterson has provided incredible leadership during hard economic times. It is nice to have a partner in the Executive Chamber who is committed to Western New York and the health of our economy. Western New Yorkers deserves better than what the Republican legacy has left us. There is a lot of hard work to get things back on track. I look forward to joining with the Governor as a member of the Democratic Majority in the Senate, focusing on the issues that matter most."

We're seeing something happen these days that's a welcome change from cycles past: Democrats reaching out to our contenders for legislative seats and putting their muscle, and their name, behind the young blood.

For example, Hillary Clinton, not a woman with a particularly open schedule these days, has endorsed - and campaigned for Eric Massa, Dan Maffei, Brian Foley, Kristen McElroy, Don Barber, and others up and down the food chain. Similarly, Governor Paterson - the subject of much grumbling in the political class in the summer due to his attempts to play nice with Skelos - has raised money for Dollinger, Foley, Addabbo, and others. All of this is announced in a daily stream of email releases.

What could bring our normally fractious Democrats together like that? Bright red oozing billows of blood in the water, for one thing; the other side has never had a weaker bench or a worse environment. This is the endgame, the final battle for New York; and I think we're going to win.

An interesting press release today from Jim Gennaro.

FLUSHING, NY (Sept. 29, 2008) Governor David A. Paterson today endorsed Democrat Jim Gennaro, who is battling 36-year incumbent Republican State Senator Frank Padavan in Northeast Queens' 11th District.

"In his seven years on the New York City Council, Jim Gennaro has established himself as one of the most effective legislators in New York City," Governor Paterson said. "He is a champion public servant who fights tenaciously for Northeast Queens on education, health care, tax relief and quality of life issues. On the issues of environmental protection and greener, more affordable energy, his record is unsurpassed. Jim's fearless, reform-minded independence are exactly what Albany needs, and I'm delighted to endorse his candidacy for the New York State Senate."

Councilman Gennaro said that the endorsement is a clear indicator of his campaign's momentum and that Governor Paterson is committed to ending the gridlock that Albany suffers by helping to elect legislators who promise to work hard and work together.

"I cannot be more proud today in receiving the endorsement of Governor Paterson, who has proven to be a successful steward for progress in Albany," Councilman Gennaro said. "By endorsing the Gennaro for New York campaign, Governor Paterson is sending a clear message that the way to fix government and make it more responsive to New Yorkers is by electing fresh new leaders who will fight for what's right for their constituents."

Councilman Gennaro is running as a new choice in a district where the leadership has gone stale after too many years in power, he said. He argues that the current incumbent has squandered too many chances to serve working families, especially in the areas of fiscal fairness and sufficient education and transit funding.

Apparently - the governor is also backing Rick Dollinger against Joe Robach, and rumor has it he'll shortly become far more active - David Paterson has decided that a Democratic Senate is in his best interest. Good for all of us.

Just to take a stab in the dark here: did David Paterson's people do a poll recently showing that people like the governor, but lack clarity on what he's doing? It might be interesting to know the answer - and I certainly do not - because it's striking how out-front the governor has been recently.

On September 8th, Paterson mocked Albany legislators as bloodsuckers, leading to much howling and rumored garlic and crucifix shortages caused by enthusiastic citizen buying.

On Tuesday, September 16th, Paterson gave authority to AIG to move $20 billion in assets from subsidiaries to its central holding, long before any Federal action was taken.

On September 19th, the governor requested that Treasury headquarter its relief efforts for Wall Street in New York City itself.

Today, the governor refused to rule out tax increases to get the state through the Wall Street crisis, authorized the attorney general to investigate the LIRR pension/disability scandal, hinted at a special session of the legislature, called rebuilding at Ground Zero "a mess", announced that the state will begin regulating some of the bizarre credit derivatives, slapped down John McCain, and for good measure, yesterday let everyone know that he won't be endorsing in the 2009 mayoral race.

Whatever the root cause of this pleasing activity is, more, please.

Live from Columbia University's Low Library, at the Service Nation Summit, Governor Paterson just announced the creation of a cabinet position dedicated to encouraging volunteer activism in the state of New York.

Governor David A. Paterson today announced the creation of a cabinet position to address issues related to national and community service. Susan Stern, Chair of the State Commission on National and Community Service, will be elevated to the Governor's Cabinet. She will produce a report for the administration within 90 days to make New York State a national leader for service and volunteerism.

This new position puts policy meat on today's gubernatorial statement on the anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

But the real story of that day is the story of our loved ones, of those heroes among us, who sacrificed their own lives to prevent an even greater tragedy. These courageous men and women rescued colleagues and revived strangers. They braved catastrophe, ignored fear and showed the kind of heart that makes this country resilient. Their legacy, and the humbling show of strength from the family members who survived them, is what we will commemorate on this day for generations to come.

“So today, as we reflect on the sadness, fear and anger that filled us on September 11, 2001, I urge you to remember the compassion, unity and strength that followed. It has been said that we live for as long as we are remembered, and today we renew our pledge to remember the friends and loved ones, parents and children, neighbors and strangers whose lives were cut short on that day. We will never forget them.”

Contrast that with the republican 9/11 remembrance.

The Bronx State Supreme Court - which is not the same thing as the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals - in a ruling issued Tuesday backed governor Paterson's executive order to state agencies to recognize out-of-state marriage licenses for same-sex couples.

The New York Times:

The decision, issued by Justice Lucy A. Billings of State Supreme Court in the Bronx, a trial-level court, is the latest in a string of rulings by state courts that have upheld the right of same-sex couples who were married in other jurisdictions to have their marital status recognized in New York, even though gay couples may not marry within the state. A bill to allow gay unions passed the State Assembly last year but has not come up for a vote in the Senate.

The suit was filed in June by lawmakers who opposed the governor’s order and by other opponents of same-sex marriage, who argued that Mr. Paterson had effectively usurped the Legislature’s role by issuing the order. The governor said the order, issued in May, was made to protect the state from litigation by gay couples legally married in places like Canada or Massachusetts.

The decision was rendered in a suit filed by Serph Maltese, Marty Golden and the virulently bigoted Alliance Defense Fund, and will now probably be appealed through the state court system by deep-pocketed extremist interests allied with the embattled Senator Maltese.

Ironically, Maltese and the other dead-enders who joined his suit have only to look to their own party's convention, currently unfolding fitfully in St. Paul, to see a shifting tide.

A group of gay and lesbian Republicans has traveled to the site of the GOP convention this week to help convince its party that it is time to stop being on the "wrong side" of the same-sex marriage issue.

"Clearly, the tide is turning," said Scott Tucker, communications director for the Log Cabin Republicans. "It's important for the Republican Party to be inclusive on this issue, because we are risk of being on the wrong side of history."

New York republicans aware of this state's demographics like to pretend that they're not quite the same people as their extremist, hateful cohorts in other states. They're the reasonable ones, supposedly.

Problem is, that's just not true.

David Paterson on John McCain:

If he's the answer, then the question must be ridiculous.

(h/t BarbinMD)

The newest Siena Poll, released yesterday, shows a hunger for change among New Yorkers, a stronger governor, and conflicting positions on how to resolve what is widely viewed as a serious budget crisis.

Specifically, 48% of New Yorkers describe the state's fiscal position as poor, 37% as fair, and 11% as good. Voters are divided as to a proper remedy, however; support for the governor's tax cap plan clocks in at 66%, with 23% opposed; support for a circuit-breaker as endorsed by the WFP polls at 75% support, 18% opposed, and asked to choose between the two, 58% support the circuit-breaker proposal, 33% a tax cap. However, by 55% to 43%, New Yorkers aren't confident that the state's leadership will effectively address the crisis.

Good news for Governor Paterson: his favorability rating is holding steady at 59%. Better news for Senate Democrats: 47% of voters support a Democratic State Senate, 42% a republican majority. Generically, an individual incumbent polling under 50% at this point in the cycle is considered endangered.

Poor David Paterson. His state - you may have heard of it, it's quite substantial - faces a budget crisis. Since it's an election year, one of the ways to solve that crisis - by raising revenue - is a non-starter; there's really nothing that Senate republicans would like to do more right now, one guesses, than vote down a tax hike. That leaves remedies restricted to the spending side, unless the answer is more debt or a sale of assets, of course.

Newsday:

Powerful special interests were lining up Tuesday to block Paterson's call this week for $1 billion in cuts to health care, local governments and other areas that state lawmakers want to protect.

The Home Care Association of New York has accused Paterson of trying to balance the budget "on the backs of seniors and disabled New Yorkers," while the Greater New York Hospital Association and the state's powerful health care workers union say Paterson's cuts would devastate hospitals and threaten New Yorkers' access to care.

The New York State United Teachers union on Tuesday said Paterson's proposed $50 million cut to the City University of New York is "inconceivable" and would devastate higher education. [Ed. note: CUNY's 2008/09 budget is $1.647 billion]

To offset a possible hike in local property taxes due to cuts at the state level, the governor's proposal also includes a tax cap, a limit to annual growth of property taxes of 4%. That limit can be overturned, by referendum in local jurisdictions, but to do so would require a super-majority of 65% of the vote.

Opponents suggest the alternative route of a circuit breaker; the idea is to tie property taxes to income, generally a sound idea worth pursuing. From a fiscal perspective, however, a circuit breaker is a non-starter, because it relies on state coffers to cover local shortfalls - which makes little sense given that the state budget is already in the red.

So, we can't raise taxes, and we'll cut spending over the dead body of affected constituencies, but we still have a projected budget shortfall of six billion dollars next year. So here's an idea: let's just sell the naming rights to stuff. Say hello to Central Exxon Park and the Niagara Googles.