Gov. David A. Paterson may not call for a special election to fill the vacancy left by former Democratic Rep. Eric J. J. Massa, a decision Republicans are calling politics as usual.

Paterson’s top aides indicated Thursday in Albany that the governor, who had promised to call for a special election “as soon as possible,” may be changing his mind.

Without a special election, the Southern Tier district’s 660,000 residents would be without representation in the House until January.

“Honor your word,” former Corning Mayor Tom Reed, a Republican candidate for Massa’s 29th District seat, said of Paterson. “The indications I’m getting is that this is being done for political purposes.”

Reed said he thinks Paterson is backing off his earlier pledge because local Democrats are fearful of losing the seat. Massa, a Democrat from Corning, was elected in 2008 in a Republican-leaning district.

A Paterson spokeswoman said the governor’s reluctance is rooted in the cost of a special election.

“We have some serious concerns about the financial impact that a special election could have on the county level, especially because those counties are facing the same fiscal crisis that the state is facing,” Maggie McKeon, a Paterson spokeswoman, said in a statement.

McKeon’s statement came just weeks after the governor told The Buffalo News that he would call a special election for the congressional district that extends through much of the Southern Tier.

Asked at the time whether the seat could remain vacant for the rest of the year, Paterson said, “I wouldn’t think so.”

While the governor’s aides sounded a change in direction, they insisted that a final decision has not yet been reached. A special election would have to be held 30 to 40 days after he calls for one.

McKeon said that the “governor has no interest in disenfranchising military voters who are overseas, and who may not be given adequate time to vote given the short time frame of a special election calendar.

“This is some of what is being considered, but no final decision has been made yet,” she said.

Reed called the suggestion that the cost of funding the election is at the root of Paterson’s motivation “off the wall.”

“It’s just wrong and the governor knows it,” he said.

When asked what options the GOP may have, Reed said he knows of organizations that are considering legal action against the governor.

Massa resigned his House seat early last month after allegations that he made inappropriate sexual remarks to staff members.