FOCUS: PATERSON’S FIRST YEAR
Paterson tries to rebuild support after a shaky year
Supporters predict comeback from ratings now at an all-time low
A year has passed since Gov. David A. Paterson took the oath of office on St. Patrick’s Day 2008, amid as much hoopla, hope and hoorays as ever witnessed in the ornate Assembly Chamber.
The legislators cheered wildly that day for one of their own, a historic figure who as the state’s first African-American and first disabled governor, quickly dispelled the controversy and disgrace of his predecessor.
But just hours after his swearing-in ceremony, the new governor found himself explaining extramarital activities to an eager Albany press corps. The first crack in the Paterson veneer had appeared, and ever since, events have conspired to chip away at the rest.
As he begins his second year as governor, Paterson encounters as much challenge as any of the 54 men who preceded him. His popularity stands at a meager 26 percent in the latest Marist College poll.
His supporters say he will bounce back, that a recovering economy will lift his fortunes and those of the state. But in this anniversary week, Paterson still faces major problems:
•A Wall Street collapse that left the state’s economy in shambles.
• A $15 billion budget gap that no one has figured out how to fill.
• The prospect of cutting services or raising taxes to deal with the deficit.
• Lingering resentment over the public relations disaster that resulted from selecting a successor to Hillary Rodham Clinton in the U. S. Senate.
• Growing questions over his political future, as Republicans sense his vulnerability and some Democrats hitch themselves to the rising star of State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo.
Paterson’s declining fortunes seem to offer Republicans a ray of hope. Matt Walter, executive director of the State Republican Party, says Paterson’s tenure has produced “one disaster after another,” stemming from a “lack of focus, leadership [and] results.”
“These are the kinds of things that make him the foil in numerous ‘Saturday Night Live’ skits,” he said. “And when that happens, it’s not a sign that you have a governor leading the state in the right direction.”
For his part, Paterson acknowledges mistakes but emphasizes the positive. He said he inherited daunting organizational obstacles after a prostitution scandal drove his predecessor, Eliot L. Spitzer, from office.
In a 17-page memo, Paterson’s staff points to dozens of accomplishments ranging from a $6 billion investment in the State University of New York and the City University of New York to expanding services for the mentally ill and $400 million in savings by cutting agency spending.
In an interview with Albany reporters, the governor said his early recognition of the crisis on Wall Street has positioned the state well.
He said he felt he kept the state ahead of the crisis by bringing the Legislature back in an election year in August and cutting $3 billion from an already-adopted budget. “We sent the signal to Washington that this would be the worst economic downturn since the Depression,” he said. “That would be my major accomplishment.”
In addition, he says he has impressed upon legislative leaders the need for major changes in the way the state operates.
“They have attempted to implement what I’ve asked them for, and right now, if you hear them, they’re talking about making tough choices, both the speaker and the majority leader,” he said. “I think you will see in the next few weeks that we hopefully are able to get a budget on time and that there will be deep and recurring spending reductions.”
But Paterson also wishes he could redo the clumsy appointment of Kirstin E. Gillibrand to the Senate.
“I should have just ended it,” he said of his vacillating on the appointment. “I understand that.”
Lee M. Miringoff, who conducts the Marist poll, said the governor’s position deteriorated after sending mixed signals about Caroline Kennedy, daughter of former President John F. Kennedy and a Senate aspirant. When Paterson’s staff planted disparaging stories about her aftershe withdrew, a public backlash erupted.
“Not only was it a messy process but it took him away from dealing with the economy in the public view,” Miringoff said, noting Paterson’s favorables still ranged near 50 percent before the controversy.
As a result, Miringoff noted that Paterson’s favorable ratings dropped 20 percent from the end of January until early this month. Even his New York City base has turned away from him, Miringoff noted, and his statewide numbers mark the lowest for any governor in the 30 years Marist has conducted statewide surveys.
While polls show voters believe President Obama and New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg appear attuned to their economic concerns, they fail to express the same confidence in a governor who also was blamed for embarrassing the daughter of a beloved president.
“It’s just that they thought he was not in control of the process and people did not appreciate the rough treatment [of Kennedy],” Miringoff said.
Buffalo Mayor Byron W. Brown, who is close to Paterson personally and politically, said he remains supportive despite a string of problems he attributes mainly to now-departed staff. He says the governor can bounce back, but that the almost overwhelming challenges posed by a recession will make it difficult.
“I still think he can right the ship,” Brown said. “But you’re talking about a very large ship that even in the best of times is difficult to steer. He’s got to move quickly; he’s got to move decisively; and he’s got to move boldly to demonstrate he’s the one at the controls.”
Paterson also says he can rebound in time for next year’s election. He is pleased with the new faces on his staff who are his people, not Spitzer’s. He is raising money for the election and assembling a campaign staff. Cuomo, meanwhile, maintains a low political profile while waging a campaign against Wall Street abuses that commands a national spotlight.
Stimulus money bound for the state from Washington brings with it the process of reviving Wall Street and the upstate economy, Paterson predicts.
“We have 17 projects that have already put 2,100 people to work in the state,” he said. “We are now going through the stimulus money that we think can take some of the pressure off of our neighbors and those less able.”
rmccarthy@buffnews.com and tprecious@buffnews.com
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