Duffy On First Two Weeks As LG

Duffy On First Two Weeks As LG
Think Andrew Cuomo and certain adjectives come to mind - hard-charging, ambitious, determined. His hand-picked lieutenant inspires other descriptors - earnest, humble, understated… tall. Robert (Read more...) ...

Dan Collins: Mario Cuomo: New York's Proud Papa
Mario Cuomo has given the matter serious consideration and reached a conclusion about the man best suited to lead New York State out of its fiscal and ethical crisis. "He's my son, but I don't have to strain to be objective with him and about him," Cuomo told HuffPost. "There is nobody, nobody I can think of who can match him in abilities and experience for the task that he's facing ... He is the right guy at the right moment." As Andrew Cuomo takes over the reins of New York, he's being watch...

Friday Morning Coffee: Farm Show Friday.
Good Friday Morning, Fellow Seekers. Sometime today, we'll be making our annual trek to the Pennsylvania Farm Show in search of exotic forms of jerky, the best in local barbecue and the requisite chocolate-vanilla milkshake. In addition to our usual stops, we're looking for some surprises this year. Thus, we turn to you, the vast and loyal Capitol Ideas reading public for recommendations. What are your must-sees? What's surprised you at this year's celebration of all things agricultural? And ...

Chris Christie Fires Back At Rudy Giuliani's Snow Criticism
NJ Governor Chris Christie has gotten some flak for going to Disney World while his Lieutenant Governor was also on Vacation in Mexico during the blizzard. See, the whole point of having a Lieutenant Governor is basically so the control of the state reminds in the hand of the governor's office, but Christie pointed out that A) he promised his kids they'd go see Mickey Mouse, B) his LG's Cancer-stricken dad planned this trip, and C) the state did fine. Still, that wasn't good enough for former ...

SC Prepares For Changing Of Guard
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- Several South Carolina constitutional officers will be sworn in Wednesday, including Governor, Lieutenant Governor and Attorney General. Nikki Haley, who takes over for Gov. Mark Sanford as the state's 90th Governor, will be sworn in on the Capitol steps at 11 a.m., following a morning prayer service. Haley, an Indian-American, has generally downplayed how she will make history by becoming the first female and minority governor in South Carolina. The 38-year-old Republican face...

Cuomo Seeks Arms In Budget Battle
As The Daily Politics reported earlier, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is seeking financial help from supporters as he braces for an expected pushback from public-sector Unions and education groups. “Many groups will oppose our agenda,” Cuomo wrote in a letter sent to supporters, which was also obtained by Gannett’s Albany Bureau today. “Some groups will support part of our agenda and oppose others. We can only be successful if the Friends of Andrew Cuomo committee can push this ag...

Oklahoma Gov. says She'll "Offend" Constitution
Schwarzenegger Leaves Challenges for Gov. Brown (AP) Is she or is she not the Governor of Oklahoma? Mary Fallin was sworn in Monday as Oklahoma's first female governor, but in reciting the oath of office she really didn't promise to "support, obey and defend the Constitution." At an outdoors ceremony in bone-chilling and teeth-chattering cold, Fallin told Oklahoma Chief Justice Steven W. Taylor that she would "support, obey and offend" the U.S. and state constitutions. "She dropped the 'd'," ...

Land Commissioner Patterson may run for Lt. Gov. in 2014
A day after U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison announced she would not seek re-election next year, Texas Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson said he is seriously considering a race for Lieutenant Governor in 2014 - on the assumption that current Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst will give up the post to run for Hutchison's Senate seat. Patterson, a former State Senator and author of the state's concealed Handgun law, is the first to publicly voice interest in the state's number two job. "I am today announcing m...

LENORE SKENAZY: Eek! A Male! Treating all men as potential predators doesnt make our kids safer.
LENORE SKENAZY: Eek! A Male! Treating all men as potential predators doesn’t make our kids safer. Last week, the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, Timothy Murray, noticed smoke coming out of a minivan in his hometown of Worcester. He raced over and pulled out two small Children, moments before the van’s tire exploded into flames. At which point, according to the AP account, the kids’ grandmother, who had been driving, nearly punched our hero in the face. Why? Mr. Murray s...

Not all men are perverts
Image via Wikipedia Lenore Skenazy: Last week, the Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts, Timothy Murray, noticed smoke coming out of a minivan in his hometown of Worcester. He raced over and pulled out two small Children, moments before the van's tire exploded into flames. At which point, according to the AP account, the kids' grandmother, who had been driving, nearly punched our hero in the face. Why? Mr. Murray said she told him she thought he might be a kidnapper. And so it goes these days,...

Jerry Patterson wants to move up political ladder
Land Commissioner Jerry Patterson was just sworn into a third term but he's already talking about moving up the political ladder — to Lieutenant Governor. The announcement came a day after current Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst moved closer to running for the Senate in 2012, a seat being vacated by longtime U.S. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison. Patterson wouldn't be able to run for the powerful lieutenant Governor post until 2014, but he said Friday he wanted a new way to put his "experience and passio...

A.M. Roundup: SUNY/CUNY tuition hikes coming?
Good morning! Gov. Andrew Cuomo is in Watertown today, and the Capitol should be quiet ahead of a three-day weekend. Here are some headlines… Federal authorities have charged a New York City man in connection with phoning in a Bomb Threat to Carl Paladino’s campaign headquarters. (AP) The Medicaid Redesign Team met for the first time Thursday, searching for short and long-term savings. (TU) Cuomo is relying on Lobbyists to guide him through this process. (GNS) Erie County Executive...

Racino operators oppose Catskills casino
ALBANY -- New York racino operators have banded together in an attempt to block a proposed deal that would allow a Wisconsin tribe to build a long-awaited Catskills casino that, its detractors claim, would cost the state hundreds of millions in lost revenue. Operators of six of the nine racinos approved in New York -- including Saratoga Casino and Raceway -- wrote to Gov. Andrew Cuomo's administration urging a reconsideration of the "midnight" casino deal, which was approved in the waning days ...

Morning Read: If the Political Rifts Continue
A look at a tight network of young women in Congress, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand and Rep. Gabrielle Giffords among them. Andrew Cuomo played both sides of the aisle in Jamestown (Read more...) ...

No Plans To Make Save NY Donor List Public
As we reported earlier, the Committee to Save New York is beginning its statewide media push this week with a television commercial aimed at building popular support for expected Budget cuts and Property Tax cap being proposed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo. “The committee supports my basic Budget position, which is no new taxes,” Cuomo said at a news conference on storm management. “I’m sure there are other positions of mine that they wouldn’t support. So on the issue of t...

Gov. Cuomo has his snow moment
Mayor Bloomberg wasn’t the only one giving a snow briefing this morning. Gov. Andrew Cuomo visited the state’s Emergency Operations Center this morning to meet with agency chiefs and brief reporters about storm management operations. “I’m here because this is my job,” Cuomo said. “This is what the Governor should be doing. This is what State Government should be doing. It should be working. It should be coordinating. It should be preparing. Agency heads should...

Source: Cuomo will rescind State Police raises
An administration source said that Gov. Andrew Cuomo will rescind about $200,000 in Salary increases approved last year for State Police brass. (H/T Dicker) Cuomo said he learned of the raises with “shock and surprise” and said Wednesday he would “review” them in the context of the Budget. Cuomo allowed the Layoffs of 891 state workers, a move initiated by Gov. David Paterson. Cuomo has called for the need to reinvent State Government and pledged to reduce the budget ...

A.M. Roundup: Cuomo will review SP raises
Good morning! As we’re digging out in Albany (we got 13.2 inches here, a bit low), Gov. Andrew Cuomo is hitting the road to Jamestown for a Speech this morning. Things are slowly gearing up. Here are the headlines… Gov. Andrew Cuomo hasn’t yet hired an Economic Development chief. (DN) He he was “shocked” that State Police Top Officials got raises recently, something he pledged to “review” in the context of the larger Budget. (TU/NYP/BN) The Governor em...

Cuomo Plans To Move Forward With Indian Cigarette Tax Plan
Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today he wants to move forward with a plan to collect taxes from the sale of Cigarettes on Indian Reservations. The plan, which was approved by the State Legislature last year after the urging of Gov. David Paterson, has been stuck in limbo after Legal Challenges arose. Cuomo was speaking in Jamestown in western New York as part of his “Take It to The People” tour. Cuomo also met with the president of the Seneca Nation of Indians, Robert Porter. Cuomo said th...

Gov. Cuomo Fundraises For Budget Battle
This year's Budget battle will be a hot one, and Gov. Cuomo's wasting no time asking for donations to help him fight the war: In an email obtained by the Daily Politics, his campaign fund, Friends of Andrew Cuomo, is soliciting cash to bolster what could be a fierce struggle to push through the Spending Cuts and reforms he wants. "We can only be successful if the Friends of Andrew Cuomo committee can push this agenda through. We need to raise Money once again so we have the resourc...

Cuomo Wants To Hear From the Public, Not The Lobbyists
Gov. Andrew Cuomo today added a new page to his website—www.NYcitizenscampaign.com—allowing the public to comment about government and offer their idea to improve the state. Cuomo launched the new site as he hit the road to promote his cost-cutting agenda. He stopped this morning in Jamestown, telling the roughly 200 people in the audience that this a “time of crisis, a defining moment for the state” and “we can never solve our problems if we refuse to acknowledge...

Environmental Groups Send Cuomo Their Wish List
Environmental groups today released “a green to-do list” for Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the State Legislature, offering their proposals on hydrofracking and reducing energy use. They are offering 12 memos for him to consider, including “Safeguard New York from Dangerous Hydraulic Fracturing” and “Rebuild New York’s Environmental Agencies” by adding back staff to the agency. Others call for reducing disposable bag use by approving a 5-cent fee on “disp...

Committee to Save NY retains Lee, reveals board
Bill Cunningham, the spokesman for the Committee to Save New York, said on the Capitol Pressroom that the organization has retained Allison Lee, a Lobbyist at his firm DKC’s lobbying operation, to talk to elected officials if necessary. “As of right now, there’s no bill to say we’re lobbying,” he said, asked if the Committee would register as a lobbyist. It may do so if appropriate. He also reiterated that the group, made up of business groups and Real Estate inte...

Cuomo Launched Citizens Campaign
As Gov. Andrew Cuomo kicks off an upstate tour to sell the agenda he laid out in last week’s State of the State address directly (Read more...) ...

Cuomo To Rescind State Police Raises
Two days after expressing “shock and surprise” that the top brass at the State Police netted $200,000 in bonuses in 2010, Gov. Andrew Cuomo is reportedly rescinding the money. More than 20 State Police officers in the command—including Cuomo’s pick to lead the force—received the generous raises as the state remains mired in a fiscal crisis and Laid Off 900 state workers “We’ll be getting the facts, we’ll be reviewing it. We’ll be looking at...