ALBANY — Mayor de Blasio is at his “wit’s end” over the harsh treatment he’s received from supposed good friend Gov. Cuomo since taking office, according to sources who say they spoke directly to the mayor.
De Blasio was seeking advice from people who are close to both himself and Cuomo on what he can do to improve his working relationship with a governor he believes has gone out of his way to routinely embarrass him.
“He was very direct,” one source said. “He just said, ‘I don’t know what to do. Why does he keep coming at me like this? I want it to work.’ He’s at wit’s end.”
Lovett goes on to write that de Blasio thought he would have a better relationship with Cuomo after he saved Cuomo's bacon with the Working Families Party in May and helped ensure Cuomo would not face a third party challenge in the general election.
But it's been business as usual since then - Cuomo's out to screw de Blasio, embarrass him, make him look like a fool.
He did it over de Blasio's Sunnyside rail yards deal, he did it when he closed the subway without telling the mayor first, he did it when he abruptly changed course on Ebola patient restrictions.
The truth is, de Blasio's a fool for thinking he can have a working relationship with Andrew Cuomo.
Andrew Cuomo is a sociopath - he has no friends, his own family is rumored to not be too enamored of him, and time and again he demonstrates how the only principles he holds are to his own career.
The only way to deal with Cuomo is to stick a political shiv in him before he sticks it into you.
Maybe de Blasio will learn that one of these days.
Maybe Assembly Dems will too - they just weakened a powerplay against the governor by Senate Republicans by introducing Cuomo's poison pill 30 day budget amendments after the Senate refused to.
What is it with these Dems who look to get along with Andrew Cuomo, look to do his bidding in the hopes that he'll be nicer to them in the future?
They seem to be suffering from Stockholm Syndrome.
They should get over it finally.
RBE, I don't think it's nearly as easy as you'd like, having the mayor "stick a shiv" in the governor. It would be deeply satisfying to see that happen but how would he do that and he'd be able to do that exactly once before the full power of the governor's office would be brought down on him in ways that might not directly harm actual people, otherwise known as "voters," whom Cuomo also needs to court, but would make life miserable for the mayor.
ReplyDeleteCuomo and the State Senate despise the mayor, true enough, and the mayor knows that. There are countless ways, short of sending one of his goons to knee-cap the mayor, whereby Cuomo could retaliate in the aftermath of the first "shiv." All sorts of small and not so small initiatives that any NYC mayor depends on in Albany--budget items, approvals or waivers by State agencies, the treatment of home rule bills, the interpretations of state regulations, the federal pass-throughs that are controlled by the state, changes to the city's pension plans, I could go on--would get gummed up in ways that couldn't be easily traced to the governor but which would deeply delay, undermine and just plan f...k up City programs, policies and appointments. Folks have so little idea who the City is literally a "dependent municipality" of the state. With a deeply hostile Senate and with a brand-spanking new Speaker who opposed the Mayor's "semi-appointment" of the City Council speaker Mark-Viverito, it's not clear that Speaker Heastie has the inclination or real power yet to do much on behalf of the mayor. No wonder the mayor is "frustrated" and no wonder there's not really much he can do about it. The "shiv" works once but from that point on the mayor might as well "shiv" himself anytime he wants or needs something from Albany.
Sad, sad state of affairs for the people of the City of New York.
I get that BdB needs to keep a working relationship with Cuomo - but Assembly Dems don't. He's worked more with the Senate GOP than he has with them, yet hre they are, introducing his 30 day budget amendments after the Senate refused.
DeleteSo much for a tough stance against Cuomo from the Assembly.
Exactly. You'd think everyone in the Legislature would realize it's in their best interest to band together against Cuomo's antics.
ReplyDeleteThat's what I'm saying. By introducing his budget amendments, they signal they're ready to deal.
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