We hear...That Gov. Andrew Cuomo will be joining Billy Joel on his boat in Oyster Bay today for the annual Friends of the Bay cleanup.
ALBANY - Gov. Cuomo, who bragged his administration would attract the best and the brightest from across the country, is also elevating the biggest: His wealthy campaign donors.
A host of Cuomo appointments feature the governor's well-heeled financial backers. Of the 13 appointments now awaiting Senate confirmation, eight of the nominees and their spouses donated a combined $328,402.
That doesn't even include John Dyson, a former deputy mayor under Rudy Giuliani who was already confirmed as a new trustee of the state Power Authority.
Dyson and his wife handed over nearly $93,000 to Cuomo.
While it's not uncommon for governors to reward donors and cronies with plum appointments, Cuomo's nominations raised eyebrows given his vows to change the way Albany does business.
"It seems consistent with the past," said Assemblyman John McEneny (D-Albany).
And while most of the slots come without pay, watchdogs say they have one important benefit - influence.
Susan Lerner, head of Common Cause/New York, said, "The appearance of picking people who have provided you with donations is never the criteria we would recommend for appointments."
Many donors had one other thing in common - Cuomo never announced their nominations publicly, instead sending them up quietly for Senate consideration.
The big donors include:
- Howard Milstein, Cuomo's nominee to chair the state Thruway Authority, and his wife donated $100,000 to the governor's campaign.
- Former lieutenant governor candidate Dennis Mehiel, who made his fortune in the cardboard business, and his wife kicked in nearly $82,000. Mehiel was nominated to serve on the Empire State Development Corp.
- Steven Weiss, a Buffalo-area lawyer nominated to serve on the state Housing Finance Agency, forked over $25,000.
- Donald Capoccia, founder of the real estate development company BFC Partners, was appointed to the Battery Park City Authority. He dished $12,500 to Cuomo.
- RXR Realty boss Scott Rechler and Jeffrey Lynford, co-founder of the Wellsford real estate companies, were both nominated to serve as commissioners to the Port Authority. Rechler and his wife gave Cuomo more than $71,000. Lynford chipped in $6,375.
- Investor Beryl Snyder, nominated to the Dormitory Authority, handed over $18,500.
- Jonathan Sheffer, a conductor and composer nominated to serve on the state Council on the Arts, ponied up $13,000.
Cuomo's team said there should be no surprise that there is "overlap" between people who participate in campaigns and those who serve in government since "they are the same universe of individuals."
"The relevant question is are these qualified, accomplished people and our nominees are outstanding individuals who have brought renewed credibility to government," Cuomo spokesman Josh Vlasto said.
More connections
An examination of Cuomo's appointments and nominations since taking office in January show political connections stretch beyond just donations.
His inner circle is filled with people who worked for Cuomo - either in the attorney general's office or at the federal Housing and Urban Development department when he was Secretary under President Bill Clinton.
Others worked for his father, Mario Cuomo, a former three-term governor.
Then there are political cronies.
Kenneth Adams, already confirmed as boss of the Empire State Development Corp., is a former head of the state Business Council. The council last year for the first time in its history made an endorsement for governor, backing Cuomo.
Former Bronx borough president and longtime Democratic activist Fernando Ferrer is awaiting Senate confirmation to the MTA board.
In the end, Cuomo will be judged by whether his appointments did their jobs and advanced his goals, said Russell Haven, of the New York Public Interest Research Group.
"That said, we encourage looking for appointees outside the traditional political and business circles," Haven added.
By 5:1, NJ Voters Say Governor Christie Should Not Run for President in 2012: New Jersey Republican Governor Chris Christie, beloved by some and despised by others for his bluntness, has a Minus 18 job approval today as speculation continues about whether Christie should run for President. 38% of NJ adults approve of the job Christie is doing, 56% disapprove.According to this latest Eyewitness News Poll conducted by SurveyUSA exclusively for WABC-TV in New York City, NJ voters by 5:1 say Christie should not run for President.
* By 2:1, NJ voters say Christie would be a worse president than Barack Obama.
* Obama carried NJ in 2008 by 15 points. Obama's approval rating in NJ today is Plus 14 (54% approve, 40% disapprove).
* Voters split evenly on whether Christie would be better president than George W. Bush.Christie has cut state spending on education. In those Jersey homes where a school teacher lives:
* Christie's job approval is Minus 30 (33% approve, 63% disapprove).
* 6:1 say Christie should not run for president.
* 5:2 say Christie would be a worse president than Obama.In union households:
* Among Republicans, Christie's job approval is Plus 29. But: by 2:1, Republicans say Christie should not run for President.
* Christie's job approval is Minus 36 (31% approve, 67% disapprove).
* Obama's job approval is Plus 15 (55% approve, 40% disapprove).
* 8:1 say Christie should not run for president.
* 2:1 say Christie would be a worse president than Bush.
* Conservatives by 2:1 and Republicans by 3:2 say Christie is qualified to be President.
* Conservatives and Republicans by 3:1 say Christie would make a better President than Obama.
* Even among the state's comparatively few Tea Party members, where Christie's approval is Plus 49, there is division: 38% say Christie should run for the White House, 39% say he should not.* Among Independents, Obama's job approval is Plus 7, Christie's is Minus 11.
* Among Moderates, Obama's job approval is Plus 28, Christie is Minus 23.
* Among lower-income voters, Christie is Minus 32. Among upper income voters Christie is Minus 5.
So many interesting things here.
First, just who are the 33% of teachers who approve of the job Christie is doing as governor?
Christie is on a one-man crusade to vilify teachers as "political thugs" who use their students like "drug mules," to slash teacher salaries and benefits and tenure and job protections, to privatize NJ schools and sell off as much as the state as he can to corporations.
But 33% of teachers approve?
Sheesh! Talk about not voting your interests.
That said, there is lots of good news if you're opposed to the governor's policies and his further political career.
He has a -18 approval rating, with self-described "moderates" Christie has a -23 rating and with "independents" he has a -11 rating.
This is a governor who would face an uphill battle for re-election if there were a good candidate to oppose him.
Also, this poll shows that the fraidy cat Dems can stop cowering when the behemoth bully shouts at them. They can take him on - he is NOT popular, and if they coordinate their attacks and continue to hammer on Christie's hypocrisies, his brutal policies toward working and middle class people, and his overall ugliness of character, they can beat this guy.
When self-described "moderates" give Christie a -23 rating on approval, you know that Christie's bluster and bullying is beginning to backfire.
Now if only some of this plunge would wipe off onto his Democratic buddy next door in NY State.
But let's see how things shape up after the Cuomo budget becomes reality and people see just what these cuts mean to services around the state.
Again, Dems (Let's be honest here, Cuomo is more popular with Republicans than he is with Dems) have got to have the courage to take him on.
That time will come, and Cuomo is doing himself no favors by taking on legislature members in their own districts a la Spitzer over the property tax cap.
If the "rising star" Chris Christie can end up at Bloombergian levels of popularity, then so can Cuomo.
So come on, Dems - show some guts and take on Christie here in NJ.
And Cuomo in NY ought to be next.
POSTSCRIPT: WABC 7 reports the Dalai Lama is in Newark to work for peace and democratic solutions to violence.
He ought to start in Trenton at the Governor's office.
Wasn't it Christie who wanted to take a bat to an old lady he disagreed with?
At a speech at the Democratic State Convention this afternoon, U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) ripped into Gov. Chris Christie for cutting funding for family planning centers and other social programs.At the “Women’s Step Up Luncheon,” Lautenberg called Christie’s cuts “shameful” and said he was “working to destroy the progressive state we’ve built.”
Lautenberg went on to criticize Democrats who have forged alliances with the governor, though he did not single them out by name.
“We see some Democrats sitting on their hands and even in some cases helping the Republicans, trying to move over on the other side to make up a few votes,” said Lautenberg. “It won’t help New Jersey if we leave the ranks of Democrats.”
Lautenberg’s speech only got more heated as it went on. He pointed out Assembly Speaker Sheila Oliver and noted that Christie had once called one of her claims a “lie.”
“Gov. Christie actually called (Oliver) a liar in the press. Imagine Gov. Christie calling someone else a liar?” he said. “He’s the king of the liars.”
Oliver then took to the podium, saying she’s usually the only woman in the room when she meets with the Christie.
“Once in a while Lieutenant Gov. Kim Guadagno is able to be there, though she never says anything,” said Oliver. “And without question, I am the only person of color in that room. Now that is not reflective of the State of New Jersey."
In response, a Christie spokesman mocked Democrats and asked if they were enjoying the beach.
That's cool.
Christie and his people live by the mockery, but they'll perish by the mockery too.
Looks like while Christie was taking victory laps with Michelle Rhee on education reform, NJ voters were turning on him.
The regulations also outline plans to create new state tests by 2012-13, for middle school science and social studies, and ninth- and 10th-grade English, where none exist now.If you're an English teacher in high school, as I am, you will now do nothing but test prep.
The mayor spent much of the winter leading a full-court press, angrily complaining about state government’s unfairness to the city and loudly insisting on the repeal of “LIFO,” the state law requiring that teachers with the least seniority be fired first. Didn’t work: Andrew Cuomo needed peace with the teachers union and Shelly Silver more than he needed Bloomberg’s backing, and the new governor didn’t appreciate the mayor trying to push him around. Bloomberg is still rightly blaming Albany — and, to a lesser extent, Washington — for shifting problems downstream. But today Bloomberg was downright conciliatory and regretful as he criticized, claiming he holds out hope for last-minute help from the state. “I’m very sympathetic to Andrew Cuomo,” he said. “I’m not going to second-guess.” A reporter asked why Bloomberg’s lobbying efforts in Albany had failed; the mayor shrugged off the invitation to attack, instead attributing the setback to prevailing anti-government sentiment.
The soft-pedaling — and Bloomberg’s legitimate touting of his generally solid record steering the city’s finances — didn’t win him much love locally. Comptroller John Liu jabbed at the administration for spending “billions of dollars on high-priced consultants.” Scott Stringer, the Manhattan borough president, accused Bloomberg of playing politics with the budget. Public Advocate Bill de Blasio did better than merely carping: He’s planning to mobilize parent groups to fight the teacher layoffs.
There was also deep skepticism that Bloomberg will follow through with the most painful cuts. “The mayor has a believability problem,” one public official says. “He made a very substantial threat last year to lay off teachers, which dissipated as the revenue dynamics changed. Now, after the snowstorm and Cathie Black and the CityTime scandal, why would he want to do the single most unpopular thing he could do?”
Bloomberg insists he means it this time, that the money isn’t there, and that he isn’t laying off teachers to prove a point about LIFO. But if this isn’t the usual shell game, in which city tax revenues spike and Bloomberg saves thousands of jobs just before the July 1 deadline, he really is going to need an assist from Albany. There’s not much chance of the state suddenly coughing up more cash; a compromise on seniority rules or state mandates, though, should be possible. Two weeks ago the mayor and the governor had a long dinner on the Upper West Side. Perhaps today’s quieter tone at City Hall is the next step in trying to get Cuomo to pick up part of a much bigger check.
Americans are more pessimistic about the nation’s economic outlook and overall direction than they have been at any time since President Obama’s first two months in office, when the country was still officially ensnared in the Great Recession, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.
At a time of rising gas prices, stubborn unemployment and a cacophonous debate in Washington over the federal government’s ability to meet its future obligations, the poll presents stark evidence that the slow, if unsteady, gains in public confidence earlier this year that a recovery was under way are now all but gone.
Capturing what appears to be an abrupt change in attitude, the survey shows that the number of Americans who think the economy is getting worse has jumped 13 percentage points in just one month. Though there have been encouraging signs of renewed growth since last fall, many economists are having second thoughts, warning that the pace of expansion might not be fast enough to create significant numbers of new jobs.
The dour public mood is dragging down ratings for both parties in Congress and for President Obama, the poll found.
...
Mr. Obama has considerable support for his proposal to end tax cuts for those earning $250,000 a year and more: 72 percent of respondents approved of doing so as away to address the deficit; 24 percent disapproved.
And, in what he can take as a positive sign for his argument the nation has a duty to protect its most vulnerable citizens, about three-quarters of Americans think the federal government has a responsibility to provide health care for the elderly and 56 percent believe it has a similar duty to the poor.
“Keep people’s taxes and give them medical benefits,” Richard Sterling, an independent voter of Naugatuck, Conn., said in a follow-up interview.
New York City taxpayers are helping to pay $850 million in Wall Street investment fees -- even as these financial gurus have produced only meager results for strapped city and state pension funds.
City Comptroller John Liu this week released a comprehensive analysis of NYC pension costs over the past decade, revealing why they have risen from $1.2 billion to $7.7 billion.
Liu said one of the major factors in the shortfall was higher than expected investment and administrative fees, which were $71 million in 2005, and have risen more than four-fold to $313 million.
Nearly all of the increase was due to the pension funds shifting asset allocation in favor of private equity and real estate -- chasing bigger returns -- but which also have higher investment fees, he wrote.
The state pension fund, which made a similar shift, saw its expenses rise in five years from $277 million to $433 million. Add in the teacher pension fund, and total fees in 2010 reached $848 million.
It was a dry study that got little play, but it lays the groundwork for Liu to present himself as the voice of working New Yorkers who think they're not getting a fair shake.
Liu, like plenty of other ambitious pols, is eying a run for mayor when the Bloomberg era ends in 2013. And he's not the only one who thinks the path to City Hall will be to stick up for the little guy after 12 years of a billionaire mayor.
"Every mayor gets elected as a reaction to the previous mayor," said longtime consultant George Arzt. "People are going to want the stability of Bloomberg, but they want a change."
Already, Teamsters Local 237 Gregory Floyd is talking about running for mayor as "the labor candidate" - and says Liu's report helps push back against Bloomberg's pension argument.
"This report makes everyone aware," Floyd said. "It's an important document to help people understand that once again Wall Street gets away with something."
The city will pay a staggering $8.4 billion for worker pensions next year, up from $1.5 billion in 2002.
Bloomberg is right that it's a key factor in forcing deep budget cuts and layoffs - and Gov. Cuomo has made the same argument at the state level.
The mayor and the governor lay the blame with workers who rack up overtime in their final years as well as a system that assumes Bernard Madoff-like returns in the pension funds.
Liu's study found all those pension sweeteners caused only 44% of the increased payments since 2001.
The bigger factor - 48% of the increase - was the plunge on Wall Street that took down the value of the pension funds, forcing taxpayers to make up the difference.
Budget insiders have known as much, but Bloomberg hasn't spent time talking about it. Now that an official report from the controller's office nails it down, Liu and his rivals will have the numbers to back up their arguments.
"If the mayor thinks otherwise, then back up the rhetoric with something of substance," Liu said.
At the same time, they're blaming pensioners for their pensions, Bloomberg and Cuomo have blocked the idea of balancing the budget by taxing the rich, saying they will just move someplace with a lighter burden.
It's a balancing act. Few New Yorkers will defend the firefighters who draw disability pensions while running marathons, or the lousy teachers who coast through their classes.
But as the battle over public-sector unions in Wisconsin shows, demonizing teachers and cops and janitors and firefighters can backfire.
"It could go either way," said Bradley Tusk, who managed Bloomberg's campaign in 2009 and is watching the field closely for 2013. "A lot of it depends on economic conditions."
Arzt says the candidate who plays it right can land in the sweet spot of public opinion - and perhaps in City Hall.
"The baby boomers are facing retirement, and that's a large group of voters that don't care for uncertainty in the future," he said. "They could look at city workers and say, 'I know how that feels.' People feel more hostile toward the banks than they do toward the public unions."
The already tenuous relationship between Gov. Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg likely took another hit this afternoon when the governor suggested the mayor was dealing in “propaganda” by warning of teacher layoffs.
“Well, in this budget, there were reductions to school districts and they may have to lay off teachers. Now ,that is a premise that you are assuming, because you’re responding to the -- what I believe is propaganda during the budget debate,” Cuomo said, chiding a reporter who asked a question about changing the state’s "last in, first out" law governing teacher layoffs.
Bloomberg, of course, has warned that state budget cuts could lead to more than 4,600 layoffs and has been fiercely lobbying Cuomo and the Legislature to change the LIFO law.
Cuomo, at a Red Room press conference, wasn’t buying into the talk of layoffs. He fiercely maintained only 19% of the school districts in the state received a funding cut and, of those, the average reduction – when computed with their local taxes – was about 1%.
“I don’t believe any school district that is well-managed is going to need to lay off teachers to deal with a 1% cut,” Cuomo said.
When Cuomo was asked if Bloomberg was dispensing propaganda and if he felt any of the 4,600 layoffs would be necessary, Cuomo responded: “We’ll see what happens, finally.”
“I know there is a theory that says the city has reserve funds as many school districts have reserve funds,” Cuomo said. “I’m advocating that the districts use their reserve funds now.”
Cuomo added “Newsflash: It’s raining. Double Newsflash: It's pouring.”
The Cuomo budget, which was negotiated in secret, is a virtual war on the middle class, working people, and the poor. It calls on us to make sacrifices, while exempting the wealthiest New Yorkers. It includes an annual spending slash of roughly $3.4 billion with a $2 billion year-to-year cut in health care and education. The district-by-district impact of the cuts is not yet available and the geographic distribution apparently has not yet been determined.
In addition to the cuts in education and health care, the governor refused to extend state rent regulations, which are set to expire in June. Meanwhile, Cuomo blocked continuing the state's higher tax rate on people in the top income brackets that would have prevented many of the budget cuts.
Cuomo, who was elected governor with labor support that he has now apparently alienated, seems determined to make a name for himself in national politics as a Democrat who can cut deeper to the bone than right-wing Republican governors in Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. Deeply ambitious, it is not clear whether he is maneuvering for a Presidential run in 2012 in the event Obama falters even further or will be content to wait until 2016.
In a few short months in office, Cuomo has assumed virtually dictatorial power, ignoring calls for compromise and the teachers, parents, and students who have rallied around the state and marched and lobbied in Albany. He threatened that if state legislators missed an April 1 budget deadline, he would put his preferred cuts into an emergency spending measure, forcing them to vote for his budget or risk shutting down state government.
Despite the announced deal, some Democratic Party insurgents, the teachers' union, and other groups are continuing their efforts to force reconsideration of those measures. Some Democrats have in recent days openly discussed voting against a budget that is too austere. New York City Council member Charles Barron has threatened that "Whereever he shows his faced people need to confront him. I am an elected activist. I don't think we should throw out anything from our arsenal to get some improvement in the lives of the working people of this state." In February, Barron interrupted Cuomo when he spoke at a reception for the Association of Black and Latino Legislators in Albany, chanting "Stop the cuts, tax the rich," and, "Shame on you."
At the news conference announcing the budget cuts, Cuomo declared "It's a new day in New York." He should have added that it is also a sad day.
Sandra Lee, the Food Network personality and best-selling author, was surrounded by butter-cream-frosted cupcakes and mini pecan pies, poised to kick off what she was billing as “the world’s largest bake sale” to raise $50,000 for the Food Bank for New York City.
Ms. Lee certainly proved a passionate advocate for ending childhood hunger, able to attract 30 New York restaurants and food shops to Vanderbilt Hall inside Grand Central Terminal on Tuesday morning, and rattle off facts and figures — “Every dollar that’s raised can turn into four dollars of food at the food bank,” she said.
But she became much less vocal when asked about the effect Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo’s new budget would have on food banks throughout the state. Ms. Lee is the longtime companion of Mr. Cuomo, and food banks and advocacy groups have asked the governor to increase state financing for hunger programs.
So far, they have been unsuccessful. Mr. Cuomo’s budget, which must be approved by the Legislature before Friday, provides $29.7 million in state funding for hunger programs, the same amount as last year. Officials at food banks say that allocation would effectively be a cut, given that demand is increasing and wholesale food prices have risen sharply over the past year.
“I am not here to talk about the governor’s budget,” Ms. Lee said, smiling, as she cut off a reporter’s question about the budget. “Thank you.”
But what about how Mr. Cuomo’s budget will affect food banks specifically?
“I am not here to talk about politics, but thank you for asking,” she replied, as polite as ever.
The food banks, however, have been far less reticent. The Hunger Action Network of New York State, an advocacy group, distributed thousands of postcards for people to send to Mr. Cuomo and legislative leaders asking them to increase funding for hunger programs.
“We had a lot of hope for him as governor, and he seems blind to the fact that we’re in a recession,” the group’s executive director, Mark Dunlea, said. “The demand at food pantries has skyrocketed, and he hasn’t really responded to that.”
The Cuomo administration did not immediately respond to the complaints about the financing.
...
Pressed one more time by a reporter, Ms. Lee wanted nothing of the issue.
“I’m not here to talk about politics,” she said, turning on the charm her fans have come to love. “But if you want a great recipe for cream cheese icing, I’ve got that for you.”
Culminating weeks of secretive negotiations and intense political jockeying, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and leaders of the Legislature announced on Sunday the outlines of a $132.5 billion budget that would cut state spending, impose no major new taxes and begin a long-term overhaul of the state’s bloated Medicaid programs.
The agreement comes five days before the March 31 budget deadline, offering the prospect of Albany’s first on-time budget in five years, in what Mr. Cuomo and his counterparts in the Legislature said they hoped would signal a new day of responsible budgeting and effective government in a Capitol long criticized for its gridlock and dysfunction. The deal would end a temporary income tax surcharge on high-income New Yorkers, which some have called the "millionaire's tax" even though it affects incomes starting at $200,000 annually.
Mr. Cuomo’s aggressive and strategic approach to negotiations appeared to have yielded significant victories, including a year-to-year cut of more than $2 billion in spending on health care and education, the two largest drivers of New York’s ever-growing budget. Mr. Cuomo and the Legislature also agreed to create a new Department of Financial Services by merging the existing state banking and insurance agencies, as well as other consolidations.
...
Dashing the hopes of many Democratic lawmakers, including the bulk of the New York City delegation, the budget included neither an extension of state rent regulations — slated to expire in June — or of the temporary income tax surcharge on wealthy New Yorkers, a measure that has drawn support among Democrats and even some Senate Republicans as a way to further offset Mr. Cuomo’s proposed cuts to schools and other programs.
Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker, said in a statement: “Government had to tighten its belt with the same sense of urgency that working families have been tightening their belts since the economy went into freefall in 2008. The sole consolation is that working with the Governor, we were able to achieve critical restorations which will soften the cuts affecting working families, our senior citizens, our most vulnerable populations and the children in our classrooms.”
Sunday’s announcement came as Democrats, teachers unions, and other groups mounted a last-ditch effort to force reconsideration of those measures. While lawmakers in both the Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-controlled Assembly typically vote for budget deals crafted by their leadership, some Democrats have in recent days openly discussed voting against a budget that is too austere.
NYC Councilman Robert Jackson is calling on Gov. Andrew Cuomo to “disavow” what he deemed a “racially-tinged” quote from anonymous administration members in today’s Fred Dicker column, saying the governor has a “special obligation” to do so given his close relationship with the Post’s veteran state editor.
The column cites “insiders” slamming Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver for allegedly being “more concerned with satisfying the spending demands of this or that bloc in his conference than he is in doing what’s best for the state.”
“What has struck many people, and they find it hard to believe, is that for Shelly, it’s not about good government,” an “administration source” continues.
“It’s not about conceptualizing a vision for a better New York. It’s not about helping upstate. It’s not about making New York competitive with other states.”
“It’s all about his tribal politics, satisfying this or that group in his conference that keeps him in power – and nothing more.”
Silver called these allegations “not worth responding to,” insisting the Assembly will actually be in line with the governor for an on-time budget deal.
But Jackson, a Harlem Democrat and original CFE plaintiff who has been leading the charge against Cuomo’s proposed education funding cuts, took issue with the “tribal politics” comment, calling it “an extremely offensive reference.”
Cuomo announced early on that if labor challenged his position on budget cuts, he would a counter with his own ad campaign. Through the Committee to Save New York he has done just that. Meanwhile people who disagree with Cuomo publicly can expect a quick -- and harsh -- response.
All this -- and the Post's role -- came together in a dispute that involved the Committee to Save New York. It became known earlier this year that the group was not registered as a lobbying organization.
From the start, the Post rushed to the defense of the Cuomo administration and the Committee to Save New York. When Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group brought up the fact that the committee was not registered as a lobbying group even though it was technically functioning as such, the Post reacted with an editorial titled "Cynical Moralists," slamming Horner.
"So the committee's enemies -- backed by an ostensible voice of reform, the New York Public Interest Research Group, and other so-called good-government groups--are muttering about a supposed unholy secret alliance between the new governor and the business community," the editorial read.
The Post wasn't terribly concerned that the Committee to Save New York was not registered as a lobbyist and attacked Horner for pointing it out. But it took a very different stand when Billy Easton of the Alliance for Quality Education protested Cuomo's budget cuts. The Post's editorial "Pigs in Saints' Clothing" pointed out that Easton is not registered as a lobbyist.
"Walk just about any capitol corridor in Albany, and odds are you’ll trip over lobbyist-without-portfolio Billy Easton, of the fraudulently mislabeled Alliance for Quality Education," said the Post. "We say without portfolio because, while rare is the legislator whom Billy hasn’t buttonholed lately, he has yet to register as a lobbyist this year."
Bloomberg wants an all-out repeal of the first in, last out law that requires layoffs be based on seniority.
His forces said the governor's plan to create a new statewide evaluation system of teachers doesn't address the issue, meaning seniority would remain the only criteria used for layoffs.
Over the past few days, Bloomberg aides called the Cuomo proposal a "scam" and a gift to the teachers union.
Cuomo aides shot back, comparing the Bloomberg-backed bill with Wisconsin-style efforts to evade collective bargaining with teachers.
The governor said his bill would not only pertain to teacher evaluations, but also layoffs, promotions, raises and bonuses.
Gov. Cuomo and Mayor Bloomberg walked back from Armageddon on Thursday in their battle over the law governing teacher layoffs.
After two days of sniping, the two were practically fawning over each other - from a distance - with Cuomo even joking about Hizzoner's barbs.
"I didn't think he was critical of me," Cuomo said of Bloomberg with a grin.
"I think the mayor was frustrated in dealing with the legislative process in Albany," he added following a Staten Island event.
At a separate event, Bloomberg tamped down the tensions, saying he and Cuomo have worked "very well" the past two months.
"We both have exactly the same interest, of getting the best teachers that we can in front of the classroom," Hizzoner said.
Bloomberg and his aides had ratcheted up the attacks Tuesday after the governor released his own bill designed to deal with teacher layoffs shortly after the Senate passed a Bloomberg-backed plan.
"I didn't hear the governor today, but I can tell you I've worked with the governor for a long time. I've known him for a long time. We've worked very well for the last couple of months. We both have exactly the same interest, of getting the best teachers that we can in front of the classroom. Both of us have to deal with tough budgets. We're going to have to reduce expenses at the state level and the city level, and we're going to have to make sure we provide the best services we possibly can with less money. I'm committed to making sure there is the best teacher that we can possibly get in front of every student, and we will do that. Sadly, we are going to have to lay off some teachers. We just don't have the money. Every agency has taken a cut. The teachers' cut is from the last Program to Eliminate the Gap. We just didn't want to do that in the middle of the school year.
"So this is really just catching up. We still have a $600 million budget deficit to deal with, and we are going to have layoffs, and my hope is that we can find a ways, with the governor's help and the legislators' help, to make sure that we don't use a system of deciding who goes that is irrelevant to the kids. The only thing that is relevant is who can do the best job in front of the class, who can teach the teachers (sic) the most. And I know the governor has that in his heart as well."
