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New York is on the short list for being the hottest battleground for state and local races in 2008.  It’s too important for you not to be involved – any size contribution makes a difference.  Join the over 70,000 grassroots leaders across the country who have already given to the RSLC and donate now.  From the Buffalo News:

But Republicans throughout the state have not surrendered. Erie County Republican Chairman James P. Domagalski says the election of GOP businessman Chris Collins as Erie County executive last year bodes well for the right candidate with the right message.

“Our approach was to go out and find a businessman to run county government, and everybody said: ‘Nice idea, kid, but it’s not going to work,’ ” Domagalski said. “But we trusted our instincts, and it worked.”

Domagalski said he believes that Collins, who is scheduled to be showcased as a successful candidate from the business sector at this week’s convention, enjoys widespread popularity in Erie County. He suggested that Democratic Gov. David A. Paterson is enjoying similar early success because he recognizes that New Yorkers do not want higher taxes, and is cutting the budget.

“While I applaud his impetus to cut the budget, what we really need is what our county executive has suggested and not wait till there is more of a problem,” the chairman said, pointing to Collins’ criticism that Albany’s budget “cutting” is really only reducing the already approved rate of growth.

Former Assembly Majority Leader John J. Faso, agrees, and doesn’t mind saying “I told you so” after losing his Republican bid for governor against Spitzer in 2006. Attending the convention here this week, he said the Republican Party must present “genuine solutions to problems.” It has to appeal to voters’ economic concerns and reach better into the state’s immigrant population.

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Some pointy headed policy dude, or dudette, should put out a bounty on a one size fits all property tax cap for all states.  Yes, we know it’s virtually impossible given that every state is different, but wouldn’t it be nice?  From WNYC:

New York State lawmakers ended their session nearly a month ago, but legislative leaders were back in Albany yesterday for discussions with Gov. David Paterson. Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver sat down with Paterson to talk about issues including the fiscal problems facing the state and the governor’s proposed property tax cap.

While Skelos’s predecessor Joseph Bruno was against a cap on the state’s property tax, Skelos says he’ll call his members back within the next month to vote on it.

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From the IthacaJournal:

Some candidates stockpiled cash for races that never came to be. Others are savings for this November, while some are looking to 2010 and beyond.

The campaign filings this week by the state’s political leaders put into focus the critical nature of this year’s legislative races and the big money that will go to them.

But it also gives a glimpse into how candidates — in and out of office — can raise and spend millions of dollars in New York’s loose campaign finance system.

“It’s scandalous,” said Russ Haven, counsel for the New York Public Interest Research Group. “When you step back from this and get outside the beltway mentality, where people are feeling such real economic pain — gas at $4 a gallon — it makes you realize just how big these numbers are.”

In just a few months, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo and Gov. David Paterson, both Democrats, raised a whopping $5.5 million total for their campaigns — and those races are still two years away.

Of course, there’s the speculation that Cuomo and Paterson could both be vying for the same job — governor in 2010. And neither is giving the other much of a financial edge — both have about $3 million in their warchests.

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Wow – what show it must’ve been in Albany.  We mean, well, unlike the last administration of course.  From Newsday.com:

Beyond the Senate’s surprise power shake-up, much of the insider buzz coming out of Albany involves the perception that chaos reigns on the Capitol’s second floor, the domain of David A. Paterson’s accidental administration.

Republicans and Democrats alike said they were often left wondering in the recent session which aides to the governor were authorized to act and negotiate legislation and other business.

“Paterson’s operation is evolving, like they’re still trying to figure it out,” said a seasoned legislative official whose remarks were typical. “You can’t tell where you can interact in a positive way, who’s where in the firmament. It may be a work in progress. Maybe.”

Following a recent exodus of high-level Eliot Spitzer appointees, the governor today is expected to announce a replacement for operations director and former Spitzer man Paul Francis.
One major post, governor’s counsel, was supposed to be filled in March, shortly after Paterson took charge, by state Supreme Court Justice James Yates. He reconsidered and withdrew. David Nocenti, counsel under Spitzer, agreed to stay longer. Now Nocenti is gone but no permanent replacement is named. And last week came the surprise departure of Bruce Gyory, a former lobbyist hired late in Spitzer’s tenure to repair torn relations with the legislature.

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From Newsday.com:

Spokesmen for Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick) and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) said last night that negotiations were continuing. Among the unresolved issues:

Property tax cap: Talks continued over Gov. David A. Paterson’s proposal to cap at 4 percent yearly increases in school levies. Senate Republicans, initially skeptical of the cap, say they now would support it if a sunset provision were added so the matter could be revisited in a couple of years, their spokesman said. The Assembly’s Democratic majority is opposed, fearing schoolchildren could be harmed if funding is diminished.

Bottle deposits: The Assembly has again approved expanding the 1982 deposit law to include water, juice and other noncarbonated beverages as a way of reducing litter. Bottlers and beverage distributors, who want to keep unclaimed deposits, are opposed.

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With Video. From the NY Daily News:

Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno just so happened to be passing by this morning as Gov. David Paterson presented his portrait to the LCA and ducked in to congratulate him, perpetuating the love fest that has arisen between the state’s top Democrat and Republican.

Bruno joked that the portrait, while quite large, doesn’t have enough room for the “acting lieutenant governor.”

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That’s nice – a Democrat Governor from New York who won’t bully people.  Now if only we could keep  them from doing the other things that embarrass New Yorkers.  From Newsday.com:

In a break from the style of his recent predecessors, Gov. David A. Paterson is relying on persuasion rather than bullying to spur legislative action as the state confronts huge challenges stemming from the economic slowdown.

Having spent 21 years as a senator before being elected lieutenant governor in 2006, Paterson has witnessed the ambitious agendas of chief executives falter amid confrontation with lawmakers.

He told Newsday recently that he wants to restore public confidence in state government by making it more relevant in residents’ lives. Toward that end, he has unveiled initiatives, both large and small, that some have said are more akin to those a lawmaker would introduce than a governor.

“I was in the legislature and I understand it has built-in power that you must respect or you are going absolutely nowhere,” said Paterson, who became governor on March 17 when >Eliot Spitzer resigned.

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