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NY Court Approves Governor Lt. Governor Appointment
Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 September 2009 01:23 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 22 September 2009 01:23
From The Record:
New York’s top court on Tuesday narrowly approved Gov. David Paterson’s surprising appointment of a lieutenant governor, reversing a lower court’s decision and the long-standing assumption in Albany that only voters could choose a second in command.
The ruling restores the line of succession to the governor’s seat in Albany, where low poll numbers have sapped Paterson’s political clout and put him under pressure from fellow Democrats not to run for election next year.
Paterson’s lawyers argued that a provision of state law allows the governor to fill vacancies, including Paterson’s July 8 appointment of Richard Ravitch.
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NY AG Cuomo’s Political Prospects Get an Unexpected Boost from the White House
Last Updated on Tuesday, 22 September 2009 12:37 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 22 September 2009 12:37
From the Wall Street Journal:
With the White House discouraging New York Gov. David Paterson from running next year, the prospects of a gubernatorial bid by fellow Democrat state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo have brightened.
Though Mr. Cuomo has demurred about his likelihood of running for the state’s top job, New York political observers have long considered him the Democrats’ brightest hope to hold on to the governor’s office.
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NY: Governor Says AG Probe of Police Worth it
Last Updated on Tuesday, 8 September 2009 11:00 Written by rslcpol Tuesday, 8 September 2009 11:00
From the New York Post:
Gov. Paterson yesterday defended his request for an investigation into the State Police by the attorney general after findings that no major wrongdoing occurred were leaked to the press.
“I asked the attorney general to investigate it and I’ll leave that to him,” Paterson said at the West Indian American Day Parade in Brooklyn.
“I didn’t have any proof — it was just some . . . rather bizarre events that . . . I thought . . . merited an investigation,” the governor added.
Attorney General Andrew Cuomo is expected to announce as early as today that his 18-month probe found no evidence of a “rogue unit” within in the State Police that spied on then-Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s political enemies, including then-Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno, sources said.
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NY: Drama Continues – Appeals Court to Hear Lt. Governor Case
Last Updated on Wednesday, 26 August 2009 01:23 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 26 August 2009 01:23
From Business First:
New York’s highest court will soon decide whether Gov. David Paterson can legally appoint a lieutenant governor.
The state Court of Appeals announced on Aug. 25 that it will hear an appeal from Paterson challenging a lower court ruling that prevents him from installing a lieutenant governor.
The Court of Appeals is expediting the case, with oral arguments scheduled for Sept. 11.
It is the latest in a string of legal actions sparked when Paterson attempted to appoint Richard Ravitch in early July, in an effort to end a five-week stalemate in the state Senate.
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NY: The 43 Day Lieutenant Governor
Last Updated on Monday, 24 August 2009 12:46 Written by rslcpol Monday, 24 August 2009 12:46
From the New York Times:
Richard Ravitch was meeting with the state insurance superintendent in his spartan Manhattan office on Thursday afternoon when he got an e-mail message informing him that a state appeals court had just ended Mr. Ravitch’s brief tenure as lieutenant governor — at least for now.
Unfazed by the ruling, which said that Gov. David A. Paterson had no constitutional authority to appoint Mr. Ravitch, the deposed lieutenant governor carried on into the evening with the work of immersing himself in the grim details of the state’s troubled finances.
This anticlimactic scene — possibly Mr. Ravitch’s last moment as lieutenant governor — was a far cry from his swearing-in over Scotch and rib-eyes at Peter Luger Steak House in Brooklyn last month.
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NY: Court Says No to Governor’s Lt. Governor Appointment
Last Updated on Friday, 21 August 2009 12:10 Written by rslcpol Friday, 21 August 2009 12:10
From PostStar.com:
An appeals court Thursday struck down Gov. David Paterson’s appointment of a lieutenant governor, upholding a constitutional challenge to a move spurred by a paralyzing political drama in the state Senate.
The decision at least temporarily prevents longtime government adviser Richard Ravitch from serving as the state’s second-highest executive, though the case is expected to go on to the state’s highest court, the Court of Appeals.
The appellate panel said no state law or constitutional provision allows the lieutenant governor’s post to be filled by anything but an election, making the appointment unlawful.
The decision upheld a lower court’s order blocking Ravitch from holding the post, an order that had been stayed while the Supreme Court’s Appellate Division considered the case.
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NY: Even Friends Say Bye Bye Guv
Last Updated on Monday, 17 August 2009 01:34 Written by rslcpol Monday, 17 August 2009 01:34
From the New York Post:
GOV. PATERSON’S “Summer of Blunders” has convinced his closest friends and political allies that he won’t be the Democratic candidate for governor next year.
“He had his chance, but he blew it. It’s over. There’s no doubt about that,” one of Paterson’s most important Democratic allies told The Post yesterday.
The unelected governor, who started the summer telling allies that he had a “game plan” to pull himself up from the worst polling numbers ever for a New York governor, is ending the summer weaker than he began.
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NY: AG Routs Governor in Dem Primary Poll
Last Updated on Monday, 17 August 2009 10:51 Written by rslcpol Monday, 17 August 2009 10:51
From MSNMoney:
New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo would win the governor’s race easily if it were held today, says a new statewide survey.
The Quinnipiac Poll gives Cuomo a 4-1 edge over Gov. David Paterson for the Democratic gubernatorial nomination. Cuomo was supported by 61 percent of the Democrats who were surveyed, compared to 15 percent for Paterson.
And Cuomo would have a nine-point lead in a hypothetical general-election matchup with former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, a possible Republican candidate. The levels of support were 48 percent for Cuomo and 39 percent for Giuliani.
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NY: Dem feud Sparks Governor’s Bungle
Last Updated on Monday, 10 August 2009 01:25 Written by rslcpol Monday, 10 August 2009 01:25
From the New York Post:
GOV. PATERSON’S bizarre ac tion Friday announcing and then canceling a special Assembly election resulted from secret pressure from three powerful Queens Democrats who are on the outs with their county leader, The Post has learned.
The bungled handling of what was widely expected to be a Sept. 15 contest for the seat left vacant by the resignation of disgraced former Assemblyman Anthony Seminerio has “totally pissed off” the regular Queens Democratic organization, headed by US Rep. Joseph Crowley, sources said.
While the cancellation was publicly attributed to a “mistake” by Paterson’s top staff, including chief counsel Peter Kiernan, it actually came in response to demands by state Sens. Malcolm Smith and John Sampson, and US Rep. Gregory Meeks, who have promised the Assembly seat to a party maverick not favored by Crowley, sources said.
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NY: Governor to Appeal Ruling Blocking His Lt. Gov. Choice
Last Updated on Wednesday, 22 July 2009 01:39 Written by rslcpol Wednesday, 22 July 2009 01:39
From wivb.com:
There’s a man waiting in the wings to become Lieutenant Governor but a court says he can’t take the job.
A State Supreme Court Judge on Long Island has issued a restraining order blocking Richard Ravitch from serving as Paterson’s number two.
The judge writes taht Ravitch was illegally appointed, and should nto be in the line of succession to the Governor’s office.
The appointment was opposed by Senate Republicans as well as Democratic Attorney General Andrew Cuomo who says there is no basis in the State Constitution for the appointment.
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