What They Think..and Some Suggestions
The initial press comments were negative on the role of Governor Spitzer with regard to the budget. Michael Goodwin of the News, writing on Sunday said: SPITZER NEEDS A DO-OVER; Albany Moves Backward in First 100 Days. Goodwin's lede:
"Given the poor start to Eliot Spitzer's term, there are two possible explanations to what went wrong. First, his campaign was a fraud, filled with promises he never intended to keep. Or, second, the Boy Governor is in over his head and is not yet up to the job.
"I vote for the second because the first option is too frightening to contemplate. The second leaves him room for growth and us room for hope. Either way, however, the question is the same: What do we do now? In the spirit of spring, I say we extend a golfer's courtesy to the governor: Let's give him a mulligan. Let's chalk his first 100 days up to inexperience and poor judgment and allow him to begin again.
"Even those on the receiving end of Spitzer's half truths and boorish tantrums should agree to the do-over. The severe problems we face must be confronted, and it will do no New Yorker any good if the state moves backward for the next four years..."
The Post's Fred Dicker slammed the governor Monday with a news analysis on p2 headed: DEAR ELIOT; YOU IGNORED SOUND ADVICE. In this case, Dicker referred to the advice he had given Spitzer (and his readers) in a November letter. " Maybe if you had taken some of my suggestions," Dicker wrote, "you could have avoided the disturbing, business-as-usual mess that engulfed and embarrassed our state during the past week -- as you desperately abandoned your reform pledges in an unsuccessful attempt to get an on-time a budget.
"Frankly, the price paid for your failure -- in terms of the public's money and the severe damage to your reputation -- could hardly be higher. A budget hike three times the rate of inflation that adds an extra $1 billion to next year's projected deficit isn't the fiscally responsible budget I urged -- and you promised.
"The Soviet-style secrecy that defined the budget talks -- along with your willingness to use "messages of necessity" to assure that neither individual lawmakers nor the public at large would know what was in the budget -- stole the breath away from your most loyal reform-minded supporters."
Those are three paragraphs out of ten. If you want the rest, link to Dicker.
Monday's Post carried two other budget articles: Ken Lovett on p2, "POLS SERVE UP PORK; Budget Doles Out $170M in Goodies". For the trafe menu, link to Lovett.
Also in Monday's Post, E.J. McMahon chipped in with WHAT THE GOV GOT: Less than New York needs. Some excerpts: "In sheer dollar terms, however, Spitzer made his biggest concessions back on Jan. 31 - in his own proposal for a 7.8 per cent hike in state funded spending. After pledging in his State of the State address (Jan. 3) to "finally learn to say 'no' to budget requests we simply cannot afford," the new governor unveiled an executive budget that, Medicaid aside, was mainly a big 'yes' to the baseline he inherited from Gov. George Pataki."
"After a back-room negotiating process that represented a step backward for budget-making transparency, Spitzer's governance slogan has morphed from an assertive "Day One - Everything Changes" to a plaintive "Rome Wasn't Built in a Day."
Responding to these negative views by reporters, someone called out the editorial boards to support the governor, and they hove to:
Times, Tuesday 4/3: Editorial, A BETTER NEW YORK BUDGET.
"After Gov. Eliot Spitzer, a self-declared "steamroller," negotiated his first budget last weekend, legislators were gleeful. A few even boasted publicly that for all of Mr. Spitzer's brash talk, he had been easily flattened by the old hands in Albany.
"Such celebrations should be short-lived. Mr. Spitzer made some compromises, but in exchange he won important and fundamental changes in the way the state operates. New Yorkers who yearn for a government that works more for its citizens than for the stale, political subculture in Albany should soon be able to recognize that Mr. Spitzer has gotten off to a good start."
News, Tuesday 4/3: Editorial, GOV'S RIGHT ON THE MONEY: "...(T)he new state budget must be counted a success for New York City. Albany is about to start sending record amounts of education aid to the five boroughs, ending too many decades in which the Legislature denied fair funding to the more than 1 million children in the public schools. Mayor Bloomberg and (Joel) Klein also will be able to open at least 50 more charter schools to offer a chance for superior learning to thousands of youngsters.
"Gov. Spitzer was the driving force behind this education bonanza, and he deserves thanks for delivering in the face of entrenched interests that have had their own way for far too many a year. To knock the rookie governor for not achieving 100% of his goals while failing to transform lawmakers into Boy and Girl Scouts is to engage in otherworldly quibbling."
The Post was not on the reservation. In their Tuesday editorial, ELIOT'S EDUCATION, began: "A giddy Joe Bruno yesterday delivered judgment on New York's spanking new, $122-billion state budget - and his own role in shaping it.
"Whatever happened?" crowed the state Senate majority leader. "Two months ago my days were numbered?" …My members were all going to desert and leave?"
"Whatever happened?
"It's a fair question, even coming from someone under the continuing scrutiny of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"What did happen?
"Gov. Spitzer got taken to school last week, that's what happened, and New Yorkers will be paying for his crash course in Albany realpolitik for years to come.
"Everything Changes on Day One?"
"Hardly…
We have given you eight of the 29 paragraphs in the editorial. In the Post, however, the paragraphs are very short; some consists of only one or two words, which makes for easy reading.
How do the people of the State of New York feel about this controversy? The first take on public sentiment came with the release of the Quinnipiac poll Wednesday, April 4.. Rather than link to newspaper accounts, we go directly to the release by the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute.
The director of the Institute is Maurice Carroll, a distinguished former reporter for the New York Times, who aptly described the poll's findings:
"There's nothing like a knock-down, drag-out New York State budget battle to take the steam out of even the most vigorous steamroller. Budget stories dominated the media and Gov. Eliot Spitzer's job approval sagged. On the budget, did Gov. Spitzer win a 'fair compromise?' Slightly more voters say he gave away too much."
The good news for the governor is that on the most vital statistic, the approval rating, Gov. Spitzer won a 48-27 vote of confidence. His self-described 'steamroller' style was approved by a 47-36 vote. The bad news is that these numbers are down from a 61-11 approval rating in Quinnipiac's February 13 poll, when the steamroller won by 61-24.
In today's survey, 47 per cent of voters say the steamroller tactic contributes to legislative gridlock, while 23 per cent say the tactic is working. That is inconsistent with the steamroller style being approved by 47-36 in the same poll, but poll results often vary, depending on how the question is worded.
The fact is, the people still like the governor, but public taste is fickle. Working in his favor is the fact that his colleagues, Bruno and Silver, get far lower ratings. Silver had 30 approving and 30 disapproving, while Bruno had 27 positive and 34 negative, perhaps as a result of his purported pending indictment. The legislature as a whole received an unfavorable rating, 34 positive and 43 negative.
Wednesday brought us results from the Quinnipiac poll, which showed a sharp decline in the governor's approval rating. from 61` to 48 per cent. This could have been from the television campaign waged against his budget cuts by the hospitals and unions. The governor responded with a $3.5 million campaign of his own, with $3 million coming from campaign funds and $500,000 said to be from his own pocket. It seems unjust for a public official to have to spend his own money to compete with special interests waging expensive advertising campaigns against his policies. Well, he doesn't have to, but shouldn't a man have the right to fight back.
Whenever a compromise is reached, both sides can proclaim that they have one. That is the case with regard to the budget. We don't think it's worthwhile to declare a winner, but reformers are usually disappointed at the outcome of negotiations because they do not get all they want.
In almost all cases where there is conflict, we, and the newspaper editorial boards, seem to find ourselves in agreement with Governor Spitzer and not with the odd couple of Silver and Bruno. Each legislative leader has his own sacred cows: In Bruno's case, hospitals and their unions (who supported the Republican for that state senate vacancy in Nassau), armed hunters, and Long Island school districts (whose state subsidy was increased by double digits) Silver, has a different set of favorites: public employee unions, plaintiff's lawyers and the criminal defense bar, among others.
It is hard for us to tell which side got the better of the negotiations. If they are all boasting about the result, that is probably being done for show purposes. Notice that in public Speaker Silver is the least loquacious of the triumvirs. He saves his voice for the bargaining table. In a tripartite negotiation, there is usually an odd man out. In the last couple of years, Bruno and Silver combined against Pataki. In 2007 it was the two Democrats, Spitzer and Silver, negotiating with Bruno. Notice which of the three leaders is always part of the majority coalition.
OBSERVATIONS ON THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION
The Spitzer administration is well under way, with a number of good appointments, as well as a few political clinkers In general, the appointees are substantially more qualified than those of the prior administration. The staff in the first year is always better than the staff in Year Twelve (if there is one), The most signal achievement was the Ethics Code the Governor adopted on January 1.
We hope his administration complies with the spirit as well as the letter of the code.
The legislative record is mixed, which is likely when you have good guys, bad guys and influence peddlers. We give the conventional scapegoats some credit for compromising certain issues to come to agreement on issues they were unable to resolve in prior years. Query: are scapegoats necessarily innocent?
One area in which the governor has been faulted is dealing with the leadership in secrecy. We don't mind that,. If you want to get something done, you have to deal with the people who have the power to do it. We agree with the reformers on most issues, and think they are extremely valuable antidotes to the vote-selling scoundrels who sit in gerrymandered districts.
However, at some point one must get serious, and we believe the governor was right to deal with the existing leaders elected by the legislators. When the backbenchers rise in outrage and depose Silver and Bruno, Spitzer will be happy to deal with whoever they choose to take their places. In the meantime, people should get real.
SUGGESTIONS FOR GOVERNOR SPITZER ON THE HUNDREDTH DAY OF HIS TERM
We have a dozen relatively brief suggestions to make to the new governor, a good guy in substance but somewhat challenged in internecine combat. We think our ideas, both substantive, procedural and stylistic, would make the remaining 1361 days of his term more productive and less stressful. Some are easy to do, others would be more difficult. The threshold question is whether he is open to suggestions from other people. Some leaders are, others are not.
1. You are the most likely hope for reform in New York State, at least at the moment. You are more honest and principled than the legislature, but that is modest praise. Your good reputation and your campaign promising change raised people's expectations, perhaps to a level that cannot be reached. Do not let that stop you from trying. Raise the bar.
2. Financial responsibility is very important. Do not spend money that the State does not have. Avoid increasing the public debt, either directly or through authorities and public service corporations. Remember the cost of money. Do not rely on one-shots when incurring permanent expenditures. Watch out for the privatization of HIP and its merger with GHI.
What will be the effect of those financial transactions on public health? Who will personally benefit from the process?
Revert to what you did as Attorney General, and make certain that the public is fully protected. If the state receives any funds, can you be certain that they will go to improving public health?
3. It is not helpful for chiefs of state to use vulgar or obscene language in public, and practically everything you do or say either is public, or will become public. You don't want to swear like a trooper, or sound like a schoolboy who wants to show that he is as tough as the big kids. LBJ was spectacularly vulgar, but in private. Be careful when you speak on cell phones, you never know who may be listening at the other end.
4. With regard to your ill-fated arrangement with Speaker Silver about the Comptrollership, your attitude should now be "Fool me once, it's your fault." The speaker, however, was elected by the Democratic conference and not by you. On the other hand, you were elected by the public, not by him or his peons in the Assembly. Since you cannot liberate his vassals, have sympathy for their predicament. It is also better to deal with them en masse through him than as the righteous, self-serving individuals some will turn out to be..
5. Unless you plan to run a primary against the speaker in 2008, you should be able to work with him. You have the editorial boards and the literate public on your side, he has his elected pawns, who all go along so they "can be effective".
I can imagine these guys in France under the German occupation. Silver has the lobbyists, starting with the mightiest, who can put large sums into TV. He has personal and institutional financial supporters and law firm colleagues. His universe may be narrower than yours, but more intense. He also has a keen sense of the balance of power when negotiating, and will try not to wipe you out to the extent that he could at this time. Nonetheless, you should not rely to your detriment on anything he says, because shifting winds may override his commitment. Many people in the business we have chosen have faced similar situations.
6. We repeat Rule 19 - Be kind to man and beast. We know you are smarter than 99.9 % of the public, but that still leaves 18,000 New Yorkers who may be your equal or better, some of whom you will need to deal with. People are unhappy if they feel they are not held in decent regard by others. Just as each person has one vote, each person is entitled to respect. At any rate, your gifts come from God, your parents and DNA. They do not indicate anyone's greater worth as a person, but they do show a greater capacity to help others. That goes for many of us, but you have a far greater opportunity to serve because of the position you earned. Don't feel guilty for being rich. It is not a crime in America.
7. Spend time in the rural and suburban parts of the state. Take your family to some of those places. Do not confine yourself to New York City, and Albany via the state. If you travel by public conveyance, you will meet a lot of people. Listen to them.
8. Don't throw money at the schools until you change what they do with the money they now receive. Many educational practices now followed are extremely unwise and unproductive. There are people who know the score in education. Find out who they are and consult them. You already know as much as alumni of schools of education. Just because your profession is law, do not underestimate what you could do with education if you addressed yourself to the issue in detail.
Do not hire someone with no pedagogical background and rely on him for education policy, no matter how high his IQ.
9. Understand how poorly the MTA has been run in the past, and how much money has been wasted on low-priority projects. Watch out for the transit - labor - industrial complex, the latest spending machine. President Eisenhower warned of the military - industrial complex when he left office in January 1969. The new alliance of construction companies, labor unions and public officials who collect from both sides has resulted in considerable needless expense. The MTA itself is swollen and wasteful. Subject the behemoth to an intense management review. Lee Sander's staff has a few wolves and sloths, help him dispose of them, but make certain you find the right targets. All that being said, the trains and buses run well, at least in Manhattan..
10. Express warmth and goodwill to the world, to the extent you are capable of doing so. You have been very fortunate, and you should convey the feeling of gratitude to others, as well as your commitment to do your best to improve their lives through health care, education and employment.
11. Governor Pataki was good on parks. Give your commissioners, Pete Grannis in DEC and Carol Ash in Parks, the latitude and resources they need. And make Parks a full agency, not merely a subordinated "Office". Save the watersheds to avoid the construction of costly filtration plants and the deterioration of water quality. Plant trees wherever you can.
12. Get the judges a pay raise as soon as you can, before the controversy becomes further exacerbated.. Judicial salaries should not be linked to the pay scales of part time legislators who wax fat on lulus, per diems et al. It is unfortunate for enmity to arise between co-equal branches of government. Make clear your own opposition to holding the judges hostages to the legislature. Do not appear complicit in this inappropriate maneuver.
Henry J. Stern
New York Civic
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