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| Paterson Says Legislators Put State in Danger | ||
| 2010-01-08 | ||
In a strikingly blunt State of the State address, Gov. David A. Paterson chastised the lawmakers seated before him on Wednesday, saying they had spent the state into near-ruin and stood by as a plague of political corruption destroyed New Yorkers' trust in their government.
"You have left me and other governors no choice," Mr. Paterson, the former State Senate minority leader, said. "Whether it be by vetoes or delayed spending, I will not write bad checks, and we will not mortgage our children's future."
The speech -- and its reception -- stood in stark contrast to Mr. Paterson's first speech in the chamber two years ago -- after taking office when Eliot Spitzer resigned -- when he earned thunderous praise from lawmakers, whom he charmed with self-effacement and nonstop jokes. Now, after months of bruising battles with a Legislature resistant to the broad spending cuts that he believes are necessary to save the state, Mr. Paterson's relationship with his former colleagues could not be more strained. The governor entered the packed chamber with nary a handshake for the hundreds of lawmakers and other officials who had assembled to hear him speak, and did not crack a single smile during his 30-minute address. Instead, he issued calls for tougher ethics oversight, the abolition of programs he called wasteful and a cap on state spending, often drawing on Biblical language. "Prosperity hides all manner of sin, but no longer," Mr. Paterson declared. "We have to rise to the highest expectation of our people and bring them the lasting change they have long, long fought for and desired." | ||
| Posted by:Fred |