The governor, who has been taking heat recently from the press, was a hit with voters this afternoon at a town meeting in the community college on the border of Montgomery and Fulton counties, a rural and considerably Republican area west of the Capital Region.
On the way in, he stopped to chat with some demonstrators from public employee unions protesting budget cuts, and seemed to win them over by saying they won't be the only ones to sacrifice, and that they've sacrificed already (a reference to some pretty non-draconian budget trims he's already pushed through). Inside, in the gym, a Paterson aide estimated there more than 500 people gathered. Among them were Congressman Paul Tonko and Assemblymen McEneny, Lopez, Gordon, Amedore and Butler, along with lots of local officials.
Paterson says he's holding town meetings because of "the most prodigious budget deficit in New York state history," and that those states addressing the budget quickly will do best. In the other camp, he said, are California, which is "nearing bankruptcy" and Massachusetts, which is asking for a federal loan.
The first question is more like a speech from a Johnstown woman named Jan, who says “I’m the middle class." she said she keeps the heat at 56, shops with coupons, rarely eats out, and pays $6,000-$8,000 per year in co-pays for a daughter with medical problems. Meanwhile, she said, rich people get bonuses, the middle class is disappearing and the governor is proposing higher gas taxes.
Paterson responds, "I can’t think of a more poignant way to express the problems of this state than Janet has."But, he continues, the state has been overspending in prior years, and "Now the revenues have fallen off a cliff and we’re still unable to cut back spending.”
Another questioner complained about the governor's proposal to eliminate STAR rebates. But Paterson responded vigorously. The STAR program, he says, "was supposed to cut property taxes" but hasn't worked. Instead, he touted his proposal to cap school property tax increases at no more than 4 percent a year.
In talking about the federal stimulus bill and shovel ready sites, the governor said Tonko has suggested making the bridge across the Mohawk River in Amsterdam one of them, which he thought was a good idea. He might want to rethink. That pedestrian bridge, approved in a statewide bond referendum a few years ago, is seen locally as a boondoggle, because people can already walk across the river on a sidewalk on the existing Route 30 bridge.
Another questioner, I think named Frank DeSantis, talks about the need to save money through government consolidation, but laments the failure of voters in 2 referendums in recent years to approve countywide assessing in Fulton County. The only solution, he said, is for the state to mandate it. "Consolidation will never come from the bottom up. It has to come from the top down," says DeSantis. But Paterson says: "Democracy, hopefully works from the bottom up. I agree with you on the end product, and we’ve got to persuade our neighbors. "
Jennifer Pettys, Montgomery county youth bureau director, complained about a proposed gubernatorial budget cut that she said would reduce services to young people, making it more likely they will get in serious trouble after school. Paterson said he hopes federal stimulus money can help with this, and that schools should be open all day.
WVTL radio guru Bob Cudmore, who was moderating the event, asked for a show of hands on the Kirsten Gillibrand appointment to the Senate, and many hands went up, while almost nobody raised a hand in disapproval. "You must be glad you're here and not in Manhattan," Cudmore said to Paterson, an apparent reference to opposition to Gillibrand from that quarter and support for alternative candidates, notably Caroline Kennedy.
Said the governor: "I live in Manhattan. People in Manhattan are going to have to get over it." This, like many of Patrerson's remarks, drew applause and laughter. He went on to say that Gillibrand "was as qualified as anyone else," and had the additional political advantages of being a woman from upstate.
A farmer says he’s likely the last generation to run his airy farm, and that property taxes are his third largest expense, after feed and labor. Paterson says agribusiness funding is going up, and cutting transportation costs and energy use with more reliance on local food sources is the way to go.
Someone asked about tourism, and he replied “I can’t give as positive an answer as I would like,” because it's been hurt by the economic downturn.
Cudmore said his listeners think Paterson would look better without a beard. "I never really learned how to use a razor," replied the legally blind governor. "I assure you, If started shaving, I will kill myself.”
He got a standing ovation when he started, and another one at the end, about an hour and 15 minutes later. Then he did a quick news conference. Where can people go who have lost jobs in traditional industies like tanneries? asked a local reporter. Paterson, continuing to sound well prepared and on the ball, responded that FMCC provides training for people to install solar panels.