Politics on the Hudson

   Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver today seemed to shut the idea of raising taxes on millionaires this year, but kept the possibility open for next year.

“The Speaker has said repeatedly that he will work with his colleagues in government during the special session on Nov. 18 to bring New York’s current state budegt back into balance without raising taxes,’’ Silver spokesman Dan Weiller said today, in response to a report that Silver has ruled out hiking income taxes.

But there’s always next year.

Weiller said that closing next year’s budget gap will require “shared sacrifice ‘’ – a phase some see as a code for an income-tax increase on the wealthy.

For next year’s budget, “all policy options will be on the table,’’ he said.

The latest campaign filings are coming in for state races, and Senate Republicans spent a whopping $3.2 million over the last three weeks as it seeks to retain its majority compared to $1.3 million for Senate Democrats.

Senate Republicans raised $3.4 million during the three weeks, $1.7 million of which came from PACs—including $94,000 each from the Civil Service Employees PAC and the Neighborhood Preservation PAC.

Both parties are spending heavily in the Queens seat currently held by Serphin Maltese, who narrowly won in 2006 and is being challenged by Democrat Joseph Addabbo.

Republicans continue to pump money into Dave Renzi in the North Country, even though a Siena poll showed Democratic Sen. Darrel Aubertine well ahead. And they are also outspending Democrats with candidate Barbara Donno against Democratic Sen. Craig Johnson on Long Island.

Yet Democrats keep putting big bucks into candidate Richard Dollinger in Rochester and are outspending Republicans’ contributions to Sen. Joseph Robach, who a Siena poll showed with an 11-point lead last month.

Here’s the top candidates where the parties’ money went:
—Serphin Maltese, running for re-election against Democratic city Councilman Joseph Addabbo after narrowly winning a 10th term in 2006:
$536,411 for Maltese, $322,542 for Addabbo.
—Dave Renzi, running against Sen. Darrel Aubertine in the North Country: $337,783 for Renzi, $181,768 for Aubertine.
—Caesar Trunzo, at 82 the oldest senator and a 36-year incumbent, is facing Brookhaven Supervisor Brian Foley: $280,672 for Trunzo, $581,748 for Foley.
—Barbara Donno, Plandome Manor mayor running against Sen. Craig Johnson on Long Island: $244,294 for Donno, $2,500 for Johnson.
—John Murtagh, running against Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins in Westchester: $269,527 for Murtagh, $10,320 for Stewart-Cousins.
—Joseph Robach, running for re-election in Rochester against Democrat Rick Dollinger: $206,854 for Robach, $427,695 for Dollinger.
—Liz Feld, Larchmont mayor running against Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer in Westchester: $184,942, $123,776 for Oppenheimer
—Mike Ranzenhofer, running for open seat in western New York against Democrat Joe Mesi: $120,072 for Ranzenhofer, $164,098 for Mesi.

  The state’s new “net-metering’’ law has led to an improved grade from a national environmental group.

The Network for New Energy Choices, which last year gave New York a “D’’ grade, improved it to “B’’ this year because of the new law, which allows commercial and industrial utility customers to sell excess energy they generate from solar panels and other renewable sources back to the utility. Previously only homeowners could do that , and not many were.

State officials expect the new law to dramatically increase small alternative-energy projects.
A report from the group, called “Freeing the Grid,’’ points to the new law as one of the “bright spots that are particularly welcome in a declining economy,’’ given “Americans’ desire for energy independence and widespread concern about climate change.’‘

State Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck, held a press conference today praising a cancer mapping bill she originated that became law last month.

On Sept. 26, Gov. David Paterson signed the bill which requires the state departments of Health and Environmental Conservation to identify population clusters where cancer is prevalent and to keep a data base of the info for future study.

State assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-Greenburgh, sponsored the bill on his side.

In her election race against Larchmont mayor Liz Feld, Oppenheimer today also announced the endorsement of Sen. Hillary Clinton. The state’s other U.S. Senator, Chuck Schumer, endorsed Oppenheimer earlier this month.

UPDATE: Oppenheimer today also announced the endorsement from the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

Mayor Clinton Young and representatives from Mount Vernon Hospital will talk about breast cancer prevention and awareness at a press conference this morning at City Hall.

The hospital will highlight programs that if offers, including semi-monthly, free mammograms for uninsured women. The hospital also sponsors the “Look Good…Feel Better” program which helps improve the self-image, appearance, and quality of life of people undergoing cancer treatment.

The press conference, held during Breast Cancer Awareness Month, starts at 11 a.m. at City Hall, 1 Roosevelt Square. For information about the hospital’s breast cancer programs, call (914) 361-6195.

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Barack Obama has a huge 31 percentage point lead in New York over Republican candidate John McCain, a surge of nine points in the last three week, according to a Siena College poll today.

Obama has a 62-31 percent lead over McCain, the poll found. Obama also had a 67 percent favorability rating in New York, compared to 42 percent for McCain – the highest rating for Obama in New York that Siena has found.

Obama’s lead in New York is not surprising. New York is considered one of the most blue states in the country, with about 2 million more enrolled Democrats than Republicans. Neither candidate has campaigned outside of New York City during the general election.

“Barack Obama is poised to carry New York big next Tuesday,” said Steven Greenberg, spokesman for the Siena New York Poll.

Democrats are hoping that a big showing by Obama in New York will help the party in critical races for Congress and the state Senate, where Republicans hold a one-seat majority.

Gannett News Service reported Friday that Democrats have seen a surge in enrollment in key state Senate races heading into the final week before Election Day next Tuesday.

The poll also found 78 percent of New York voters agree with Gov. David Paterson’s assessment that the state’s economy is the worst it’s been since the Great Depression.

Also, to close the state’s roughly $2 billion budget gap, 69 percent of voters choose increasing the income tax on millionaires. The state Legislature is set to return to Albany Nov. 18 to deal with the budget woes.

By a margin of 58 percent to 37 percent, voters support an eight-year term limit for state officials, including the governor and Legislature. The New York City Council last week voted to extend term limits so Mayor Michael Bloomberg and other elected officials can seek a third term in 2009.

Paterson, meanwhile, continues to gain popularity since replacing disgraced Gov. Eliot Spitzer in March, the poll found.

His favorability rating jumped to 62 percent in the latest poll, the first time it has exceeded 60 percent.

So if the Democratic governor was up for re-election now, 40 percent of voters said they would support him. In matchups against Bloomberg and former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, Paterson has his best numbers to date from Siena—losing to Bloomberg 47 percent to 43 percent but beating Giuliani 51 percent to 40 percent, Siena reported.

“While bad economic news and tough fiscal talk by chief executives do not always play well with voters, the more he talks about the economy and the budget, the more voters seem to be embracing what the governor is saying,” Greenberg said.

The poll was conducted Oct. 19 through 21 by telephone calls to 721 likely New York registered voters. It has a margin of error of 3.6 percentage points.

(AP Photo)

Last week, we reported on Mamaroneck mayor Kathy Savolt’s court drama over a ticket she got for driving while talking on a cell phone.

The story was picked up by news outlets all over the country and even a mention on Countdown with Keith Olbermann on MSNBC.

I asked the mayor, jokingly, if she was shopping around for a book deal now that she’s gotten national attention.

She e-mailed me saying the coverage was “hysterical,” and added “Next stop – Vice President.  I do have the glasses.”

She was joking, but who knows? Sarah Palin was mayor of Wasilla, Alaska — a city with around 10,000 people. Savolt is mayor of a village with  almost 20,000 people.

Gov. Paterson’s office put out this statement on O’Bryne’s resignation this evening. You can read O’Byrne’s resignation letter and Paterson’s response here.

“Today Governor Paterson accepted the resignation of Secretary to the Governor Charles O’Byrne. Governor Paterson is grateful for the hard work and dedication Mr. O’Byrne has shown to the administration and to the people of New York.

“Governor Paterson has appointed advisor Bill Cunningham as acting Secretary to the Governor. He has also appointed Deputy Secretary for Labor and Financial Regulation Charlotte Hitchcock as Chief of Staff and Director of Financial Regulation effective immediately.

“Mr. O’Byrne’s resignation will be effective today October 24, 2008. He will continue on for a transition period ending November 7, 2008. Governor Paterson wishes Mr. O’Byrne well and will continue to focus on addressing the state’s serious fiscal issues in the upcoming special legislative session.”

After a week of intense scrutiny over his delinquent tax bills, Gov. David Paterson’s top aide Charles O’Byrne is leaving his post.

O’Byrne has been under fire over not paying state and federal income taxes from 2001 to 2005, raking up nearly $300,000 in taxes and fines that he finished paying back this week.

Paterson has stood by his top aide throughout the week, but apparently agreed to part ways with him late Friday.

Henry Berger, O’Byrne’s private attorney, confirmed to Gannett News Service that O’Byrne is leaving his post and that William Cunningham, a veteran political consultant who worked closely with former Gov. Mario Cuomo and Mayor Michael Bloomberg and is close to Paterson’s father, Basil Paterson, will take over O’Byrne’s position as secretary to the governor.

Paterson’s press office has yet to officially confirm O’Byrne’s departure and it’s unclear whether he resigned or was forced out. The office did not return calls seeking comment Friday afternoon.

Senate Republicans have called for an investigation into what Paterson knew of O’Byrne’s troubled financial past.

“Everyone has an obligation to pay their taxes. No one likes to do it, but it is the law and when someone does not comply with the law there are consequences,” Senate Majority leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, said in a statement.

“By removing his Chief of Staff Charles O’Byrne, Governor Paterson took appropriate action today to show that no one, even those serving at the highest levels of government, is above the law,” he said.

But Skelos said that questions remain “about exactly when the governor knew about O’Byrne’s failure to pay his taxes, and why he chose to do nothing about the matter until it became public this week.”

O’Byrne has blamed his failure to pay his taxes on clinical depression, and one of his attorneys Wednesday said O’Byrne suffers from a little-known problem called “non-filer syndrome.”

His salary was $178,500.

Losing O’Byrne may be a tough blow to Paterson as he heads into difficult budget negotiations with legislative leaders next month to close a roughly $2 billion budget gap in the current fiscal year. O’Byrne was Paterson top advisor, often serving as the liaison between the Democratic governor and state leaders.
Updated 2X: It’s this William Cunningham:

William J. Cunningham is Acting Secretary to Governor David A. Paterson. Prior to that he served as Senior Advisor to the Governor. Before he joined the Paterson Administration, Mr. Cunningham served as Counsel to Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi. He was the architect of Nassau County’s Fair Housing Law and the facilitator for the County Executive’s Bias Crimes Task Force. In addition, he has coordinated the County Executive’s economic development, tourism and affordable housing initiatives. Mr. Cunningham was also the Chief Deputy County Executive from January 2002 through June 2003. As Chief Deputy County Executive, he occupied the number two executive position in Nassau County government, directing the County’s departments, agencies and commissions.

Mr. Cunningham was a partner in the law firm Pryor, Cashman, Sherman and Flynn from December 2003 to October 2004 and was also a partner in the law firm Meyer, Suozzi, English and Klein where he served as Managing Partner of the firm from 1997 to 2002

The value of the state Teacher Retirement Fund dropped by $7 billion between the end of July and the end of September, a fund spokesman said today.
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the larger state Common Retirement Fund, managed by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, refused to disclose how the balance in that fund, $153 billion last March, has changed since then.
The funds are used to pay benefits to hundreds of thousands of retired state, school-district and local-government workers. Their benefits are guaranteed by the state constitution, but investment losses could mean higher costs to taxpayers to fund them.
The disclosure of the loss for the teacher fund comes after the nation’s largest public-pension system, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, announced this week it is considering raising its charges on taxpayers there after the fund lost 20 percent of its value from June through Oct. 10.
A spokesman for the New York teacher fund said the losses won’t mean more charges for taxpayers, at least right away, because those rates are set on a five-year average of returns, and the fund has had a number of good investment years. The value has dropped from about $95 billion to $88 billion.
A spokesman for DiNapoli, Robert Whelan, said updates on the size of the fund are issued only once a year, because the fund takes a long-term perspective on its investments.
But Robert Freeman, director of the state Committee on Open Government, said DiNapoli is required by the state Freedom of Information Law to disclose the latest estimate of the size of the fund.
“Assuming there is a record or there are records which indicate the gains or losses or the value of the retirement system at any given time, those records in my opinion would unquestionably be accessible under the freedom of information law,’’ he said.
Gannett News Service today sent a formal request for the information under the law, which DiNapoli’s office is considering. Under the law, he has agency has five business days to respond.