Politics on the Hudson

Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli refused to say this morning whether he wants Gov. David Paterson to be the Democratic candidate for governor next year.

Asked by Fred Dicker if he wants Paterson to be the party’s candidate next year, DiNapoli offered an array of answers as he seeks to run for a full term himself next year.

“There’s a lot of politics that is going to play out as we go into next year,” DiNapoli said. “He’s our governor now. I support our governor. I want him to be successful, and as we go into next year, I plan to be on the ticket. I am running and if he’s running we need to have a unified Democratic ticket if we’re going to win.”

So does that mean he supports Paterson as the Democratic nominee?

“I want us to have a winning ticket. We have an incumbent governor and if he’s going to be our candidate we need to support him. We all need to work together doing that,” DiNapoli would only say.

Asked if he would support Attorney General Andrew Cuomo for governor, DiNapoli responded, “Andrew Cuomo has done a great job as attorney general.I’ve not heard that he’s announced he’s running for governor.”