| Governor David Paterson appeared on WXXI Radio - 1370 AM in Rochester today as part of his Radio Town Hall tour.
Paterson was asked about the current state of affairs in New York and a reference to former Gov. Hugh Carey and his famous quote, "The days of wine and roses are over."
Paterson, in turn, added his own twist to Carey's quote by saying that "The days of wine and roses and the days of pork and barrels are also over."
The topics of conversation dealt with the economy and some callers brought up the Brennan Center report from 2004, which Paterson said he supported. He also brought up the upstate economy and mentioned that the budget would send $700 million to upstate.
"We did pass a budget with a large infusion of capital in that area," he said.
Paterson was also asked about campaign finance reform and said that at the present time, he would be opposed to public financing of elections because of the burden that would place on the taxpayers of New York. Otherwise, he does support efforts for campaign finance reform.
He also expressed his opposition to the toll hikes, saying that we shouldn't be passing more taxes and fees onto the constituency.
Paterson concluded by saying "be careful what you wish for" regarding his current position as governor. When asked what part of the job makes him feel like governor, Paterson responded, "I'd say it's the anxiety."
He praised his predecessors for the job they did and talked about how as a legislator and as lieutenant governor, you look at the governor's seat and say that you would have done things different. But Paterson warned anyone who thought that they could do a better job.
"Be careful what you wish for," he said. |
