| Governor David Paterson has announced that he is appointing Richard Ravitch to serve as lieutenant governor.
From the Governor's press release:
Governor David A. Paterson today announced the appointment of Richard Ravitch to serve as Lieutenant Governor. The Governor announced the appointment in a televised statewide address during which he spoke about both the fiscal and government crises facing New Yorkers.
Mr. Ravitch has been called to public service numerous times throughout his career by Governors and Mayors at times of historic crises and he will now join Governor Paterson in his efforts to put New York on the road to recovery.
"Over the past year, I have worked to address the worst fiscal and economic crisis to hit New York in decades. Throughout that time, my number one priority as Governor has been to stabilize our State's economy and put New York on the road to recovery. Over the past month, our work to address the economic crisis has been undermined by a crisis of governance in the State Senate," said Governor Paterson.
"The confusion in the line of succession cannot and must not continue," added the Governor. "That is why today, I am acting on behalf of the people of New York and will use my legal authority as Governor to appoint Richard Ravitch to the position of Lieutenant Governor. Dick has dedicated much of his remarkable career to public service. Over the past several decades, he has been called to service on numerous occasions by governors and mayors during times of crisis and today, I too am turning to him to assist me in my continued efforts to stabilize New York's economy."
Mr. Ravitch began his career as an attorney for the Government Operations Committee of the House of Representatives in Washington, D.C., from 1959-1960. He then joined HRH Construction Corporation as a principal and was responsible for supervising the development, financing and construction of over 45,000 units of affordable housing in New York, Washington, DC, Puerto Rico and other locations. In 1975, Governor Hugh Carey appointed him to serve as Chairman of the New York State Urban Development Corporation, a financing and development agency with 30,000 dwelling units under construction.
I'm not sure how this helps, given the insanity in Albany lately. The legality of this move is something that the Governor's office isn't too worried about, at least on the surface. Yet, there have already been claims made that this is illegal, including one claim from Sen. Pedro Espada Jr. that this is illegal. If that isn't hypocrisy (or irony) I don't know what is.
If it is legal, Ravitch is a safe pick. He obviously wouldn't run in 2010 but he would serve the office well.
I will credit Governor Paterson's leadership here. He is taking a big risk here. He needs to take more of them. This could blow up in his face, but he is willing to go far to end this mayhem. That is good. At least someone is trying to end this stalemate. |
