| While reporters were describing Governor Cuomo as having mastered Albany a few short months ago, there's a difference between "Albany - The State Government" and "Albany - The City". Every now and then that difference matters for the people in state government.
Over the weekend, I was happy to see that Albany - The City chose the path of little conflict, and impressed to see this word from Sean Collins:
District Attorney David Soares made an appearance at Occupy Albany yesterday, pledging that if anyone was arrested at Occupy Albany that he would not move to prosecute. For the record, no one there took that as a free pass to do whatever the hell they pleased. They still actively worked to not give reason for the police to arrest them-beyond leaving the park-by working to keep sidewalks clear, the park clean, etc.
Blogs and Twitter were ahead of the newspapers, but today we get to see Cuomo's aides dissing Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings because of Albany's lack of action:
Cuomo last year considered Jennings as a possible running mate for lieutenant governor but picked Mayor Robert Duffy of Rochester instead.
"It's fair to say that after Jennings' performance with the demonstrators, the governor thinks he made the right choice,'' said a source close to Cuomo.
Yes, that's in the New York Post, Fred Dicker reporting. There's lots of Dicker's own spleen where that came from. Jennings, "a longtime friend", "nervously backed down" in the face of "about 200 mainly young, hippie-like demonstrators" after "Albany's leftist-oriented and highly political district attorney, David Soares, told city officials he wouldn't prosecute."
I had my doubts about the Cuomo-Post nexus during the Paladino race, but those doubts have pretty much faded. The Times-Union tells a similar story less dramatically, without the "close to Cuomo" personal diss of Albany's mayor.
The Times-Union, though, reminds readers that Cuomo has his own police force:
A person familiar with Albany's plans to react to the rally said Cuomo's secretary, Larry S. Schwartz, called Jennings Friday morning and said State Police would remove any protesters who did not comply with a curfew.
The position of the governor's office was in contrast to an earlier plan by Albany police to leave the protesters alone if they were peaceful, even if they stayed overnight.
While Cuomo may be regretting his lousy timing in comparing his opposition to the millionaire's tax with his father's opposition to the death penalty, New York State Governors with presidential ambitions have been known to overreact.
Update: Protestors seem to have noticed Cuomo's interest in shutting them down, too. |
