Spitzer Poised To Win Vote For Governor; Major Change From Pataki on Schools, TWU Contract

Spitzer Poised To Win Vote For Governor;
Major Change From Pataki on Schools, TWU Contract


As this newspaper appeared on the stands Nov. 7, New Yorkers were going to the polls to elect their first new Governor in a dozen years, with the likelihood that the Democratic nominee, State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, would be chosen to succeed George E. Pataki in January.

ELIOT SPITZER: On verge of moving up. Voters were also choosing between Republican Jeanine Pirro and Democrat Andrew Cuomo to fill Mr. Spitzer's current job, and deciding whether State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi's use of a state worker to chauffeur his wife was a serious enough ethical violation to turn him out of office in favor of his little-known Republican opponent, former Saratoga County Treasurer Christopher Callaghan.

Removal 'Premature'

A special counsel chosen by Governor Pataki to examine Mr. Hevesi's conduct concluded Nov. 3 that were was "a valid legal basis" for recommending to the State Senate that it launch proceedings to remove the State Comptroller from office. The counsel, former U.S. Attorney David N. Kelley, stopped short, however, of advising Mr. Pataki to pursue that course, saying that it was "premature" to do so.

DENIS M. HUGHES: Aids Republican Senator. First, Mr. Kelley said, it would have to be determined whether testimony before the State Ethics Commission - whose report finding Mr. Hevesi acted improperly was the basis for his own appointment to examine the matter - could be used as evidence in the removal proceeding. A decision would also have to be made as to whether the standard for determining removal would be finding Mr. Hevesi guilty beyond a reasonable doubt or - as is the burden in civil trials - guilty based on the preponderance of evidence.

$90,000 Additional Hit

He shared the Ethics Commission's conclusion that there was no need, based on security issues, for a driver to be assigned to Mr. Hevesi's ailing wife at state expense and that the Comptroller had tried to conceal his use of state resources by making no attempt to keep records of how much time his aide spent on those driving duties.

Mr. Hevesi last week paid $90,000 - in addition to more than $82,000 he had already submitted in reimbursement - when the State Attorney General's Office found he had underestimated the time the driver, Nicholas Acquafredda, devoted to chauffeuring his wife.

State Senate Battle

The uproar over Mr. Hevesi's conduct, in fact, in recent weeks had overshadowed both the Governor's race and the battle over whether Republicans could maintain their majority in the State Senate. The GOP has a 35 to 27 edge over Democrats in the upper legislative body, but was concerned that the large margin Mr. Spitzer is expected to roll up against Republican nominee John Faso could have an impact on some close Senate races.

Mr. Spitzer, who as Attorney General has gained a national reputation for his crackdown on abuses on Wall Street, easily dispatched Nassau County Executive Thomas R. Suozzi in the Democratic primary for Governor and has held public opinion-poll leads of 50 points or more over Mr. Faso for months. His election has become such a foregone conclusion that the only time the contest stirred a ripple was when Mr. Faso upbraided him for not calling for Mr. Hevesi's resignation, and Mr. Spitzer responded by rescinding his endorsement of the State Comptroller - a former close ally - two weeks ago.

Hevesi's Lead Shrinking

The fallout from the Ethics Commission report sliced sharply into what had once been a 40-point lead for Mr. Hevesi over Mr. Callaghan, and by the end of last week the Comptroller, despite a blitz of TV advertising, to try to stop the bleeding, saw it shrink to just four points in a Siena College poll.

The favorable recognition Mr. Spitzer has garnered among the public made him so formidable a candidate that Mr. Faso has had trouble raising money. Early in the campaign, when former Massachusetts Governor William Weld was the Republican front-runner, ex-U.S. Sen. Alfonse M. D'Amato, currently a lobbyist but still a power in the state Republican Party, heaped effusive praise on Mr. Spitzer. It was viewed then as a shot at Mr. Weld, with whom he clashed more than a decade earlier.

Mutual Non-Aggression

Mr. D'Amato's kind words about Mr. Spitzer continued even after Mr. Faso - with whom he has no personal quarrel and is closer ideologically - won his party's nomination. At the same time, state Democrats have not been as aggressive as might have been expected in trying to win control of the Senate, which would give their party control of both the executive and legislative branches, since the Assembly is already heavily Democratic.

One tipoff of how the political winds are blowing may have come during the summer when both the State AFL-CIO and Local 1199 of the Service Employees' International Union became involved in trying to re-elect Westchester State Sen. Nicholas Spano. Mr. Spano barely retained his seat two years ago, winning by just 18 votes over Democratic challenger Andrea Stewart-Cousins.

A Favor to Bruno?

The State AFL-CIO and Local 1199 both tend to lean Democratic, and have been staunch backers of Mr. Spitzer, but they have also had friendly relations with Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, who targeted Mr. Spano's race as among the must-win contests to retain Republican control of the Senate.

State AFL-CIO President Denis M. Hughes last week said union volunteers would be heavily involved in getting out the vote on Election Day for Mr. Spano, whom he said had a stellar record on labor issues. In a statement issued by Mr. Hughes, Civil Service Employees' Association President Danny Donohue and New York State United Teachers Executive Vice President Alan Lubin also praised the Westchester Senator.

The issues separating Mr. Spitzer and Mr. Faso have gotten relatively short shrift because of the one-sidedness of the campaign. In several key respects, Mr. Spitzer's positions and Mr. Faso's offer a sharp contrast from the standpoint of public employees and their unions.

Although Mr. Spitzer, as the state's top attorney, has represented Governor Pataki in repeatedly appealing rulings against him in the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit, he has made clear that if elected he will look to resolve the matter by giving city public schools substantially more money - while also boosting education funding throughout the state.

Faso Demurs

Mr. Faso has indicated he would allocate far less money than a court-appointed panel recommended to give the city public schools a fairer share of state aid, and has asserted that Mr. Spitzer's plan would require a sizable tax increase to fund it.

The former Assembly Minority Leader has also called for giving future public employees 401(k) plans rather than traditional pensions, something that would save money for the state and local governments but would reduce the retirement allowances for those workers. Mr. Callaghan also supports such a move, which Mr. Hevesi has likened to President Bush's aborted attempt to privatize Social Security.

And where Mr. Pataki has often been criticized for indulging in "government by contribution," making appointments and awarding state contracts to past campaign backers, Mr. Spitzer has made reforming the overall culture in Albany a centerpiece of his campaign. His walking away from his endorsement of Mr. Hevesi was viewed as a signal that his calls for change will be more than election rhetoric. Mr. Faso, however, has said Mr. Spitzer is too close to union leaders and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver to make good on his pledge.

Caution Among Unions

Several union leaders have cautioned against regarding Mr. Spitzer as a friend of labor, saying it is too early to tell whether this particular Democrat will be more sympathetic to their needs and interests than Mr. Pataki has been.

One union that has no doubt the change can only be for the better, however, is Transport Workers' Union Local 100. Union President Roger Toussaint has charged that Mr. Pataki's determination to buttress his credentials among national Republicans as he tried to launch a run for President figured prominently in the hard line taken by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority last year before the union held a three-day transit strike.

Sand in Contract Gears?

Mr. Toussaint also contends that Mr. Pataki's threat not to approve a key section of the contract that emerged following the walkout was responsible for its narrow defeat by his rank and file in January. He also maintains that MTA Chairman Peter S. Kalikow - a longtime friend and financial backer of the Governor's - refused to accept the same deal when it was ratified in a re-vote in April because of Mr. Pataki.

Mr. Spitzer, on the other hand, said at the time that he would have approved the deal, and has pledged to replace Mr. Kalikow. The contract dispute is currently in arbitration, but it could ultimately be decided by the new Governor.