By Staff

Gov. Davis Patterson states at his press conference, "if it acts like dysfunctional government, it probably is a dysfunctional government.”

Assembly Minority Leader Jim Tedisco statement:

“At today’s five-way meeting of the Legislative Leaders, some serious and substantive proposals were offered to help address New York’s mounting budget deficit. What we didn’t hear was a single idea from Speaker Silver as to how to deal with our state’s fiscal crisis. Not only did the Speaker refuse to offer a suggestion, but he failed to indicate which of the Governor’s budget cuts he would support.

Try as he might, the Speaker cannot hide from the fact that, last year - under his leadership - the Assembly passed 1,153 one-house bills. For the Speaker to try and say that now, for some reason, one-house bills are off the table, has taken the art of political parsing to new levels. I find it
mildly amusing this same Speaker passed a one-house bill that would enact a $1.75 billion job-killing tax when the Assembly met during its August 19 Special Session. Clearly, this is a severe case of ‘do as I say, not as I do’ on the Speaker’s part.

Let the record be clear: Speaker Silver’s years of supporting profligate spending have driven our state into the fiscal ditch. He and his Conference bear a large measure of responsibility for the budget deficit we are now trying to deal with. It’s time the media called him on it.

This Special Session - where absolutely nothing was accomplished - has cost taxpayers nearly $40,000 per day, further adding to New York’s massive budget deficit. In light of this, Webster’s Dictionary may want to consider redefining the word ‘irony.’

Governor Paterson needs to lead by example - even if it means taking on his fellow Democrat Speaker Silver. The Governor should have asked Speaker Silver to publicly specify which of the budget cuts he will be supporting. He also let the Speaker off the hook from enumerating one single idea for solving this fiscal crisis. So much for urgency.

Senate Democratic Leader Malcolm Smith Statement:

 By MICHAEL GORMLEY-  Associated Press

An angry Gov. David Paterson Monday night called legislative leaders to a public negotiation session after he said the Senate's Republican majority is playing a dangerous political game that threatens New York's fiscal future.

The Democratic governor lashed out at Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, a Long Island Republican, for what Paterson said was a refusal to negotiate billions of dollars of spending cuts during a fiscal crisis in the face of strong opposition by Albany's powerful education, healthcare and public employee unions.

Read More At: Forbes

ALBANY -- Gov. David Paterson has a message for state lawmakers: waiting to make budget cuts will only make the state's fiscal problems worse.

Paterson directed his warning mainly to Senate Republicans, who have questioned whether they can make cuts to the current budget when they return to session Tuesday without having details about next year's budget.

"I get the impression that the Senate Republicans wake up every morning and think of the excuse of the day for why they are not taking action," Paterson said in an interview with Gannett News Service.

Paterson, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, D-Manhattan, and Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos, R-Nassau County, met Sunday afternoon in private at the governor’s Manhattan office to see if any agreements could be reached. But apparently little progress was made.

Read More At: Press Connects 

Propelled by a surge of new voters, Democrats won a majority in the New York State Senate on Tuesday, putting the party in control of both houses of the Legislature and the governor’s office for the first time since the New Deal.