Reactions to Gov. David Paterson’s second State of the State are plentiful.
Here is video of Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos responding to the speech.
And here are a plethora of responses from state leaders and advocates:
From Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb:
2010 needs to be the Year of Reform fiscal reforms like no new taxes, a property tax and state spending cap and more private sector jobs and governmental reforms such as enacting initiative and referendum, term limits for Leaders and legislators, a Peoples Convention, and the toughest ethics laws in America.
We need reform, but we also need a full court press to fix our economy. As a businessman and an entrepreneur, I believe our most pressing
challenge is getting a comprehensive jobs and economic development program in place to get the thousands of New Yorkers who are out of work, back to work.
At a time when more than 800,000 New Yorkers are unemployed, families pay the second-highest combined state and local taxes in the nation and citizens have lost faith in a state government that has continually broken faith with them, we cannot miss this opportunity to deliver on the unfulfilled promise of reform.
Governor Patersons address sounded an optimistic tone, but what New Yorkers will be looking for, what my Assembly Republican colleagues and I will be waiting for, is an action plan and the follow through needed to deliver on these promises and the change people have been demanding. Many of the things the Governor called for, our Conference has continually taken the lead in advancing.
I want the Governor to succeed. Our Conference wants the Governor to succeed. New York State needs him to succeed. Where we can,
whenever we can, we must work together for real solutions to the real problems confronting New York and end the crisis of confidence plaguing state government. Its time for everyone serving in state government to stop the blame game and partisan finger pointing and decide if they are for reform or not.
From Paterson’s likely opponent Attorney General Andrew Cuomo:
New Yorkers now face great challenges that stem in part from the failure of government to address their needs, as well as past failures to address the excesses of Wall Street. It is now more urgent than ever that we make New York more affordable; restore trust in government by
reforming Albany; create, attract and retain jobs throughout the State; and not forget those in need.
Governor Paterson has properly acknowledged some of these challenges in his State of the State address today. The key now, however, is to get it done. To solve these problems in these times will require sustained effort, seriousness of purpose and the ability to build a coalition for change. Read the rest of this entry »
By David King on January 6, 2010, 4:42 pm
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