In an extended interview with WAMC’s Alan Chartock that aired this afternoon, AG Andrew Cuomo and the radio host shared a chuckle over what Chartock called NYC Councilman Charles Barron’s “anger management” problem.

The moment came at roughly the three-minute mark of the clip that appears after the jump when Chartock asked for Cuomo’s reaction to Barron’s announcement Friday that he will run for governor on an independent line to protest the fact that there are no blacks on the Democratic statewide ticket.

“I have to say the guy has some anger management problems, which we’ve seen in the past, but nevertheless how do we answer this?” Chartock said.

Cuomo laughed heartily as he replied:

“What, the anger management problems? I can’t help you with the anger management.”

“Look it’s the political process,” Cuomo continued. “Everybody gets an opinion, and that’s what makes it so much fun. Anyone who wants to run can run. They can make the point that they want to make.”

“I am committed to diversity in my administration. If the people of the state of New York give me the opportunity I’ll have the most diverse administration in history. That will be the goal, and I believe I will achieve it because I believe it and I have in all my government positions.”

“Would it be nice, could we always do more to have more diversity on the ticket? Of course, of course. Um, so, Mr. Barron’s making that point. I understand the point. If he wants to run he should run.”

For the record, Barron does indeed have a habit of raising his voice and making controversial statements.

Most recently, he got into with fellow NYC Councilman David Greenfield over Barron’s comment that Israel has turned Gaza into a “concentration camp” for Palestinians through its port blockade.

Last year, he got into a shouting match with CUNY Trustee Jeffrey Wiesenfeld during a ground-breaking ceremony at Fiterman Hall during which the councilman called Wiesenfeld an “ignorant racist.”

Chartock then asked Cuomo if he’s concerned that Barron (assuming he makes it onto the ballot) might siphon voters – namely, black voters, who tend to vote Democratic – away from him.

“Look, you know, anyone can hurt anyone in this business at this time,” Cuomo said.

“To the extent he would take votes from me, sure it would hurt. I would hope that when people hear what I have to say, and hear my campaign, and hear my position, and hear my plan, that they would vote for me.”

“But, to the extent, if in fact he runs, and if people found his case persuasive, he could theoretically hurt. But I’m going to have a very strong argument on this point.”

Recall that Cuomo worked very hard to repair his relationship with the black community after challenging the first black major party candidate for governor, then-state Comptroller H. Carl McCall, in a failed primary challenge in 2002.

There was at one time much consternation over whether Cuomo would again anger the black community by challenging Gov. David Paterson – the state’s first black governor.

A number of people – including McCall himself – insisted it would not be racially insensitive for Cuomo to primary Paterson. The whole issue became moot, however, when Paterson decided not to run this fall.

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