LG Richard Ravitch is scheduled to meet in Albany this afternoon with Gov. David Paterson amid multiple reports in recent weeks that the relationship between the governor and his hand-picked No. 2 has been strained almost to a breaking point.

A Paterson administration source confirms the get-together is scheduled to take place at 12:30 p.m. and the LG is traveling from NYC, where he has been spending the bulk of his time, at the governor’s request.

Neither Ravitch nor Paterson has been shy about confirming they are at odds over the mulit-year borrowing/budget reform plan the LG proposed in March.

Paterson, who has gone back and forth on the subject of borrowing, said last week that he is now ruling it out and will veto any budget plan that includes deficit financing. Ravitch skipped the leaders meeting at which the governor made that pronouncement as well as the public Red Room confab held the week before.

Last week Ravitch insisted in separate interviews with myself and NY1′s Josh Robin he would show up if anyone had asked him to and hinted he has been boxed out by the governor’s chief of staff, Larry Schwartz.

Now comes a report in the Post from an unidentified Paterson administration souce that the LG has indeed been invited to both leaders meetings and cabinet meetings, but is choosing not to attend on his own accord. This source referred to Ravitch as a “crybaby.”

…which really sets the tone well for today’s sit-down, doesn’t it?

In other Ravitch news, the LG is the “the unabashed hero” of the “The American Life” report on Albany’s budget mess, according to CapCon’s Jimmy Vielkind. I haven’t had a chance to listen to that yet, but would be interested to hear CapTon readers’ take.

Share|