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Carl Paladino
‘What Does A Bull In A China Shop Do?’
Jan 31st - 2:38 pm
Here’s footage of Carl Paladino’s Q-and-A with LCA reporters earlier today. He was in town for the state Conservative Party’s annual political action conference in Colonie and also stopped by the Capitol Pressroom with Susan Arbetter earlier today.
Asked what the future holds for him and whether he plans to make regular appearances in Albany, the Buffalo businessman replied: “What does a bull in a china shop do?” He is so far sticking with his pledge not to run for office again after his failed gubernatorial bid last fall.
There’s a sort of weird moment in here when Paladino refuses to answer a question from NYS Public Radio Network’s Karen DeWitt…I’m not sure what that’s all about.
Paladino hedged when asked whether his former Democratic opponent, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, is doing a good job so far. Many of his fellow conservatives, including state Party Chairman Mike Long, have been singing Cuomo’s praises. But Paladino said he’s waiting to see if Cuomo “walks the walk.”
“Nothing’s been done yet,” he said. “I mean, there’s been a lot of talk, so let’s see how it goes. I’d be happy to comment after we see what his budget holds and we see what he’s proposing…We’re a mess. Let’s not forget that. We. Are. A mess. The only way we’re going to straighten that out is with some really strong leadership. And I would hope that Mr. Cuomo provides that.”
Caputo Crusades For Cuomo
Jan 31st - 1:00 pm
As previewed in today’s NY Times, Carl Paladino’s former campaign manager, Michael Caputo, is signing on to support Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s budget agenda and e-mailing Tea Partiers in hopes they will follow his lead.
Caputo told the Times that he still “can’t stand” the Democratic governor, who defeated the Buffalo businessman in a landslide win last November.
But he has managed to put aside his dislike for Cuomo long enough to pen a missive that praises his fiscally conservative agenda – all the while insisting the governor sounds “an awful lot” like the mean he beat at the polls.
In the e-mail, which will be sent to some 10,000 activists, Caputo lauds Cuomo for standing his ground when Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver floated the idea of linking the property tax cap to renewal of the rent control laws and also (so far) resisting calls from Assembly Democrats and their allies in organized labor to extend the millionaires tax that is scheduled to sunset at the end of this year.
“Like you, I oppose the Democrat Party’s progressive agenda,” Caputo writes. “Like you, I fought like Hell to stop Andrew Cuomo’s campaign for Governor of New York State. I don’t much like him; I’m still angry about his dirty campaign against Carl.”
“But, at the risk of a localized lightning strike, I must admit the Governor’s early fiscal moves are conservative, responsible and absolutely necessary.”
“…I am a die-hard Republican who fought in the trenches for Ronald Reagan, Jack Kemp and Carl Paladino. I’m as conservative as you can get, and last year I spent most of my time criticizing Andrew Cuomo.”
“It is starting to look like I may end up eating a few of my words. But I would happily sit for that meal if the Governor delivers real fiscal reform. In fact, I am writing to tell you I will work to push Cuomo’s fiscal agenda.”
“Right away, I will contact my legislators and ask them to vote for the two percent property tax cap, but only if it includes mandate relief for local governments. I’ll ask them to cut spending, not raise taxes, to balance the budget. And I am writing to encourage you to do the same.”
Caputo includes a sample letter for recipients of his e-mail to send to their respective lawmakers and also a link that will helps them locate their representatives. His (very lengthy) e-mail appears in full after the jump.
Paladino Splits With Caputo On Adams
Jan 28th - 12:19 pm
Carl Paladino and his former campaign manager are decidedly not on the same page when it comes to Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s selection of state Business Council President Ken Adams to serve as CEO of the Empire State Development Corp.
In the wake of yesterday’s announcement about Adams, Caputo took to Twitter to to express his disapproval, saying alleging his selection had been a “quid pro quo” in exchange for the Business Council’s support of Cuomo in the 2010 governor’s race – its first-ever endorsement of a gubernatorial candidate.
Paladino, however, praised Adams during a brief interview at YNN Buffalo last night, saying:
“I think that he has a great opportunity to do the right and certainly he has the knowledge and hs brings the credentials to occupy that office.”
Adams, as you’ll recall, was the host at the Business Council’s annual meeting at the Sagamore over the summer where Paladino’s speech (apparently well-received by the attendees) was greatly overshadowed by his fight with the Post’s Fred Dicker.
Paladino and Caputo had something of a push-pull relationship during the campaign, so it’s not unusual for them not to be on the same page. However, I also don’t think this is a sign that Paladino is going soft on his old opponent.
To the contrary, he has been quite clear that he thinks Cuomo as governor leaves quite a bit to be desired so far.
Save The Date!
Jan 12th - 2:24 pm
It’s that time of year again…time to save the date for the 2011 LCA show (May 7).
Compliments of TU State Editor Casey Seiler, here’s a little taste of what’s to come in the nation’s oldest political gridiron show.
It revisits one of the highlights of the 2010 gubernatorial campaign, a little dust-up just north of here that we at CapTon like to call the “Sagamore Smackdown.”
Yes, it’s true. Yet again we find ourselves with a plethora of material for this year’s show. AND, it’s the first show of Cuomo II.
Hopefully, the governor will play ball and respond. He did during the 2002 gubernatorial primary, and knocked the ball out of the park, despite the fact that he was a very late add.
If Carl Paladino buys a ticket and shows up, I will eat my own hat.
Paladino Critiques Cuomo
Jan 3rd - 8:53 am
He’s baaaaack.
Not surprisingly, failed GOP/Conservative gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino is not impressed with the first steps of his old nemesis, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, saying the Democratic governor hasn’t done enough to improve transparency and ethics in the early days of his new administration.
Speaking to Curtis Sliwa (also not a Cuomo fan…recall his “King Cuomo” act during the campaign) on AM 970 The Apple, Paladino denigrated the governor’s executive order mandating ethics training for top state appointees, saying:
“You know, there’s a lot of diversion here on the ethics. A one-hour ethics course, is that going to really clean up ethics in government? I think we need a bill to clean up ethics in government. We need a strong ethics bill that will do more than it has in the past.”
Interestingly, Paladino is on the same page here with the NY Times editorial board, which also called recently for Cuomo to introduce an omnibus ethics bill sometime during his first week in office.
The new governor is also being pressured to take decisive action by good government advocates, who are having a press conference down at the LOB this morning.
Caputo: “I Told You So”
Dec 30th - 2:59 pm
Former Paladino Campaign Manager Michael Caputo has re-emerged to take a shot at Andrew Cuomo. In Italian. He just sent a press release entitled, “Te l’avevo detto”, which means “I told you so.”
He goes on to blast Cuomo for letting another “VIP Democrat” get a walk. Of course, he is referring to Steve Rattner, the former Obama administration car czar who agreed to pay $10 million in fines. Caputo says the fine is “paltry” because it is less than 10 percent of Rattner’s annual income.
And then he sent a link to the ad below, from the Paladino campaign.
He’s Back!
Dec 28th - 6:15 pm
Carl Paladino has been heard from, but not seen since his loss to Andrew Cuomo in the race for governor.
He sent a not-so-friendly letter to our very own Liz Benjamin (which he CC’d to the entire Capitol press corps), and just this week, he penned a missive to ESDC Chairman Dennis Mullen.
Today, the Buffalo businessman reemerged in the flesh. He paid a visit to YNN’s Buffalo newsroom to use the studio for an interview on FOX News.
Afterward, he agreed to chat with YNN reporter/anchor Doug Sampson on the condition that no questions be asked about the election or his feelings about the results.
He had plenty to say, however, about his former rival, Andrew Cuomo, and his handling of several high profile cases.
Paladino is particularly incensed about the handling of the Alan Hevesi plea deal. At about the three minute mark, he suggests his letter to Liz may be the reason the former NYS Comptroller has not been sentenced yet.
At the end of the interview (10-min. mark), he returns to the subject of the so-called “nasty gram” he sent to Liz.
“I wasn’t only talking to Liz Benjamin. I was talking to the entire press corps about doing their job, about what journalism is really about. And they didn’t do that,” he said.
“We saw editorializing on the front page solely by the appointment of who they were sending out to go and do things… And it was wrong and shallow and disingenuous. I watched Liz very shallowly go into topics. And I was pointing out some of those topics that she could go in greater depth.”
(Well, with all due respect, Mr. Paladino, I have to disagree… but then I’m biased.)
As for his future plans, Paladino hasn’t ruled out another go at politics.
“I’m going to stay active in fighting for New York. As to politics, I haven’t made any decisions on that. But I’m, uh, that was Act One, Scene One for me,” Paladino said.
Paterson: Paladino Became A ‘Caricature’
Dec 15th - 5:42 pm
Gov. David Paterson did not hesitate to take some parting shots at failed Republican/Conservative gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino during yet another pre-departure radio interview, saying (more or less) that the Buffalo businessman talked the talk, but couldn’t walk the walk.
Paterson said on WSYR 570′s Jim Reith Show that he thought Paladino had been “quite effective” during the primary when he defeated former Rep. Rick Lazio by “invoking the passion that a lot of people who were fed up with government have.”
“But when it got to the general election, I think he became a caricature of himself,” Paterson continued. “He literally started attacking everyone. He had these shrill solutions that weren’t really well thought out…just very pedestrian points of view.”
Paterson lumped Paladino in a class of flash-in-the-pan politicians who “can get attention” early on, but don’t have the chops to deliver. (He mentioned “the woman who was running for the Senate in Pennsylvania, and I don’t know who he was talking about, unless he was thinking of Christine O’Donnell, but she ran in Delaware).
On the flip side are people who “have a passion and can back it up with substance,” Paterson said, adding: “You can’t say that a Newt Gingrich or a Sarah Palin doesn’t have the information to become a factor. I think Paladino’s problem was: After all the screaming, there wasn’t a lot of substance.”
Paladino Owes $6.1 M (Updated)
Nov 29th - 6:08 pm
Failed GOP gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino (remember him?) spent $3.9 million – mostly of his own money – in the final weeks of his general election battle against Democratic Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo and still owes some $6.1 million (mostly to himself).
But don’t cry too hard for the Buffalo businessman. The bulk of his spending was on TV ads, which went to Ellicott Advertising Company – the in-house firm he set up – and earned a cut from – specifically to handle his on-air spots.
UPDATE: Paladino’s campaign manager/spokesman Michael Caputo took issue with my suggestion that paladino made money off Ellicott Advertising, telling me:
“That was set up so Carl could avoid paying extra fees…He interviwed all these advertising firms, they talk about all these big percentage cuts. Instead of doing that, he paid a media placement firm a flat fee and saved a lot of money.”
Below you’ll find Paladino’s final post-general election filing. (Cuomo’s isn’t up yet, but he has said he has somewhere in the neighborhood of $4 million left, and plans to spend it – and whatever he’s able to raise – to wage war against the public employee unions).
One thing of interest I spotted as I quickly breezed through this filing: Paladino returned a $2,500 campaign contribution to former AG Dennis Vacco, who is representing indicted GOP operative John Haggerty in the Mayor Bloomberg/state Independence Party case. Haggerty also worked on Paladino’s campaign.
NYers To Cuomo: Focus On The Job You’ve Got
Nov 15th - 9:30 am
Today’s Siena poll finds New Yorkers have high hopes for Governor-elect Andrew Cuomo and his ability to get things done in Albany, but they’re not thrilled speculation is already underway about his possible designs on the White House.
More than eight in ten voters don’t want to hear about a potential Cuomo presidential candidacy, preferring that he prove he can succeed as governor first.
“While there’s been early speculation by some that the governorship will merely be a stepping stone for Cuomo’s bid for the White House, that kind of talk does not make voters happy,” said Siena spokesman Steve Greenberg.
“Only 11 percent of voters like the Cuomo presidential speculation, while an overwhelming 85 percent, including 79 percent of Democrats, say they don’t like the speculation because Cuomo needs to prove he can succeed as governor first.”
However, 64 percent have a favorable view of the governor-elect, and three quarters of voters believe he’s got a good shot at creating jobs and helping turn around the state’s economy – the top priority for 48 percent of those polled.
The No. 2 issue voters would like to see Cuomo address when he takes office in January is the state’s ever-growing budget deficit. Very few (9 percent) put passing a property tax cap and ethics reform (6 percent) – two of Cuomo’s signature campaign issues – on the top of the governor-elect’s to-do list.
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