After announcing the end of his campaign, Mr. Paterson said he would devote himself to the state’s continuing budget struggles until his term runs out on Dec. 31. “Right now, what we need is a governor who will devote his full attention to those issues and other issues that come into this jurisdiction,” he said. “I hope that history will remember that I fought the good fight, that I did what was hard and that I put the people first.”

via David A. Paterson Drops Out of New York Governor Race – NYTimes.com.

He may not have been popular as Governor of New York State. Yet, I still remember the David Patterson who was the New York Senate Minority Leader. He helped start the effort that would eventually end with Democrats controlling the State Senate. Had he stayed in the State Senate he would have went on to become majority leader, but he saw an opportunity running with Spitzer in ‘06. Of course you can’t go back in time, but I salute the career of a progressive in David Patterson.

I got this email today from Corporate Accountability International about Governor Patterson’s decision to end state spending on bottled water.

This morning, New York Governor David Paterson issued an executive order phasing out state spending on bottled water in response to our grassroots efforts. It is the most comprehensive action taken by a governor to date, and it sets the standard for the 49 other governors we are urging to follow suit.

We’re one step closer to knocking Nestle off of its pedestal.

I do find this really really sad.

As he teased earlier in the week, Gov. Paterson announced today an additional $49 million in help for New Yorkers likely to face high heating bills this winter.

The Legislature and Paterson were unable to reach an agreement last month on providing home-heating relief, so Paterson said Monday that he was going to find money within parts of the state budget he controlled to help the cause.

“The state has an obligation to help our residents get through this winter in any way we can. While we cannot influence world energy prices in any significant way, we can reduce the amount of energy we use and effectively lower our energy bills. The cheapest energy is the energy never used,” Paterson said

Home heating costs are going to be an issue this winter nationwide. It’s good to see the Governor looking out for the people of New York.

I think this is a good law. It requires a corporation give 90 days notice for mass layoffs in New York State.

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The comptroller of New York is planning to audit the MTA and it’s about time. They always look for ways to hike fares while being known to keep two sets of books! One book says they’re not making enough while the other shows a surplus. They also try to undercut their employees when it comes time to bargain. This is why TWU Local 100 went on strike in 2005. New York’s public authorities need reform and many were hoping that Sptizer would have taken this on when he was the governor. I wonder what Governor Patterson’s thoughts are on public authorities in NY?

I was just reading about how New York Governor David Patterson came out to greet truckers who were protesting high gas prices. They were also calling for the suspension of the 35 cent per gallon gasoline tax. I think he was correct in telling the truckers that the oil corporations won’t lower gas prices even if the tax came off. He said that they should go to the headquarters of these corporations and protest there. I believe he’s right in saying that. I’ll also say he did a very good job talking with the truckers. Even though he disagreed with the truckers, he came out and talked with them and treated them with respect which he got back in return.

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