Attorney General Andrew Cuomo made his first public appearance as gubernatorial candidate yesterday by marching in the Salute to Israel Parade down Fifth Avenue. With 15-year-old daughter Cara by his side and an Israeli flag in hand, he basked in cheers of "Go Cuomo!" and "Yeah Andrew!" And he promised he'd listen to the public, unlike some people upstate: "Politicians tend to follow what the people in the district want done, otherwise they are not politicians for long. You go to the people first, and get the people on your side. My mission is to develop an agenda for this state and to develop support among the people."
Notably, Cuomo didn't really answer a question about whether Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver has done a good job. Cuomo also praised his father, "My father, I believe, was an outstanding governor of New York. I think he brought an integrity and principle to the office. He brought an honor and a dignity to the office. When I was this young lady's age growing up, state government was a source of inspiration. And young people would look at state government, and the men and women who were in state government and they were role models and heroes."
Cuomo's campaign also released a 252-page outlining his agenda (PDF), and the campaign hopes that grass-roots activists will help convince legislators to change their ways. An anonymous adviser told the NY Times, "The culture and dynamic [of getting things done in Albany] must be changed before Jan. 1, otherwise it’s too late. A budget gets presented by the end of January; you can’t change years of practice in that short a period."
