Today, Governor Spitzer is giving his second State of the State Address. Which makes us recall last year's State of the State.
A year ago, everyone was all smiles on the podium as Spitzer delivered his first address [pdf]. It was going to be a new Albany, free of discord and full of bipartisan cooperation to benefit all New Yorkers. Senate Majority leader Joseph Bruno was on board (“This is our agenda. Tax cuts, no new taxes, job creation, education, health care for everyone, reform.") as was Assembly leader Sheldon Silver, who said, “For the last 12 years, we have witnessed what happens when the two-party system becomes the too-petty system."
Politics in Albany over the last 12 months has reached a level of acrimony that we might have forgotten during the soporific years of Gov. Pataki's terms in office. Troopergate, Darren Dopp, purged hard drives, obstructed subpoenas. Even Gov. Spitzer's successor as State Attorney General, Andrew Cuomo, seems like he's eager to get into the gubernatorial seat using similar hardball tactics that got Spitzer there in the first place.
Spitzer's address today is an attempt to ameliorate the hard feelings built up over the last year. He wants to enact a property tax cap, even though that goes against many Democrats plans. And like a bedazzled lotto winner, he wants to sell off the revenues of the state lottery for the next 40 years for a lump sum payment, in order to pay for the endowment of the SUNY system and hire a few thousand extra college professors (in the past, Spitzer has railed against funding sustained state programs with one-time bumps in budgets).
We'll have full coverage of the address once he's finished delivering it.
Update: Here's the full transcript of the speech. Highlights:
- Opening words: "Last year, although our differences often attracted more attention than our agreements, we came together to produce real change where progress had eluded the state for years...These, all of them, are shared accomplishments. All New Yorkers will benefit from them, and I thank you."
- Forming a bipartisan panel to look into capping school and government spending.
- Proposing to expand the Children's Health Insurance Program
- Creation of a "Peace Corps" for doctors in NY State - "Doctors Across New York" - to go to areas with less medical attention
- Big applause for proposing to rename the Triborough after RFK
Photograph from last year's State of the State - how time passes
