Spitz’ Fits Put “Day One” on Fritz

by Rich Alicea, Queens YRs

On a cold, winter day in January, New York State Governor Eliot Spitzer (D) stood on the steps of our State Capitol and declared that the "Rip Van Winkle" days in Albany were over. He declared that he would usher in a new age of ethics in the state. He declared that everything would change beginning on "Day One."

But seven months later, Governor Spitzer has accomplished little more than bullying and compromising those "ethics" that he promised to promote. His hypocritical "do as I say, not as I do" attitude has become the norm, as he publicly criticized Republicans throughout the state for actions that not only are lawful, but actions that the Governor himself has been doing.

His now infamous outburst to Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco (R), in which he described himself as an “f*****g steamroller”, was only the first of a series of schoolyard bully tactics that Spitzer has utilized to create a double standard in our Capitol.

He chastised the Republican-controlled State Senate for its refusal to, without question, adopt his version of campaign finance reform. At the same time, the Governor, with the practice of bundling, sold access to himself and his office to the tune of tens of thousands of dollars a person, as reported in April by New York State Republican Party Chairman, Joseph Mondello. Is this reform? Instead of leading by example, Governor Spitzer has chosen to lead by public posturing and grandstanding. But, the hypocrisy continues.

As Governor Spitzer publicly criticized Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R) for using public aircraft, he traveled around the state lambasting Republican Senators for ending its legislative session on the scheduled date and not kow-towing to his demands, according to a July 2, 2007 New York Daily News article. In effect, he campaigned for any Democratic challenger to a Republican incumbent, all on the taxpayer's dime. To add insult to injury, the Governor's office leaked police records about Sen. Bruno's travel, for political gain, to the Albany Times Union. The Steamroller's response: "I didn't know it was happening."

In his first several months in office, Governor Spitzer has only proven that his ego trumps all, and that we, the taxpaying citizens, must suffer the consequences. Allowing his feud with Sen. Bruno to get the best of him, he has demonstrated that he either cannot be trusted to monitor what's going on in his own office, or cannot be trusted to tell the truth when it comes to his own office's manipulation of its authority. Either way, this type of behavior is unacceptable.

Rich Alicea is the Chairman of the Queens County YRs.