Before he coasts to victory next week, Andrew Cuomo has one more barrier to break. For the good of New York, Cuomo should cross party lines to endorse Republican Harry Wilson for comptroller.
It would be the bombshell heard ’round the political world, and that’s the point. The Democratic attorney general has promised to shake up the corrupt and corrupting ways of Albany and to put the state’s perilous finances in order with a property-tax cap, a wage freeze and no major tax hikes.
There’s no better way to put an exclamation point on those promises than to back a superbly qualified fiscal conservative who will keep an honest set of books and protect the pension plans. The move would prove Cuomo is willing to put New Yorkers ahead of rank partisanship.
Cuomo already has taken one bold step by refusing to endorse Democratic incumbent Thomas DiNapoli — with good reason. DiNapoli, a lifelong legislator, was handed the comptroller post as a cheesy party favor.
He has been predictably unimpressive, sitting out the budget crisis except for advancing a dangerous borrowing scheme that would have dug the state into a deeper hole. Until recently, his Web site advised workers how to pad their pensions, and he is tainted by the pay-to-play scandal that could put predecessor Alan Hevesi in prison.
Yet it’s a measure of this deep-blue state that DiNapoli nonetheless enjoys a lead in the polls.
But the gap is not insurmountable, with first-time candidate Wilson (in photo, debating DiNapoli) spending much of his own money to promote his credentials. His integrity and sound plans for changes have won him the support of most major state newspapers, including The Post, Times and News in the city.
DiNapoli, on the other hand, is funded largely by the labor unions whose unsustainable work rules and perks he has failed to challenge.
Against that backdrop, it’s a logical step for Cuomo to support Wilson. Party labels are all that stand in the way. In this year of emergency and insurgency, that shouldn’t stop a good idea.
I believe Cuomo is serious about his aggressive reform plans, but have serious doubts he can pull them off. The Democratic-controlled Legislature, the unions and the nonprofit kings of education and health care constitute a vast conspiracy against taxpayers. Until the state goes belly up, they will be happy to continue the tax, spend and borrow structure turning the Empire State into the Vampire State.
Cuomo has a plan to cut that Gordian Knot of self-dealing, but can’t do it alone, especially if all other top posts are held by Democrats who, like DiNapoli, are beholden to the unions. Cuomo needs help — and Wilson is the guy to help him.
The financial whiz would be an independent check on the cockamamie schemes the Legislature uses to hide the real cost of its programs. As a member of President Obama’s auto-rescue unit, Wilson crossed party lines to help fashion the bankruptcy-and-bailout of General Motors.
Oddly, Cuomo and Wilson are ballot mates on the Independence Party line, and they share a number of donors and supporters, including Mayor Bloomberg. Because their plans complement each other and they would make a formidable team for reform, there has been private talk among some about a Cuomo endorsement.
Wilson would welcome it, and pointedly has not endorsed his party’s gubernatorial candidate, Carl Paladino, so that would cut down on the awkward factor. For his part, Cuomo has touted the backing of several key Republicans as proof he has a bipartisan vision for the state.
It’s time he returned the favor. Cuomo and Wilson — for New York. That’s the ticket.
CITY, TOO, TAINTED IN TEACHER-RATING GAME
As a simple proposition, parents deserve to know how administrators grade their children’s teachers. Yet the court battle over a city plan to release its ratings is anything but simple.
The complex rankings cover 12,000 teachers and were designed with the United Federation of Teachers. In 2008, after long negotiations, the city promised in writing never to make the results public.
“It is the city’s firm position and expectation that the Teacher Data Reports will not and should not be disclosed,” former Deputy Chancellor Chris Cerf wrote to then-union head Randi Weingarten. Anticipating the Freedom of Information Requests now sparking the battle, Cerf promised to work with the union “to craft the best legal arguments” to shield the documents.
In fact, the city switched sides and now wants to release the reports. That is so obviously the right decision that it begs the question of why officials promised to keep them secret in 2008. Sunshine is always the best policy.
There’s another wrinkle, too. On the same day as Cerf’s note, Chancellor Joel Klein and Weingarten wrote a joint letter to teachers, downplaying the significance of the ratings and insisting their only function was to “empower you.”
“The Teacher Data Reports are not to be used for evaluation purposes,” they promised. “They will not be used in tenure decisions or the annual rating process.”
But now the city plans to use them for those purposes, another issue the union is prepared to fight. It claims the reports are full of mistakes and are based on invalid state exams.
On yet a third occasion, the city explained the ratings to principals by saying a key component was about as reliable as “weather forecasts.”
God knows there are plenty of reasons to fault the union for shielding bad teachers and trying to block every effort at accountability. But the erratic, conflicting behavior by Klein’s team muddies the water in this case.
Remember, these are the same city officials who blasted tenure rules while simultaneously giving the lifetime protection to virtually every eligible teacher, until Mayor Bloomberg ordered a change.
Yes, the union is a major problem. But better management must be part of the solution.
SPITZ SHOW OUT OF GAS
I made the mistake of watching 30 seconds of Eliot Spitzer’s CNN show the other day. As soon as I saw six people bunched around a table with food in front of them, I hit the remote. But before I could escape, co-host Kathleen Parker asked a guest what he would say if the cameras were off, which must mean they’re out of things to talk about.
Coming next week — what’s your sign?
MAC ATTACK A NEW O LOW
President Obama has abandoned decency in his desperate bid to help Democrats keep Congress. In a pander pitch to Latinos about immigration, he mentioned GOP Sen. John McCain as someone now stressing border security and strict laws. “Those aren’t the kinds of folks who represent our core American values,” Obama said.
There is much to fault in McCain’s career. But to say the war hero doesn’t have “core American values” is beneath contempt. Sadly, it’s not beneath Obama.
DRAFT THAT DEM!
About that Democrat in Florida who was caught cheating in a debate — sign her up. She belongs in Albany.