Gov. Spitzer tossed Democratic state lawmakers a peace offering yesterday – pledging his support for a legislative pay raise at a closed-door meeting with Assembly members in Brooklyn.
Spitzer was expected to get a tense reception from the Assembly Democratic conference after months of sparring with some elected officials over everything from his failed plan to give driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants, to the selection of a new state comptroller.
But in a clear crowd-pleasing move, Spitzer sounded receptive when one Assembly member asked him at the breakfast whether lawmakers would see a boost in their $79,500 salary, which flatlined at that level in 1999.
“He said, ‘Judges deserve it,’ and then, as an afterthought, said, ‘Oh, and so do commissioners, and legislators, too,’ ” said one source who attended the meeting at the Brooklyn Marriott.
Three others who were at the closed-door breakfast also said Spitzer came out in favor of a pay hike.
“He said he thinks we should get it done,” said one lawmaker.
But a source said Spitzer’s suggestion didn’t meet with resounding excitement, adding, “We heard this [from Spitzer] last year.”
Spitzer’s spokesman, Errol Cockfield, seemed to step back from the governor’s words later in the day, saying that his support for pay raises is still yoked to issues like campaign-finance reform.
“The governor has consistently said he favors a pay raise in the context of meaningful reform, including property-tax relief for seniors, campaign-finance reform, and a state capital plan that would fund infrastructure and economic development projects,” Cockfield said.
Lawmakers had such a deal linking the issues last summer, but it fell apart in the midst of Spitzer’s feuds with Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, a Republican.
Part of Spitzer’s call earlier this year was to untangle raises for judges from raises for commissioners and legislators, which have historically been hiked together.
Asked about Spitzer’s closed-door comments, Bruno’s spokesman, John McArdle, said the ball is in the Democrats’ court.
“We passed the bill proposed by the chief judge that would have allowed for a commission to review and recommend on a legislative pay raise, and the bill sat in the Assembly for four months,” he said.
Meanwhile, Assembly Democrats said after the meeting that Spitzer – whose poll numbers have hit the skids over a host of issues, from the Dirty Tricks Scandal to the licenses – struck a note of contrition at the meeting, describing himself and the lawmakers as a “family.”