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ALBANY — He wasted no time cutting through Albany’s red tape.
Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo cut a crimson ribbon to reopen the once-forbidden Hall of Governors in the executive wing of the state Capitol — a symbolic gesture ushering in an era of more-open government.
It was Cuomo’s first cut as he promised a political revolution to slash billions of dollars in unnecessary spending, ax the bloated bureaucracy and rein in runaway taxes that he said has crippled the once-mighty Empire State.
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During his inaugural address in the Capitol’s historic “war room” yesterday, Cuomo delivered an impassioned plea for public support and legislative cooperation.
In the soaring, 27-minute speech before friends, family and state leaders, the 53-year-old Queens native pledged to cap property taxes, overhaul the state’s porous ethics laws and present in the coming days an “emergency financial plan” to close the state’s projected $10 billion budget deficit.
Cuomo vowed to restore respect to an office that once was a springboard to the presidency and to change the culture of scandal and cynicism that he said had made New York a “national punch line.”
“The joke is on us,” he said. “Too often, government responds to the whispers of the lobbyists before the cries of the people. Our people feel abandoned by government, betrayed and isolated. And they are right.”
Cuomo, whose father, Mario Cuomo, served three terms as governor until his stunning 1994 defeat to George Pataki, said his ability to muster public involvement and support would dictate whether he would succeed.
“Only the people’s voice can silence the calls of the special interests in the halls of the Capitol,” Cuomo said. “I will lift the veil of secrecy that now surrounds Albany, and I will communicate in every way I can, ways never used before. But I need the people to join in.”
Aside from reopening the Executive Chamber to the public, Cuomo also ordered removed concrete security barriers that had blocked tour buses from entering the Capitol.
The governor called for immediate action to halt the endless rise of taxes, particularly property taxes, which he said had left New Yorkers “imprisoned in their homes.”
Cuomo pledged bipartisanship and pressed for cooperation from legislative leaders, including incoming Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-LI) and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan).
Silver, an Orthodox Jew, was at home observing the Sabbath, but the governor offered what was widely seen as a challenge to the speaker, who has been criticized for hiding behind his liberal Democratic conference.
“Rather than seeking the apparent safety of the lowest common denominator, we must strive to reach the highest possible goal,” Cuomo said. “We must realize that achieving political consensus in a political conference is different than providing governmental leadership.”
Skelos said he was “very impressed” with Cuomo’s address.
“The state is at a point fiscally where there is no more putting it off for another week, another month, another year,” Skelos said. “The governor has laid out the blueprint to do it, and we’re going to be supportive of it.”
A timid opening to Cuomo’s speech soon gave way to booming rhetoric rich with personal details about his children and his awe as a young man of the public servants who worked with his father.
Attorney General Eric Schneiderman and Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli were also sworn into their state posts.
Cuomo’s girlfriend, Sandra Lee, held a Bible as the oath of office was administered by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman. His parents, Mario and Matilda Cuomo, looked on.
The new governor blew a kiss to his father and mother before beginning his speech. Papa Mario blew kisses back.
“I love it,” the elder Cuomo said afterward. “I love being back. I especially love seeing him here as governor.”
Cuomo praised his predecessor, former Gov. David Paterson, as the captain who “brought us through the storm.”
Paterson praised the speech.
“He reached out to the other side of the aisle, and he also talked about that if the people’s voice was the loudest voice, as opposed to special interests, that these things will actually happen,” he said. “It was an offer to work with people, but also his admonition to the rest of us.”
‘The words ‘government in Albany’ have become a national punch line, and the joke is on us. Too often, the government responds to the whispers of the lobbyists before the cries of the people.’
‘We need to correct decades of declines and billions of dollars in overspending. The special interests who have ruled our government for years must give way to the people’s agenda.’
‘The state faces a budget deficit and a competence deficit and an integrity deficit and a trust deficit.’
‘The state government has grown too large. We can’t afford it.’
$10B – Projected budget deficit Cuomo will have to close, and he promised to do it without any new taxes or fees.
900 – Number of jobs the state cut that Cuomo says he won’t restore. Cuomo pledged during his campaign to freeze salaries of state workers for a year.
$120B – Projected shortfalls in the state pension system and teachers retirement system; Cuomo will have to fight the unions for concessions.
8.2% – Statewide unemployment rate, with The Bronx and some upstate counties much higher. Cuomo says his No. 1 priority is creating “jobs, jobs, jobs.”