THE resignation of Charles O’Byrne as secretary to Gov. Paterson is only the first step in a wider shakeup that is expected to claim at least two other top gubernatorial aides, The Post has learned.
The governor, seizing on the O’Byrne tax scandal that paralyzed his administration last week, has decided to make “several more changes” after largely maintaining the status quo since taking office last March.
“The governor sees this as a chance to retool his administration, disperse some of the power, and bring in some quality people so he can serve the public better,” said one of Paterson’s closest associates.
Among those likely to be dumped are Paterson Communications Director Risa Heller, a former spokeswoman for Sen. Charles Schumer who was widely criticized for poor advice during the O’Byrne tax-evasion furor, and First Deputy Secretary Sean Patrick Maloney, a Spitzer administration holdover suspected of undermining O’Byrne and of being of dubious loyalty to the governor, Paterson administration insiders told The Post.
Heller’s public-relations judgment was considered so bad during last week’s O’Byrne blowup that Paterson secretly turned to the powerhouse head of a nationally prominent Washington crisis-management firm for help – as well as to a longtime partner in a prestigious Madison Avenue law firm, it was learned.
The p.r. firm, Impact Strategies, is headed by Judy Smith, onetime press secretary to former First Lady Barbara Bush who, more recently, has represented such high-profile clients as embattled Rep. William Jefferson and relatives of the murdered Washington intern Chandra Levy.
Heller opposed Smith’s hiring “but the governor said he wanted Judy Smith,” a source close to the Paterson said.
Smith was recommended to Paterson by Lisa Davis, a childhood friend and partner in celebrity law firm Frankfurt, Kurnit, Klein and Sulz PC, who was recently named 2008 New York-area “Super Lawyer” by Law and Politics magazine.
Administration insiders say the governor is aware that, in the words of one, “this is the most critical time for him since he took office from Eliot [Spitzer] in March.”
Paterson, who has conceded to associates that he was overly dependent on O’Byrne, faces a massive and unprecedented, $12 billion-plus, projected budget deficit and a Legislature notoriously hostile to budget cuts.
“This is a very bad situation for David because he has, literally, no senior person in place in his administration right now,” said a key Paterson political ally.
“There’s no senior person there who knows how to negotiate a budget. There’s nobody there who has a relationship with [Assembly Speaker Sheldon] Silver or [Senate Majority Leader Dean] Skelos, and, as a result, he needs some serious help,” the ally continued.
Paterson named senior adviser William Cunningham, former counsel to Nassau County Executive Thomas Suozzi, as acting secretary Friday, but because he has had little state government experience insiders doubt he’ll be made permanent.