It was an absolutely wild afternoon in Albany Monday. The bizarre story of whether Darrel Aubertine was offered the job of running the New York Power Authority would have been the big deal of the day, except for one thing: an icon of state politics called it quits.
Joe Bruno’s run the State Senate since then-Gov. Pataki engineered a coup to put the Saratoga Republican in charge. Monday afternoon, he announced his retirement. There’s chaos in the GOP ranks, as they try to fill his Senate leadership slot today and his seat in the Senate soon. But Battlin’ Joe Bruno probably isn’t done with the headlines yet. There’s still the nagging detail of a federal investigation, and there was news on that front Monday, too.
Bruno’s retirement was the best news Democrats had heard in a while. The Republicans hold just a two seat majority, in a year when they’ve already lost two special elections to fill open seats and in which the GOP is bracing for major losses at the national level in November.
Which brings us to the other interesting story of the day: Darrel Aubertine’s job offer/not a job offer.
You’ll recall that last week, Aubertine announced that the Paterson administration had offered to him, and he had turned down, a job running the New York Power Authority.
Monday, Paterson denied there was any such job offer, at times vehemently. A “misunderstanding”, he said. Aubertine quickly issued a release to say he must have misunderstood.
But here’s where it gets interesting. At least three newspapers all report the same thing: Several sources within the Democratic party say there was a job offer, and Aubertine turned it down.
They speculate that Paterson’s staff made an offer to Aubertine as part of a concession to Joe Bruno to get Bruno to go along with the school property tax cap.
Strange days, indeed.
Elsewhere In The Final Days:
- Your auto insurance rates could go up soon.
- A legislative deal to build a Catskills casino is a safe bet for the developer.
- The Leg. session wasn’t about nothing, but it wasn’t anything big, either.
- Gov. Paterson may not be recording big wins in the Legislature, but guess who’s batting 1.000?
Apropos Of Not Very Much:
- You can’t beat a headline like this one: Spitzer’s Hooker Breaks Her Silence. If only what she said was half as interesting.
- Surprisingly huge gains in math and reading scores across the state.
Department Of Odds And Ends:
- All we are saying is give a huge peace sign a chance…at a Guinness World Record.
- Want a hot stone massage without the expense? Lay down on a New York City sidewalk. No one will notice. Really.
And Finally:
If you thought you looked like a blue M&M, would you sue?
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