Paterson-Skelos Ties May Fray Over Budget Remarks

The amicable relationship the governor and the state Senate's majority leader have forged is souring after Governor Paterson reportedly told New York lawmakers in Denver for the Democratic National Convention that the Republican-led Senate was to blame for blocking additional cuts to the state budget.

Majority Leader Dean Skelos fired off a statement yesterday challenging the veracity of the governor's remarks, and telling him to heed the advice of Senator Moynihan, who famously said that everyone is entitled to their own opinions, but not their own facts.

"The facts are these: the Assembly had no list of real spending reductions that would have allowed us to achieve additional savings and further strengthen the State's finances. If they do have such a list, the Governor should make it public immediately," Mr. Skelos said in the statement.

Mr. Paterson has enjoyed a close relationship with Senate Republicans, but that rapport has raised concerns among Senate Democrats, who have questioned the Democratic governor's loyalty and commitment to flipping the Senate to the Democrats this fall.

Only last week, Mr. Skelos stood alongside Mr. Paterson and Speaker Sheldon Silver to praise the governor for bringing a new sense of civility to Albany after the Legislature agreed to cut more than $1 billion from the state budget over two years.

A spokesman for Mr. Paterson, Errol Cockfield, wrote in an e-mail message yesterday that the Senate also proposed additional budget cuts that far exceeded the final $427 million in reductions that was achieved for this year.

"These were good faith efforts towards the Governor's goal of reducing the state's deficit, but all parties weren't able to reach three-way agreement on all of these proposals," he said.