The Novello Option
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
The New York Daily News reports that in the latest sign of silliness emanating from the leaders of New York’s Republican Party, “Republicans close to Gov. Pataki are trying to recruit state Health Commissioner Antonia Novello to run against” Senator Clinton.
Talk about a bad idea. Dr. Novello has a terrible record as health commissioner. She has presided over a vast expansion in state health care spending, a giant giveaway to the health care workers union accompanied by millions of dollars in Medicaid billing fraud and abuse. Her office was the one that was dispensing Viagra to convicted sex offenders until the state comptroller, Alan Hevesi, blew the whistle on the practice. Under her leadership, New York State’s Medicaid spending is more than that of Texas and California combined, even though those two states have a combined population of three times New York, according to the Business Council of New York State.
The Daily News report quotes unnamed Republican insiders as saying that nominating Dr. Novello “could help the Republican Party with Hispanic voters, who have been solidly behind Clinton.” But Hispanics, like other voters, are going to back candidates based on their competence and their stands on the issues, not whether they are Hispanic. Simply nominating a Hispanic candidate is hardly a guarantee of victory in New York, as Democrats learned when they tried to get Fernando Ferrer elected mayor and as Republicans learned when they ran Dora Irizarry against Eliot Spitzer in 2002.
It may be that as a Senate candidate Dr. Novello would do less damage to the state budget than she would if she were to remain in her current position. And Senator Clinton’s record on taxes and immigration is poor enough that even a weak candidate could score some significant points. But if the idea is actually to beat Mrs. Clinton, the Republicans would do better to run a candidate with less glaring weaknesses. And to focus on ideas and competence rather than Hispanic or other personal background.