Faso Sees Vacuum in Leadership of State Republicans

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The New York Sun

The Republican candidate for governor of New York, John Faso, said yesterday that the state Republican Party is suffering from a leadership void and is doing virtually nothing to support his campaign against the front-runner in the race, Attorney General Eliot Spitzer.

When asked who leads the Republican Party, Mr. Faso in an interview with The New York Sun said, “Leadership implies that someone is there leading the troops, organizing the ground forces, raising the money to conduct a campaign. There’s no one doing it.”

Asked if he thought that there ought to be such a leader, he said, “Damn straight there should be.”

The remarks by Mr. Faso, a former state assemblyman from upstate New York, were an unusual departure for a candidate who had been reluctant to voice public criticism of his party, which nominated him as its gubernatorial candidate more than two months ago at the state convention in Long Island.

His comments represent the first time a major figure in the party has publicly recognized that the governor, who has held the Republican torch for almost 12 years, is no longer in control of the party. According to Mr. Faso, the Republican torch has not so much been passed down as it has been snuffed out. An every-man-for-himself attitude now reigns, he said.

“The governor’s term is soon over,” Mr. Faso said. “In terms of going forward now and beyond, there are numerous people that are important within the Republican Party, and he’s probably first among equals.”

He added: “In order to be the leader of the party, you have to be leading the forces into battle. There is no one leading.”

Mr. Faso said when he tours the state, rank-and-file Republicans approach him with the question: “When are they going to start helping you? I say, don’t you realize there is no ‘they?’ People have this quaint notion that there is this army, this force, that comes out of the bushes and all of a sudden delivers the money. It doesn’t work that way. It doesn’t work that way in the Democratic Party either. It’s not reality today.”

He stopped short of calling for the removal of the chairman of the state Republican Party, Stephen Minarik, an ally of Mr. Pataki’s whose original choice as Republican nominee for governor, William Weld, was rejected by a majority of county GOP chairmen at the convention. Mr. Faso said it wasn’t “practical” for Mr. Minarik to step aside and denied a report in the New York Post that he is trying to recruit the state parks commissioner, Bernadette Castro, to replace the chairman.

Republican insiders say Mr. Minarik, who has been spending little time in Albany in recent weeks, will likely remain at the post at least until the November election. For the moment, Mr. Minarik has the backing of the Republican majority leader of the Senate, Joseph Bruno, whose is seen by many Republicans as Mr. Pataki’s successor as party leader.

Told about Mr. Faso’s remarks, a spokesman for the governor, David Catalfamo, said in an e-mail, “It’s a long time between now and Election Day and no one is ever ordained governor. John Faso is an outstanding candidate, who must bring the same intelligence, energy and organization he displayed in winning the nomination to the general election.”

Mr. Pataki has agreed to hold a fundraiser for Mr. Faso in October, Mr. Faso said. Mr. Pataki has also contributed $33,900 to the Faso campaign from his Friends of Pataki Political Action Committee, which supported Mr. Pataki’s gubernatorial races.

Mr. Pataki is allowed to give the remainder of the $2 million the committee has to the state party, which can transfer the money to state candidates. He can also transfer money to his Virginia 21st Century Freedom PAC, which Mr. Pataki uses in part to pay for his trips to states like Iowa and New Hampshire.

The executive director of the state party, Ryan Moses, said the primary responsibility of a candidate for office is different from the agenda of Republican state committee. Candidates are supposed to “raise money, and be visible, and talk about issues” while the party is suppose to “provide the victory operation, which entails getting out the vote and ballot integrity.”

Asked if Mr. Faso was performing his responsibilities, Mr. Moses said, “It’s up for others to say that.”

Republicans close to the governor said Mr. Faso has been receiving little support from many of the counties — such as Suffolk and Westchester — that backed him during the convention.

Mr. Faso’s frustration with his party has heightened as he struggles to raise enough money to pay for television advertising and reverse the perception among voters and potential donors that Mr. Spitzer is unbeatable in November.

Mr. Faso is trailing Mr. Spitzer in opinion polls. One recent poll showed him lagging behind Mr. Spitzer among Republican voters by 11 percentage points. Mr. Spitzer, who has already spent more than $10 million on television advertising, has more than $14 million on hand compared to Mr. Faso’s $1.4 million.

Mr. Faso said that while he has been “very encouraged” by the reception he has gotten around the state, he faces a “chicken and egg” hurdle when fundraising. “Some people say they agree with you and they support you but don’t want to put their money in it until they see polls that are different. And you explain to them that polls are hard to move unless you have the money.”

He predicted he would raise most of his money during the last weeks of the race, the same period when he raised almost half of the $7.5 million that he accumulated in his 2002 campaign for comptroller against Alan Hevesi.

While trying to raise money, Mr. Faso has been maintaining a break-neck campaign schedule.

In the last week, he has attended a fair in Delaware County, a steak roast in Broome County, a GOP county dinner in Livingston County, a Hispanic business leaders’ breakfast, a fishing contest, and a Polish festival on Long Island. Yesterday, he attended a church service on Long Island and then marched in the India Independence Day parade in Manhattan. He said he couldn’t remember the last time he took a day off.

Despite his campaign’s difficulties, Mr. Faso said he had no immediate plans for a shake-up but said he would continue to make the argument to voters that a Spitzer administration would have a damaging effect on the state economy.

“His problem is two fold. His issue positions are going to hurt New York’s economy because he’ll be forced to raise taxes. When people are going to figure out he’s going to raise taxes they won’t vote him,” Mr. Faso said. He said Mr. Spitzer’s temperament is also a problem.


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