Day One: Everything changes.

Day 282: Dopp takes flight.

Recently we learned that Darren Dopp, the governor’s aide at the center of what may or may not have been said or done at TrooperChopper-Gate, will not remain on the public payroll. Instead he will be a partner with the large and influential lobbying firm, Patricia Lynch Associates.

Ms. Lynch was formerly a top aide to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver. Her firm has both Democratic and Republican partners and clients.

Mr. Dopp spent eight years doing press with the attorney general, now Governor Spitzer, and almost seven months in the Executive Chamber. He was suspended without pay by the governor on July 23 for unspecified “egregious” actions and restored to the payroll on August 26 for the purpose of using up his leave time.

Mr. Dopp appears to have been traded to a new team, making the jump from the Spitzers of Fifth Avenue on the Upper East Side to the Silvers of Grand Street on the Lower East Side. The Uppers are book smart and have more elegant resumes, but the Lowers are street smart and get along with people, by intimidation if necessary.

We do not know whether or not the metamorphosis of Mr. Dopp from attack dog to spaniel was initiated by his old boss or his new one. We do know that Mr. Dopp would not have gotten his new job with Ms. Lynch without the consent of the speaker. This may show the Albany crowd that even if Mr. Spitzer dumps his faithful servant after nine years over an action he now deliberately denies or defends, depending on the day he discusses it, the good old reliable (sometime) buddy, Mr. Silver, is ready to pick the wounded bird off the floor after he hit the glass window, and give him another chance to sing for his supper.

Or it may have happened because Mr. Dopp knows a great deal about the rise to power of a well-born prosecutor, and this information could be useful to those who are compelled by law to deal with him. There is an odd chance that Mr. Silver is doing Mr. Spitzer a favor by taking Mr. Dopp off his hands. He can’t write any books while he is working on the speaker’s side of the stable. His speech will belong to Mr. Silver, but his silence will be golden.

Mr. Dopp is considered competent but he can be cutthroat. While Mr. Spitzer was the attorney general, Mr. Dopp leaked like a sieve, giving nuggets of information about pending cases.

The Attorney General’s office is by no means the only leaky faucet in the house of ill-kept secrets. A first-hand account of some of the these shenanigans is provided by CNBC Reporter Charles Gasparino, who described his encounters with Mr. Dopp in the July 27 edition of the Post.

Mr. Dopp showed his loyalty to Mr. Spitzer by taking the fall for whatever he did this year with the state police, although the information he wanted on Senator Bruno’s political air flights at public expense was otherwise available. Loyalty and discretion are qualities that are valued in the Capitol, and Mr. Dopp is expected to serve his new employer with the same fidelity he showed his old mentor.

Now that he is back on a payroll, he can continue to pay off his mortgage and educate his children. They say he will not be a lobbyist, but will devote himself to the public relations work of Patricia Lynch Associates.

A communications consultant, Mr. Dopp may, however, have information that could be useful to those who do the lobbying. There is nothing wrong with that.

We are pleased that Mr. Dopp has found a safe harbor, with the aid of the man who may still be New York State’s most powerful Democrat, although the general expectation was that that role would end January 1.

On the other hand, one should never underestimate a sitting governor with intellect, money, and commitment.

When push comes to shove, the mob rallies about the king, not the courtiers. Remember Marc Antony’s speech at Caeser’s funeral.

For anyone who thinks this pas de deux is unusual, don’t worry, this is Albany. We look forward to seeing where the players will be next time the music stops.

The governor considers himself a reformer, but he does not show regard or respect for anyone who disagrees with him on any issue, viewing every legislative dispute as a contest between good and evil, with himself, of course, as the white knight.

This makes it difficult to bargain or negotiate on issues. As a result nothing much happens in Albany. Meanwhile money continues to hemorrhage from the swollen budget and young people continue to leave chilly and jobless regions upstate.

In America, it is hard to maintain that any one faction or public official has a permanent monopoly on truth and justice.

We approach the middle of October. The leaves are falling fast. Can we get down to the public issues that face the State of New York?

Mr. Stern, president of New York Civic, was New York City’s parks commissioner under Mayors Koch and Giuliani.