Cuomo: in 'battle' for government control

SYRACUSE -- Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo kicked off a statewide tour Tuesday to promote his legislative agenda, telling an audience here he is in a "battle for the control of the government."

In one corner, according to the Democrat: Cuomo and the people. In the other: lobbyists, unions and the political establishment.

Beginning his road show at Onondaga Community College, Cuomo told the crowd of about 250 people he had a three-pronged agenda for the remaining six weeks of the 2011 legislative session: enacting a property-tax cap, strengthening ethics laws, and legalizing same-sex marriage. That last item earned the most spirited applause, even though Cuomo spent the least time on it.

Cuomo primarily echoed the themes and strategies of his gubernatorial campaign, casting himself as an outsider who can shake up the Capitol.

Tuesday he took the message beyond the hallways of Albany to get voters to pressure their state legislators.

Cuomo said New Yorkers don't trust a legislature that's been tarred by corruption scandals over the last five years.

"This is a battle for the control of government," Cuomo said near the end of his 36- minute address. "That's what this is all about."

Cuomo said if the "battle is just in Albany," the people lose. "That's why I'm here, not in Albany," Cuomo said.

The legislative session is set to end June 20, and the governor is apparently whittling the focus of his agenda.

Though he said he still wants pension reform, a cap on some school officials' salaries and mandate relief for local governments, Cuomo said a tax cap, ethics laws and gay marriage are his priorities.

Trying to put heat on lawmakers, Cuomo added: "Tell your legislator it's very simple: Pass these bills or don't come home. Period."

Cuomo launched his tour just as talks on all three issues seemed stuck in neutral, though he said he's been planning to make his case around the state for some time.

Wednesday he's slated to be in Buffalo. Aides said he is likely to make a stop on Long Island during the tour but couldn't provide specifics yet.

Cuomo did not mention rent-control laws for New York City apartments -- a priority of the downstate-dominated Assembly. The laws expire June 15, and Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver (D-Manhattan) has suggested that a rent-control extension should be enacted simultaneously with a property-tax cap because each deals with "keeping people in their homes."

The governor has proposed a 2 percent limit on property tax increases. Local voters could override the cap only if at least 60 percent vote to do so. The Republican-led Senate supports the plan, but the Assembly wants to make certain expenditures exempt from the cap.

Senate Majority Leader Dean Skelos (R-Rockville Centre) issued a statement applauding Cuomo's focus on the tax-cap proposal, though he did not mention the governor's other two priorities.

"It's important that [Cuomo] utilize the bully pulpit to challenge the Assembly to act," Skelos said.

"We continue to work with the governor and the Senate to cap property taxes and strengthen New York's rent laws," Silver said in a statement. "Both issues are vitally important and philosophically the same thing -- keeping people in their homes and keeping them affordable."