Guv-elect Cuomo wades into political, fiscal mess

On his first morning as New York's governor-elect, Andrew Cuomo was behind closed doors in his Manhattan office, returning congratulatory calls from supporters, friends and family. He talked with President Barack Obama, members of Congress, labor and business leaders.

And Cuomo wasted no time wading into the fractious, complex political and fiscal mess that will occupy his time for the next four years.

The governor-elect had telephone conversations with Democratic and Republican leaders in the closely divided State Senate - each of whom contends they will have control of the body once all election returns are counted.

"We had a very good conversation," said Senate Republican Leader Dean Skelos of Rockville Centre. "We discussed how - he's a Democrat, our conference is Republican - if you look at the message we had out there, it was a Republican message of cutting taxes, cutting spending and private-sector job creation. So, I believe we're going to be in sync as we move forward in that direction."

Senate Democratic Majority Conference Leader John Sampson also called to offer his congratulations, and the two "discussed our agenda for the upcoming legislative session as we remain the majority conference," Sampson's spokesman Austin Shafran said.

Cuomo spoke in person with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver on election night, Silver's spokeswoman said, describing it as a "private conversation" that included congratulations from the speaker. But there was no word at deadline Wednesday night whether Cuomo had offered any congratulations to Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who won re-election despite Cuomo's withholding his support.

Cuomo also spent more than an hour Wednesday in a conference call with Gov. David A. Paterson to discuss transition logistics and other issues. The incumbent governor's spokesman, Morgan Hook, called the conversation "long and productive," and said Paterson offered "any help the attorney general may need to ensure a smooth transition of state government."

State agency heads recently were asked to prepare transition documents identifying budgetary priorities, problems and areas where significant savings could be found. One challenge that has added to Cuomo's transition-planning labors is the number of commissioners and senior agency staff who have resigned in recent months, leaving about half the state's top agency posts vacant.

Cuomo and Paterson also reportedly discussed the state's worsening budgetary picture. A midyear update of the state's financial plan released Monday showed the state's projected budget gap for next year has jumped from $8.2 billion to $9 billion. Cuomo showed a detailed knowledge of the budget and asked numerous questions, a source said.

Announcements about the transition are expected later this week.

With James T. Madore