Paladino's promise: 'I'll be vocal' about issues

BUFFALO - You will soon be hearing from Carl Paladino again.

The vanquished Republican gubernatorial candidate, who lost in a landslide Tuesday to Andrew Cuomo, said he will maintain a voice in state and western New York political issues and support candidates financially who carry on his message of lower taxes, less spending and fighting corruption.

"I'll be vocal. I'm still the same Carl I was when I started this thing," Paladino, a real estate developer, told Newsday Wednesday in an interview in his downtown office here.

Dressed in blue jeans and a black V-neck T-shirt, wearing a gold necklace and bracelets given to him by his daughter, Paladino was relaxed and reflective on his first day back to being just a businessman after 48 grueling days on the campaign trail. He said he slept 12 hours after the election, and even was napping when the election was called for Cuomo Tuesday night.

Paladino took most of the blame for his loss, saying his "message was good, but people didn't trust that I could deliver." But he also said the public "missed an opportunity" to shake up the status quo in New York on a night when Republicans swept to victory nationally, taking control of Congress.

"I take it as a result of an uninformed, confused public. You saw change all across America. You didn't see it here," Paladino said.

Campaign manager Michael Caputo said Paladino never had much chance. Though two public polls once put Paladino within striking distance of Cuomo, Caputo said the campaign's own internal polls showed Paladino, at best, never closer than 14 percentage points - even as Paladino said his polling showed him winning.

"We had one path to victory and it was very narrow," said Caputo, who traced the campaign's decline to Paladino's public insistence in late September that Cuomo had "paramours." The allegations led to a nasty televised fight with a reporter that Paladino never recovered from. "Once we got knocked back on our heels, it was over," Caputo said.

Wednesday afternoon, Paladino said he had not yet spoken to Cuomo to formally concede. He said he tried to call Cuomo and left a message. "I'm sure he'll call back; I'm going to congratulate him."

In his office in his signature property, the historic Ellicott Square Building, Paladino pointed to a row of baseball bats - which he vowed to use to clean up Albany - lined up on the floor. All were gifts from supporters, printed with campaign slogans. "I'm going to mail one to Andrew," Paladino said. "Maybe he'll use it. Maybe he won't."