Cuomo stumps for Steve Bellone in Suffolk

As Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo made his second Long Island appearance Wednesday to boost Democrat Steve Bellone's Suffolk County executive bid, Republican Angie Carpenter countered with an endorsement from former GOP Gov. George E. Pataki.

Before hundreds of cheering supporters at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers' Local 25 hall in Hauppauge, Cuomo said Bellone, the Babylon supervisor, represented a sharp contrast with Carpenter and all Republicans, because they're "giving up on government.

"Steve said that we're going to show you we can make government work," Cuomo, a Democrat, said at the afternoon rally. "And we can make it hum and we can refine that machine. That's what Steve has done: Making it work for the taxpayer, making it efficient, making it effective."

Earlier, Pataki touted Carpenter's experience as county treasurer, a county legislator and former small-business owner as making her "uniquely qualified" to lead Suffolk.

"She will hold the line on taxes, control spending and promote a business climate that encourages the job creation we need," Pataki said in a statement.

Cuomo's appearance was his second for Bellone in less than a month. While Democrats say the pre-scheduled event was no panic move, Republican leaders, in a statement, mocked the appearance as a "forced . . . last-minute campaign stop."

GOP chairman John Jay LaValle attempted to draw a distinction between Cuomo's "high marks" for fiscal responsibility and Bellone's tax record in Babylon, which has been a point of contention the entire campaign. Carpenter, in a letter mailed to Cuomo Wednesday, wrote that as someone who helped return "some level of fiscal sanity" to the state, he shouldn't be supporting Bellone.

Republicans point to a 108 percent increase in general fund taxes for the average Babylon household since 1999, the first year that Bellone, as a councilman, voted on a budget. Bellone has touted tax cuts totaling $4.3 million since he became supervisor in 2002, and says budgets before he became supervisor in 2003 shouldn't be considered.

Asked about Cuomo's appearance on his behalf, Bellone said, "With six days to go in this race, it is good to have the governor here with us."