The rumors are flying fast and furious this afternoon. Now that it has been pretty-much confirmed that Paterson will appoint a Lieutenant Governor in a few minutes from now, the question of course is...who will that person be? The goal one would hope is that he or she is non-controversial and well-respected. Yet in these times, I don't even think Jesus or Gandhi could fit that criteria for all sides involved. So certainly Richard Ravitch will fall short for Democrats and Republicans.
From The Daily Politics:
Ravitch is the ultimate elder statesman. He has worked for a president (Lyndon Johnson), a governor (Hugh Carey), and is credited with rescuing the mass transit system in the 1980s.
Last year, Paterson tapped Ravitch to head a panel to figure out how to fix the cash-strapped MTA - again.
He also has ample experience in dealing with the unruly Senate - most recently this past year during the MTA bailout negotiations, which did not endear him to the Senate Democrats, who felt he misled them about needing $5 tolls on the East River bridges in order to close the authority's gaping budget hole.
Ravitch later said an Assembly plan that called for $2 tolls would also work. The final agreement ended up with no tolls at all.
UPDATE: The DN's Glenn Blain ran into Sen. Dean Skelos and asked for his reaction to the news about Ravitch. The Long Island Republican replied:
"Payroll tax Ravitch? Well, then he would fit the mold...of Gov. David Paterson because they both love to raise taxes."
