GOV. PATAKI’S virtual abandonment of the state Capitol this year has produced a growing belief in state GOP circles that he won’t seek re-election in 2002.
GOP insiders say that not only has Pataki apparently lost interest in the day-to-day affairs of state government, they say he has taken several steps that indicate he’s preparing to leave office when his second term ends in two years.
They cite these examples:
Pataki, who never moved into the Executive Mansion, now only rarely visits the state Capitol, the administrative center of state government, and has all but stopped attending the annual meetings there of major business, professional and civic groups, at which governors traditionally show up.
Pataki has stopped holding regular press conferences in Albany, the traditional method for governors and other leading political figures to make their cases for their legislative and program initiatives.
The rare press conferences Pataki does hold are usually abruptly cut short by the governor, who is often uncomfortable with tough questions, and who regularly displays a surprising lack of knowledge of the subject being discussed.
“It’s a mystery to all of us that he does not appear before the Albany press more, because he’s hurting all of us by not being a stronger advocate,” one of the most powerful GOP leaders told The Post.
Pataki has recently embraced a variety of left-of-center political positions, such as gun control, record-high state spending, higher taxes, increased business regulation and strengthened environmental laws, alienating a growing number of Republicans, GOP strategists say.
“Clearly, he’s probably pushed the envelope as far as he can go in that center-left direction,” pollster and political analyst John Zogby noted.
Pataki’s alienation of the political right was made clear by a scathingly critical article last week in the City Journal, published by the conservative-oriented Manhattan Institute, whose backers were once among the governor’s strongest supporters.
The article, by former Pataki administration staffer Thomas Carroll, was titled “Gov. Pataki’s Failure.”
It was introduced with these words: “The governor ran as a tax-and-spending cutter. Now he’s as profligate as any liberal Democrat.”
Crain’s New York Business, meanwhile, in a lead editorial last week, outlined Pataki’s shift to the left and concluded, “It is hard to see where enthusiasm for a third term for George Pataki will come from.”
Pataki is continuing to engage in highly divisive, behind-the-scenes battles with his own Republican allies, including Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno.
He also continues to tolerate the abuse of many local GOP leaders by his top aides, increasingly a sore point in grass-roots Republican circles.
Pataki has begun using state-funded TV commercials to raise the profile of his little-known and poorly regarded lieutenant governor, Mary Donohue, a move seen by many as a likely attempt to prepare a successor should he decide not to run.
“Frankly, everything points to Pataki trying to get himself out of government,” said a longtime Pataki political ally.
Pataki, who pledged to serve just two terms when he first ran for office in 1994, has since said that he’s seriously considering seeking re-election to a third term.
A spokeswoman for the governor, Suzanne Morris – noting that Pataki has been raising funds for a possible run – yesterday denied that Pataki has decided against a run.
“This is little more than idle speculation from people who have no – and never had any – inkling of the governor’s plans,” she said.
Fredric U. Dicker’s radio show, “Inside the State Capitol,” can be heard weekdays from 10:05 a.m. to 11 a.m., and Saturdays from 4:05 p.m. to 7 p.m., on the Web, at http://www.wrow.com.