New York: Party Hacks Still Wait for Career Day
"Spitzer’s Distaste For Patronage Has Left Pataki’s People In Place" is the subhead. In the blurb an anonymous source claims, “Many big Dems do think Eliot needs to give Dems patronage jobs. Eliot doesn’t believe in giving unqualified people jobs.”
Yeah, right.
It's this preening moral superiority that gets Gov. Spitzer and his people in political trouble. Forget about Gov. Pataki's patronage. Some of Gov. Cuomo's patronage is still in place. It has nothing to do with "giving unqualified people jobs." There are hundreds of qualified, loyal Democrats prepared to work for Governor Spitzer. All it takes is the will and the ability to hire them.
In addition, the unqualified nephew of a party big in Cattaraugus County or Greenwich Village can always be deposited in a D-level agency. That's the way it works, for better or worse. If the Governor or his appointments office don't understand that reality they're one step closer to a primary from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.
Perhaps the Governor and his staff will finally come to the realization that working on the second floor is harder than it appears. Much harder. I wouldn't bet on it.
