The honeymoon is over, and dysfunction is about to set in. The promise of a new governor with a substantial electoral mandate, supported by a public sick of Albany and anxious for reform, is likely to wither on the hard rocks of political reality.

The immediate cause can be attributed to Spitzer’s alleged words to the assembly minority leader that Spitzer was a “f——g steamroller”. He did not use the words to denigrate his colleague, but to boast about himself.
Now his enemies and the press are using that clearly infelicitous and inappropriate, but not necessarily insulting remark, made on a cellphone to a car (hopefully not to the driver) to try to show that the governor is arrogant and disrespectful of others. The elegant NY Times described what he said as “salty language”, which is all right as long as you can rely on the Post for the exact words.

The other provocation is the governor’s attempt to assume the responsibility constitutionally assigned to the legislature, to select a new comptroller. The governor did a great deal to create the vacancy by ostracizing the elected comptroller, excluding him from events, and generally treating him like a leper. Now it appears possible that the position will be filled by someone whose election he has tried to prevent, and is a protege of his potential worst enemy. The governor should recall the maxim about answered prayers; you may get what you want and find it is worse than what you had.

The irony is that this governor is the best thing that has happened to Albany in a generation. His reform program is highly desirable, and his appointments, although unremarkable, are generally based on merit. He has avoided politics, except for rewarding people who were in his campaign, and there is nothing unusual or outrageous about that.

The inaugural, the state of the state, and the budget have been solid messages, and the prospect is for a vastly improved executive branch. However, sooner or later, everyone has to deal with people who are not their appointees, but elected on their own, maybe from gerrymandered districts or by political machines, but nonetheless people who have to be persuaded or intimidated into doing what you want. The powers of intimidation are limited, unless the person you are trying to persuade has committed some offense, minor or major, and you can sic the law on him. You could also block projects in his district. That would be a disservice if the projects were beneficial to the public, but splendid if they were not. Such a policy would be perceived as vengeful, and would lead to a series of confrontations with the Legislature, with unpredictable results. It certainly would not lead to a harmonious state government.

Like everyone else, legislators want security and respect. They are sometimes treated shabbily by Speaker Silver, or Leader Bruno, and they grouse privately. Nonetheless, there is a kind of stability in the existing order. If you behave, you will be rewarded; if you are bad you will be punished. The problem is that his definition of good and bad too often is shaped by the leaders’ own interests rather than by the public interest.

The main benefit a governor can confer on a legislator is to take him out of the legislature by appointing him to a better job.

This kind of appointment is especially lucrative for older legislators, because their pension is computed on their salaries in their last year of service, a percentage of which is then multiplied by the number of years they been state or city employees.

There is not much else, besides pork, that the governor can do for or to an individual legislator, unless he becomes the alpha male and Silver is removed, or becomes a judge. Silver is highly unlikely to go on the State Supreme Court, because it would reduce his earnings by well over 80 per cent. The last revolt against his leadership came in 2000. It failed because Democratic county leaders backed off, and the unfaithful Assembly members were punished severely.

If legislators have faith in the governor’s decency and humanity, they may be emboldened to support him on some issues. If he is seen as an arrogant and threatening figure, perhaps even a playground bully, they will stay with their current masters, even on matters where they believe that the governor is right on the merits.

In politics, it is extremely helpful to be a decent person, or at least to be perceived as one. You can be as egocentric as you like in your own head, as long as you do not out yourself by displaying your conceit in public. If you are smarter than other people, which is a gift of God, you should also have the sense to know when to keep that insight to yourself. You have to convince other people to follow your lead, and they will be reluctant to do that if they see you as angry, intolerant, unpredictable, or worse yet, contemptuous of them. The Speaker or Leader may have contempt for them as well, but in that case the feeling is more likely to be mutual, although hidden.

The fact is that the governor keeps his temper 99 percent of the time, which is to his credit. He can be surrounded by fools whom he generally suffers gladly, or at least quietly. But it is the remaining 1 percent that can lead to disaster, particularly if you are walking a tightrope, which highly visible public officials are compelled to do by the media.

We would recommend outreach to the legislators and others, invite them in, get to know them, hear about their experiences and their aspirations. Stick to your principles and fight on the issues, but do not yield to some reformers’ voice of righteousness. Bruno and Silver gave you some ethics reform and some budget reform as a good will offering at the beginning of the session. Much more would be desirable, but you won’t get it by telling people off. Besides, most procedural reforms, even if enacted, become a sham if, when it comes down to it, the legislators will do the leaders’ bidding. Recall the Stalin constitution in the Soviet Union in the 1930’s, granting all kinds of rights to the people.

The year is young. There is time for a fresh start. The point is that there are behavioral as well as substantive issues here. There are powerful lobbies who oppose a great amount of what you want to do. They have been paying off the legislature for years, and they expect a return on their investment, at least protection from measures that are injurious to them. To persuade legislators to act in the public interest rather than in what they imagine to be their own (gratitude to contributors and subservience to political leaders), you have to build confidence in yourself.

This is the conundrum of politics. You need a strong ego to enter the field, to campaign, to ask people for money, to make promises which may be contradictory, etc. Once elected, the office holder needs other qualities to lead effectively. It requires emotional intelligence to understand other people’s feelings. Sometimes that does not correlate with the strong ego necessary for success in politics.

Timid and passive legislators are more likely to heed their current masters than seek leadership elsewhere. Treating everyone with respect enhances the possibility of their acting responsibly. It is also more Presidential behavior.

Starquest@NYCivic.org