Monday, Nov. 1, 2010 -- Page A32 (Opinion), New York edition
Editorial Notebook
AND NOW THEY THINK THEY'RE IMPORTANT
By FRANCIS X. CLINES
Thirty-five years ago, New York’s newly elected governor, Hugh Carey, confronted a feckless inaugural audience — the State Legislature — with a bold announcement: “Now the times of plenty, the days of wine and roses, are over.” The reaction from cynical solons out on the Assembly floor: Oh, yeah, sure; we’ll follow him and what army of lobbyists?
The times could not be more ripe for invoking the wine-and-roses mantra of Mr. Carey, who went on to serve eight years as a governor of historic accomplishments. He stunned and delighted reporters like me as he whipped and coaxed responsibility from the indolent Legislature to deliver New York City from the brink of bankruptcy and the state from economic stagnation.
“Every day that passes, Hugh Carey grows taller,” says Richard Ravitch, New York’s current lieutenant governor (by emergency appointment), who has been battling another runaway state budget mess. Mr. Ravitch was one of the many outside specialists recruited into public service by Mr. Carey.
He reports that his mentor, at 91 years and wheelchair-bound, is ever curious about what fresh hell is in the hands of the latest politicians. The once unstoppably loquacious governor doesn’t say much these days; his signature wit before life’s foibles is not so ready as it was. But he sees, like the rest of us, the budget scams, the greed and scandals and hears the placebos and bromides passed off as high debate.
A new book — “The Man Who Saved New York” — is a tribute to Governor Carey’s mastery over the city’s fiscal collapse. In a bold stroke, he brought Wall Street together with government unions, leveraging their self-interests against survival of the commonweal. When he left office, this page saluted Hugh Carey as “A Governor for Hard Winters.”
As he departed Albany, Mr. Carey pointed across to the office tower built by Gov. Nelson Rockefeller to ensconce the state’s lawmakers in marble-clad grandiosity. “He built them that building and now they think they’re important,” he said. His wit prophetic.
New York Times op-ed columnist cites Carey bio (11-1-10)
December 16, 2010
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