A Cuomo following in his father's footsteps?

People in New York state’s political arena spend a lot of time contrasting Gov. Andrew Cuomo with his father, Gov. Mario M. Cuomo. While the two sound alike and to some extent look alike, in less than six months, Andrew Cuomo has succeeded in gaining more notable victories than his father ever enjoyed in his distinguished 11 years in Albany.

Much of Andrew Cuomo’s success is not just because of his political smarts, but is a reflection of the changing attitudes of the public, which have helped him score victory after victory. Mario Cuomo served during a period when the State Legislature was an equal partner and frequently the dominant partner.

In the Mario Cuomo days, from 1983 to 1994, the state had some serious financial problems, but the Legislature used a number of gimmicks to balance the budget and expand programs that are now not affordable. Despite pleas from the governor that there would be serious problems in the future, the Legislature did its own thing, creating more debt and deficits.

Early in Mario Cuomo’s tenure, there were no scandals to dominate the news, and the public was totally indifferent to the actions of the Legislature. The only major issue that surfaced was the death penalty, and Cuomo used his veto power to stop the state from instituting such a law.

The 2010 election helped define what would happen in 2011, and that year’s issues became the agenda for this year. Taking a page out of Bill Clinton’s strategy book, Andrew Cuomo stressed his commitment to less government, the need to pass new ethics laws and a pledge to adopt budgets on time. Cuomo was aided significantly by the conviction of nine legislators for misconduct and the national recession, which caused pain throughout the country.

At the beginning of this year, the once all-powerful Legislature found itself drowning in debt and facing an angry public that made no distinction between Democrats and Republicans. As far back as political memories go, the leaders of the two parties in the two houses would team up to fight the incumbent governor. But not this year.