Most people by now know that Governor David Paterson has decided to appoint Richard Ravitch as Lt. Governor in an attempt to end the senates power debacle. The question now is should he have done it and is it legal?
Governor Paterson has made quite a few bad decsions since he has taken office. That said, in the last few months i believe we have seen Paterson at his best. He has held the hands of both senate republicans and senate democrats trying to get the two to agree, he has forced senators into session, and he has stripped them of their paychecks. Each time both parties spit in his face telling him that they will take care of this themsleves. So, when nothing happend he did the only think he thought would help. He acted.
You can not stand on a pedistal and condem the Paterson for acting like an adult and finding a solution to the problem. The Senate needs a leader, the state needs a line of succession. By appointing someone to the Lt. Governor’s position he can break the gridlock by essentially adding another vote to the democratic caucus.
The question now is, is it legal? Honestly, I have not read the law, nor do I have to to know how this should be decided. The fact of the matter is that government has come to a extraodinary and unexpected halt. Elected Officials have refused to solve the problem in a timely manner. The Governor saw a way of getting the wheels of the senate moving, so he acted. Sometimes, the best course of action is not the legal action, it is just the right thing to do.
Either way, now the appointment will be sent to the courts to decide. Should their decsion come down against appointment the state will be exactally where we were a day ago, if the appointment holds than the senate has finally been greased and is rolling again.
