Democrat & Chronicle: Local News
Despite a few gains on some issues, there were way too many clunkers and omissions, the gubernatorial frontrunner and state attorney general said at a chamber of commerce breakfast in an Albany suburb.

“I’m not a teacher handing out grades. But it’s hard to see how you can look at this session and give it a passing grade,” he said.

Later in the day, Spitzer picked up the endorsement of the AFL-CIO, as he continued to lock up most of the unions in the state. His foes, Republican John Faso and Democrat Tom Suozzi, have claimed the unions’ support would make it likely that Spitzer would raise taxes and spending, a charge Spitzer denies. They also accused the frontrunner of ducking issues.

The flaws of the session, according to Spitzer: no government reform, no full disclosure of pork-barrel funds, no new energy policy, no answer to the massive school-funding lawsuit and a questionable 9 percent growth in spending.

The gains: an expansion of the DNA crime databank, tougher DWI laws, a change to the statute of limitations on rape and a deal to lure a computer-chip producer to the Albany area.

Too often, lawmakers spend all year fighting while not making enough changes, he said.

“I often feel state government has become a World War I battlefield,” he said. “We’ve dug trenches. We shoot across at each other. There’s carnage in the middle. And the trench moves one or two feet and people declare victory.”

The AFL-CIO didn’t even interview Faso or Suozzi.

Well Bravo to Spitzer…
It really says something about his party and the dysfunction coming out of the assembly. It is time for massive changes but I still do not see Spitzer doing everything that needs to be done. As you can see the AFL-CIO didn’t even interview Faso or Suozzi, why? I know why, they see them as real reformers and not the status quo. The unions do not want change, as we have seen from them recently they are all about growing and taking more and more out of our pockets.