Albany, NY – Gov. Cuomo says 90% of His Agenda is Already Completed

Albany, NY – A reflective Cuomo looked back with satisfaction at his first year in office, saying he’s already gotten 90% of his four-year legislative agenda accomplished.

“We did make a lot of progress,” he said, even while admitting New York is not yet “bumping up against perfection.”

Cuomo delivered an on-time budget that cut spending and didn’t raise taxes. He delivered the state’s first-ever property tax cap, won a new ethics reform bill, negotiated concession-laden union contracts, and managed to get a new law making it easier to site power plants that has eluded previous governors.

But perhaps his crowning achievement was passage of a law legalizing gay marriage. The only bummer, Cuomo said, was that the economy did not rebound like it looked it may, leaving the state facing growing deficits this year and next.

“In truth, we did much better legislatively than I thought we would,” he said. “I knew what we wanted to try and get done. And I knew what we needed to get done for fundamental stability.”

But Cuomo’s estimate that 90% of his four-year agenda is already in the books brought some chuckles.

“If that’s true, why do we need him? Just go home,” joked one legislative aide.