Another Cuomo waiting in the wings
BRIAN ACKLEY Political Columnist
Is it too early yet to talk about who might be the next governor of New York State? And I don't mean Eliot Spitzer, who has been in the governor's mansion all of 10 or so days about now.

OK, it's probably a little early to decide who might ascend to Albany's throne once Spitzer decides he's tired of the gig. Still, there's a shadow already being cast over the Nelson A. Rockefeller Empire State Plaza that first appeared on Jan. 1, reminding us all that a dozen years later, the Cuomo legacy is alive and well 250 miles to our east.

When Andrew Cuomo recently put his hand on the Bible and became our state's 64th attorney general, one couldn't help but flash back to his father's tenure as our chief executive officer and his son's ambitions to someday sit behind the same desk as did dear old dad.

Without question, the Cuomo gift of gab didn't just trickle down the family tree like spring sap; it descended down more quickly than a barn owl on a field mouse. One of his sons, Chris, is a television reporter for "Good Morning America," and Andrew's oratory skills are akin to popping a tape into the VCR and listening to Mario, who never met a TelePrompTer - or a spending bill - he didn't like.

Getting the Democratic nod for the attorney general's race Andrew eventually won was, at least initially, no slam-dunk. His father's 12-year state tenure didn't end all that well with many longtime Democrats, and the general public has almost forgotten the son's ill-fated attempt to seek the party's 2002 gubernatorial endorsement. Dropping out even before the Democratic primary, his efforts that year also went over as well as John Faso's own recent gubernatorial bid.

Make no mistake, the elder is living vicariously through his progeny, not so much in a visible and out-front kind of manner, but behind the scenes where the former governor has spent the last several years tossing around tons of bricks and mortar in an effort to rebuild the Cuomo name. In the most visible example of Mario's public plan to remain nothing more than a proud but perimeter papa, and in what might have been a first, Mario waved off his son's request to step to the microphones and say a few words on the night they celebrated Andrew's win over -the overmatched Jeanine Pirro.

Widely reported is Cuomo's populist recent stance on legislative member items, promising a review into how each of the 6,000 or so spending items are reported and used. It, of course, has been an early centerpiece of Spitzer's reform package, and the horse is so long ago out of that barn that neither Assembly leader Shelly Silver nor Senate leader Joe Bruno are even bothering to fight the secrecy of that spending any more.

Less widely reported is Cuomo's Day Two pledge to investigate one of Spitzer's first decisions in office, which provides round-the-clock, state-taxpayer funded security for former Gov. George Pataki. It was hardly a Day One decision that fits Spitzer's image, especially smack dab in the middle of Hevesigate. Presumably, Pataki is a target because he somehow continues to harbor the illogical illusion that 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue will be his new address in a couple of years.

Mario never enjoyed such security coverage, with published estimates for Pataki's safety entourage pegged at a staggering $20,000 a week. Of course, investigating is a far cry from actual action, and the younger Cuomo's actions will be the foundation of whatever political career he may build, despite the Kevlar-strong coattails he currently is riding.

For now, all he has to do is walk in the yeti-size footprints of both his father and predecessor to ensure the popularity needle continues to crowd into the red side of the dial. But speaking of feet, eventually he'll have to stand on his own two, and only time will tell whether he can separate himself far enough from those two to pull it off.

True enough, Gov. Spitzer might be around for a while, national aspirations notwithstanding. But can Governor Cuomo, the sequel, be that far behind?

(Brian Ackley is a columnist for the Weekly Independent Newspapers of Western New York. For more information on WIN, or to provide feedback on this column, visit our Web site at www.wnynewspapers.com. Opinions expressed here are those of the author.)