NEW YORK - -Former Gov. Mario Cuomo, who is poised to see his son, Andrew, assume his old job if he wins tonight, said the next governor faces an enormous challenge in the face of continuing budget problems in the state.
“It’s going to be very difficult no matter how good he is, and he is good. He’s going to need one thing, and that’s the cooperation of a high number of people in both parties in both houses. And that’s the key," the former governor said as he entered the midtown hotel here to join his son in an upper-floor suite.
“I’ll feel a little better when I hear the results," he told a well-wisher. When a Democrat offered him congratulations, the former governor said, "It’s a little early for that."
The three-term Democratic governor offered a healthy dose of optimism for his son. “I’m trying very hard to be objective. I can’t think of anybody, anybody in this state, who is better equipped to do it. I mean if you look at his background, he’s had tremendous management experience. He studied under one of the best teachers ever –- [former President] Clinton. I mean Clinton taught him a lot," Cuomo said of the former president, who he once considered a rival when he considered a run for president in 1992.
“He’s not a kid. He’s been up, he’s been down. He’s got everything you need," Cuomo said of his son.
Cuomo made his remarks about an hour before polls were to close tonight.
-- Tom Precious
