Friday, September 19, 2008

GOV. DAVID PATERSON--LOOKING GOOD

While there’s no difficulty in finding fault in government and politicians, there are some good things going on as well. New York’s governor, David Paterson (D), is proving to be worth his mettle. He’s good about announcing his legislation, and he’s been doing some good things for New Yorkers. That’s what we expect and what we are entitled to.

Here’s one of several improvements I’ve noticed. On Sept. 5, Gov. Paterson signed legislation to allow pharmacists, once they are state trained and certified, to administer flu shots. This sensible and seemingly small change enormously increases access to the vaccines by virtue of pharmacies' hours and locations. The result should be a healthier winter for many New Yorkers.
On a side note, the bill was sponsored by Long Island Republican Sen. Charles Fuschillo, and that indicates Paterson's willingness to support positive efforts by both sides of the aisle.

Paterson has vetoed 49 bills showing he is not afraid to use his authority when he sees the correlation between budget and policy decisions as they impact local governments and taxpayers. To me that means he is on the right track. New York is a mess, and its state officials on both sides of the aisle, by and large, spend their time bickering over power. If Paterson can pull in the reins on this runaway horse of a legislature he inherited, he can have my vote as long as he wants it.

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