Elmont Online

GEDDES -- The woman in the American flag shirt came from Pennsylvania -- just over the border from Elmira -- to tell Gov. Andrew Cuomo he made a mistake by supporting same-sex marriage.

"I wish I had a sign," said Nancy Schrader, 62, a retired Bradford County commissioner.

She shouted at the governor as he schmoozed his way around the midway on the breezy, gray opening day of the 2011 New York State Fair, flanked by his three teenage daughters, aides and state troopers.

He did not linger as long as some previous governors, including his father Mario. He did not seek out the opportunity to debate people like Schrader, or the few others who walked around him with signs protesting the potential hydrofracking of natural gas in the nearby Marcellus Shale. (The governor cut his trip short, cancelling a planned fundraiser in order to return to Albany to coordinate preparation for the approach of Hurricane Irene.)

No, he just basked in the generally warm, bemused reception he received from fairgoers. While polls show Cuomo is sailing -- a recent Siena survey suggests 69 percent view him favorably, and 58 percent approve of the job he's doing -- he has not often engaged in retail politics during his first semester in office, especially in environments that haven't been tightly managed by his aides.

"You look a lot bigger on television!," yelled Jerry Droleski.

Cuomo looked a bit startled, but smiled as he turned to shake Droleski's hand, the Elmira accordion player stammering his delight that Cuomo has a sense of humor.

The governor kept moving. He asked where he could get a paper Amtrak hat like the one sported by Nicholas Costa, 4, who sat behind his 3-year-old brother Matthew in a wagon towed by their father, Greg.

"I love trains!," Nicholas said.

"We told him, 'Thank you for everything you've done for upstate,'" said Greg, of Homer in Cortland County. "He's doing a great job. Look at everything he did with the budget."

The governor kept moving. He said hello to 8-year-old Nicole Figueiredo.

"Tell him he's doing a good job, but he needs to marry Sara Lee so he can run for president," said her mother, Rosa -- flubbing the name of Cuomo's girlfriend, Food Network star Sandra Lee.

The governor kept moving, leading his daughters to take the requisite bites of Gianelli's sausage before visiting an exhibit run by the State Police, memorials commemorating the 9/11 attacks and an exhibit of artifacts from the World Trade Center site.

He signed 9-year-old Lene Fornino's blue ribbon, which she won at the Ulster County Fair for her lemon blueberry muffins. She gave Cuomo a plate of the baked goods. He promised to eat them later.

And the governor kept moving, speaking under a tree to the gaggle of press. He commented on George Pataki's presidential prospects, brushed aside calls for a longer hydrofracking comment period and, of course, recalled the fun he had Thursday.

"I have very fond memories of coming here with my father, and now bringing (my daughters) here today," the governor said.

Reach Vielkind at 454-5081 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .