Elmont Online

COLONIE -- They offered warm cheers for a speech by Gov. Andrew Cuomo, but members of the Democratic State Committee erupted into shouting when party officials tabled resolutions that would have pushed Cuomo to the left at their annual fall meeting.

The first resolution called for a ban on hydrofracking, a process being reviewed by the Department of Environmental Conservation. The second urged state and federal legislators to raise taxes "on those in the upper income levels." Cuomo has remained adamant about allowing a tax surcharge on New Yorkers reporting over $200,000 a year in income expire Dec. 31.

"Significant cuts have to be made. ... Those cuts must be balanced in some degree by an increase in taxes," said Peter Stein of Ithaca. He called Cuomo's argument that businesses and the rich would leave the state if the surcharge returned "bogus."

The meeting offered a rare public display of tension among Democrats, whose standard-bearer Cuomo has taken more conservative fiscal stances than many other party members and who ran last year as a "New Democrat." But it also showed the strength of Cuomo's control over the party, and how the governor has risen to a 72 percent favorability rating by pacifying the left, but generally governing as a moderate.

Democratic State Chairman Jay Jacobs accepted motions to table both resolutions before they could be debated. He ruled based on voice votes and a brief review of proxy ballots waved by delegates. He later said the vote was "obvious" and that a roll call was infeasible. (A subsequent tally of the proxy votes -- provided by the governor's spokesman -- determined that the tabling was supported by 87 percent.)

Some members were disappointed. "Go to hell!," yelled Lori Gardner, 57, from Tompkins County. "I'm so tired of this. ... The party leaders pretty much protect the governor, they were appointed by the governor, and here, they pretended they won."

Half a dozen aides to Cuomo mingled amid the committee members before the morning meeting at the Desmond. Cuomo hosted a private reception Wednesday night at the Executive Mansion, where he worked a room of delegates who were served cheese cubes and crab cakes.

Jacobs acknowledged he had lobbied party members against adopting the resolutions. The party's elected officials, he said, are responsible to a larger constituency of voters, and his job is to elect more Democrats, not tell them what to think.

"I spoke to party leaders who said some of this, while perhaps well-intentioned, could embarrass the governor," Jacobs said.

"There's no rift -- it's a discussion," said Assemblyman Denny Farrell, who for years chaired the Manhattan Democratic Party. Cuomo "has unified the party ... and is running the state superbly."

Assemblyman Jack McEneny, D-Albany, said there was a "natural tension" between any gubernatorial administration and the party that backs it, because the party is responsible for local concerns and winning elections, not making a state payroll.

Cuomo, who was greeted by a standing ovation, reprised many of the optimistic passages that dominated his campaign speeches last year, and earned rousing applause when he mentioned the passage of same-sex marriage. There was, however, silence when he mentioned the passage of a property tax cap.

The governor also offered a sort of pre-emptive defense on the end of the high-income surcharge, saying shortfalls of $350 million this year and up to $3.5 billion next year are just symptoms of a larger issue.

"We've got a problem that's actually worse than a budget gap. It's a stalled economy," Cuomo said. "We're going to have to think outside of the box. We're going to have to think big and we're going to have to think different."

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