NEW YORK TIMES

Fourteen of the 19 appointees Andrew Cuomo has announced have worked for Cuomo, his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, or other Albany veterans.

'director of agency redesign and efficiency" ???   I AM QUITE SURE CSEA AND PEF WILL BE WATCHING THIS STATE AGENCY VERY CAREFULLY :-)

By DAVID M. HALBFINGER

Published: December 23, 2010

Governor-elect Andrew M. Cuomo named two veteran state officials to his senior staff on Thursday, continuing to populate his administration with a mix of seasoned operatives, trusted advisers of long standing and members of politically important minorities.

Enlarge This Image

Mike Groll/Associated Press

Paul Francis

Enlarge This Image

Mike Groll/Associated Press

Lawrence S. Schwartz

Paul Francis, who was budget director for Gov. Eliot Spitzer and, for several months in 2008, director of state operations for Gov. David A. Paterson, was named director of agency redesign and efficiency, a new post.
Lawrence S. Schwartz, who is secretary to Governor Paterson — the highest-ranking unelected office in the Executive Chamber — will stay on for several months as a senior adviser to Mr. Cuomo to ease the transition. Before his service in Albany, Mr. Schwartz, known as Larry, spent years at the wheel of big suburban governments as deputy county executive in Westchester and, before that, in Suffolk.
Mr. Schwartz, like many other appointees, has ties to the Cuomos stretching back many years. In 1994, he was deputy campaign manager for Gov. Mario M. Cuomo, who was defeated that year by George E. Pataki. (The campaign manager in that race was John Marino, who remains a member of Andrew Cuomo’s tight circle of outside advisers.)
Mr. Francis left state government in September 2008 for Bloomberg L.P., where he was chief operating officer of its financial products division. Earlier, he spent 25 years in private business, as a lawyer, investment banker, corporate executive and venture capitalist. He also was the first chief financial officer of Priceline.com.
Mr. Francis, who was among the candidates for secretary to the governor, had delved deeply into policy for Mr. Cuomo during the campaign, helping to flesh out his platform in a series of “New NY Agenda” books.
His new position is intended to fulfill one major campaign promise: the first restructuring of state government in decades, involving an evaluation of more than 1,000 agencies, commissions and authorities to eliminate duplication and cut costs.
“Paul knows as much about how the private sector works as he does about how government works,” Mr. Cuomo said in a statement. “This is exactly the type of experience and perspective we need in order to take on the critical task of reorganizing and right-sizing state government for the first time since the 1920s.”
Also this week, Mr. Cuomo named his top spokesman in the attorney general’s office, Richard Bamberger, as his director of communications; Alphonso B. David, the special deputy attorney general for civil rights, as deputy secretary for civil rights; and Arlene González-Sánchez, the commissioner of mental health, chemical dependency and developmental disabilities services in Nassau County, as commissioner of the state’s Office of Alcohol and Substance Abuse Services. 

What fresh blood? Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo taps two more vets of New York governors

 

DAMM CUOMO FOR WANTING EXPERIENCED AND SMART ADMINISTRATORS SURROUNDING HIM..WHEN HE FACES THE GREATEST FISCAL CRISIS THIS STATE HAS EVER KNOWN.....WHAT WAS HE THINKING ABOUT???

BY Kenneth Lovett
DAILY NEWS ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF

ALBANY - Gov.-elect Andrew Cuomo on Thursday tapped two veteran aides of the last two governors to serve in his inner circle.
As his director of agency redesign, Cuomo named Paul Francis, a former state operations and budget director under Eliot Spitzer.
And he announced that Larry Schwartz, Gov. Paterson's top aide, will remain on the state payroll as a senior advisor to help with the transition.
Schwartz is credited with keeping the government going through a myriad of scandals and administration defections.
The announcements raised some eyebrows, given Cuomo's campaign talk about attracting national talent and fresh blood to help clean up Albany.
Fourteen of the 19 appointees Cuomo has announced have worked for Cuomo, his father, former Gov. Mario Cuomo, or other Albany veterans.
Cuomo contends Albany's reputation for corruption and dysfunction, along with the ongoing fiscal crisis, has made recruiting top talent difficult.
Others wonder if he really wants outsiders in key roles.
"The Cuomos never have gone outside with anything," said one Democratic operative.
"If these people were cadavers, they'd still keep them around because they don't want any outsiders. They don't want any leaks."
Two longtime Cuomo allies argue that it's no surprise a new governor would want people he is already comfortable with in advisory roles.
Team Cuomo hinted that more outside-the-beltway appointments are on the way. "Stay tuned," spokesman Josh Vlasto said.
To help Cuomo get even more comfortable in Albany, outgoing Gov. Paterson has turned over the keys to the executive mansion.
"We have vacated the executive mansion," Paterson told WOR-AM. "So we'll be spending Christmas right here in New York City.
"We wanted to make way for the new administration, let them come in and get settled. So that won't be an issue."