Pataki urges candidates to accept gubernatorial election results

For just a few hours Wednesday morning, Old Albany came back to life, with sophisticated dress, food and cocktails and a man in the corner crooning Frank Sinatra’s greatest hits. The occasion: a ribbon-cutting ceremony morning to honor the former governor and dedicate the new Gov. George E. Pataki Center in Albany’s Center Square neighborhood. 

But the bipartisan smattering was a return to the Albany of yesterday, complete with pre-MAGA Republican politics, for another reason: Former Gov. George Pataki wants Republicans and Democrats in the state to accept the results of November’s gubernatorial election after Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman’s suggested last week that Democrats will likely “steal” the election to win, and said he’ll only accept the outcome if it’s “fair.”

Speaking with reporters after the ceremony, Pataki wouldn’t denounce Blakeman’s recent claim that Democrats would cheat in November. “I certainly hope not,” he said when asked if he agreed with Blakeman’s assertion. But Pataki stressed that it’s important for both parties to accept the election results. “Whoever wins, wins, and the election’s over,” he said.

That’s quite the contrast from Blakeman, Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Republican challenger, who sowed distrust in the state’s election system last week – echoing a tactic of President Donald Trump’s. Blakeman refused to say he’ll accept the election results regardless of the outcome, and that his campaign expects Democrats to cheat, and said he will fight back. 

But asked about Pataki’s more democratic comments on the subject, Blakeman neither doubled down, nor changed his tune. “That’s a ridiculous question. Of course, I will accept the results of the election because I'm going to win,” he said before turning on his heel to leave. 

Blakeman did not attend the dedication ceremony, but had lunch with Pataki and some of his former top aides in Saratoga on Wednesday afternoon. Pataki, the state’s last Republican governor, threw his support behind Blakeman earlier this year and said they talk occasionally. He wouldn’t share what advice he’s given Blakeman as he tries to unseat Hochul. “It’s not about a Republican beating a Democrat or a Democrat beating a Republican, it’s about you being able to make people’s lives better, and I would just run a campaign based on that,” he said.

In that spirit, politicians from both sides of the aisle attended Wednesday’s ceremony. Former Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings and Gov. Kathy Hochul’s Secretary Karen Persichilli Keogh gave remarks, and Red Apple Group Chair and CEO John Catsimatidis was in the crowd, along with state Budget Director Blake Washington, state Sens. Pat Fahy and Jake Ashby, Assembly Members John McDonald III and Scott Bendett. 

“As governor, you built a foundation for this state that we continue to benefit from, and it’s a real credit to you in so many areas,” Keogh said. She then jokingly thanked the former governor for his role in the landmark case Silver v. Pataki, which legally cemented the executive’s overarching authority in the state budget process.

The new center, located next to the state Republican Party headquarters on Spring Street, marks the first building to be named for Pataki, who served as the 53rd governor of the state from 1995 through 2006. The nonprofit, operated by Committee for the Governor George E. Pataki Leadership and Learning Center Inc., aims to help young people interested in government. 

Pataki said both parties must put politics aside after an election in order to govern. “The election should not be the end, the election should be the beginning,” he said. “That happens after you win, and too often, people in politics see it the other way around.”