Gov. David Paterson this morning lambasted public employee unions for making an issue of the $42,000 worth of raises he granted – and subsequently rescinded – to five members of his own staff at a time when he was pushing for a furlough for state workers.

Paterson insisted to WOR’s John Gambling that he “shouldn’t have” succumbed to pressure and taken back the raises, noting the people who received them have taken on more responsibility since the departure in March of his $175,000-a-year communications director, Peter Kauffmann.

The governor called the uproar over the raises a “distraction” and a “canard,” and said the only reason he had rescinded the pay hikes was to “try to move the discussion off that and back to the fact that the workforce of New York State has not given us any concessions this year or last year.”

“I don’t want to furlough anyone,” Paterson insisted. “I don’t want to take a lot of these actions that I’m taking. But the reality is, the state is out of money.”

Share|