Talk about starting out with a bang!

After keeping mum for days about his plan to end his LG run and jump into the governor’s race, Republican businessman M. Myers Mermel let loose with both barrels against Democratic gubernatorial contender, Andrew Cuomo, saying the AG should resign immediately because he is “responsible” for the Albany mess.

Mermel held up a printed-out copy of Cuomo’s lengthy policy book and called it “typical Democrat: It’s no transparency. It’s not focused. It’s not clear. It obfiscates the truth.”

“I think at the very least, Andrew Cuomo owns the state an apology,” Mermel told me. “You know, what he says in this report is very telling. And his introductory quote was sadly state government has failed us.”

“And you know, he is right. State Government has failed us. But Liz, he is the state Government. He has served with the Spitzer/Paterson/Cuomo/Hevesi administration. He’s been there. And because he made the choice over the past two years to not respond to these challenges as to excuse himself from this.”

“That was a choice he made and he should be held responsible for it. So Liz, I want to make the point, that he should take his own advice. And the best thing he could do now would be to resign his position.”


I didn’t think I had heard him right, so I said: “Resign as attorney general?” To which Mermel replied:

“Yes, he said that state government has failed us. He should step down and avoid the Christmas rush.”

Mermel also cited a poll he commissioned that shows a composite candidate with his credentials could beat Cuomo. (It also shows he has the lowest name recognition of any of the candidates for governor).

You can catch the full Mermel interview on “Capital Tonight” at 8 p.m. and 11:30 p.m.

We’ve also got Siena poll spokesman Steve Greenberg to break down today’s numbers, and state Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs scheduled to provide a convention preview from Rye.

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