Here’s another interesting tidbit from AG Andrew Cuomo’s nearly hour-long interview with WAMC’s Alan Chartock this past weekend (I believe the most extended on-air interview to which the Democratic gubernatorial candidate has submitted to date)…

At about the 3:40-minute mark, Cuomo says the following about the budget process:

“The way it should work, in my opinion, is bringing the people in should be institutionalized. You should lay the groundwork first – dozens and dozens of town hall meetings and budget forums where you’re in local communities with the local legislators and it percolates up to Albany It percolates up to the three men in the room from the people up.”

That sounds to me like the Capitol press corps has a lot of traveling in its collective future should Cuomo become governor.

Cuomo’s comments came during a discussion with Chartock about Gov. David Paterson’s new tactic of putting pieces of his budget into extender bills and forcing the Legislature to choose between accepting his cuts and shutting down the government.

The AG was initially circumspect about this approach, calling it “desperate” yet “intriguing.” But he has since done an about-face and praised Paterson repeatedly, saying the governor is ending the comfortable “anonymity” of state lawmakers by making them go on the record about where they stand on thorny issues.

Cuomo also say the threat of a shutdown has “galvanized” the public and spurred more voter participation, although he continues to maintain that this process “on steroids” is perhaps not the best way to go.

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