Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy, per usual, played up Gov. Andrew Cuomo and the state’s successes under his administration over the past two years.
Giving a short speech to delegates this morning, Duffy said Cuomo’s work on finding compromise on how to reform Medicaid, the state’s $50 billion program, with unions and health-care leaders is a signal that Washington should do the same.
“People came together on this issue. As opposed to dividing, they brought people to the table,” Duffy said.
The former Rochester mayor called Cuomo, who will speak Thursday to the delegation, “the best governor in the country” and said New York is the progressive capital of this country.”
Duffy also made a reference to New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, a potential Republican candidate for president in 2016, saying “I believe the governor of New Jersey mentioned that, ‘Leaders don’t read polls. Leaders change polls.’ I’ll agree with him on that point.”
Duffy said Cuomo has changed polls, saying a recent Siena poll showed that 56 percent of New Yorkers think the state is moving in the right direction, the highest in memory.
Here’s some of Duffy’s speech:
