Rumors are surrounding Governor David Paterson's status, not just his prospects for re-election, but whether he'll remain as Governor.

Last night's Associated Press story by Capitol reporter, Michael Gormley captured the moment by reporting private meetings over the weekend between the Governor and Democratic officials, purportedly discussing his election campaign, but also involving unsubstantiated rumors of his personal conduct.

The AP story contained the following passage:

"A Democrat close to the situation, though, said the meetings included discussions about whether Paterson would resign or announce he will not run because of the unsubstantiated claims in the whisper campaign surrounding the governor's behavior."

Where this is going I dare not speculate. David Paterson is Governor and that matters, regardless of rumors, poll numbers, or what his fellow Democratic officeholders think of him. I do not believe the Governor is resigning, no matter what "rumors" may surface. For the record, his aides emphatically deny any speculation about a resignation.

On Tuesday the Governor will issue his required 21-day amendments to his Executive Budget proposed for state fiscal year 2010-11, which begins April 1st. The legislature will spend the better part of the next seven weeks dealing with budget issues and trying to close an $8.2 billion gap in an election year. This is the business at hand.

Peter Murphy
for The Chalkboard
(see me Twitter @ PeterMurphy26)