Scarborough Beside Himself Over New York Post Story

Assemblyman William Scarborough likes publicity, but when he saw his name recently in a New York Post story, listing him as a possible supporter of Governor Patakis impending legislative budget veto, he couldnt believe what he was reading.
"I was stunned," said the representative of the 29th District. "I almost fell out of my chair when I read it. It would have been laughable if it wasnt so serious. The story was absolutely false."
The story, which was written by Fredric Dicker and appeared in the Post on May 7, stated that Scarborough was among 13 Assembly Democratic members who are being targeted by Governor Patakis advisors as potential swing votes once the governor vetoes the budget, as he is anticipated to do. Following the governors veto, the Legislature will have the chance to override the veto by voting on the items that were struck. If 100 members of the Assembly and 42 members of the Senate support the vetoes, the budget will pass.
The Post story intimated that since all but one of the 47 Assembly Republicans support Patakis budget, a shift in four Democratic votes may be all that is necessary to uphold the governors veto. And one person who could potentially change his position is Scarborough, a Democrat. Scarborough disagrees.
"There is no way that I would support the governors budget," Scarborough said. "To do so would be to betray my political colleagues and the residents in the community. This fellow from the Post didnt speak to me and nobody from the governors office spoke to me. In fact, they didnt speak with any of the politicians who were mentioned in the article. Im still trying to figure out why my name was put in there."
The story stated that the 13 marked assemblymen "have either sided with Pataki in past battles, shown a general reluctance to raise taxes, or have demonstrated a willingness to stand up to the Assemblys Democratic leadership."
Scarborough has clashed with the Legislatures leadership in the past. He opposed the Legislatures decision to eliminate school boards, but that judgment alone doesnt ensure hell side with the governors budget, Scarborough said.
"There are programs in the governors budget that I will not turn my back on," he said.
One of those programs is the Pre-K curriculum that will be eliminated if the governor gets his way. Scarborough recently visited the Sunshine Learning Center in St. Albans, a state-funded service for children ages two through five. Maudlyn Spencer, the schools director, said many parents send their children to the learning center because they cant afford childcare services. "Without this program, how are the parents going to care for their children?" she asked.
"The Pre-K program is fantastic because it gives kids the opportunity to learn at an early age and they can take that with them when they get older," Scarborough said. "It generates enthusiasm among the parents. Everyone loves it. To cut something like this is ridiculous. It makes no sense."
Fredric Dicker, reached at the Posts office in Albany, said that he was simply reporting what Republican sources had told him. "Scarborough was described as being politically independent," Dicker said. "The sources that I spoke with said that he was one of the politicians who might be won over."