There may be a slight thawing in the cold war between Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno (R-Brunswick).
Speaking to business executives here last week, Bruno said he was cautiously optimistic that past bitterness could be put aside in favor of bolstering upstate’s flagging economy, something both men say is a top priority. “I really am in a frame of mind that I just want to be nice. I really want to be nice,” Bruno said.
Later, he told reporters that he and Democrat Spitzer recently spoke on the telephone, the first direct communication in months outside of the governor’s condolences after the death of the senator’s wife on Jan. 7. “We have got to move forward and get things done,” Bruno said. “He says he wants to do it. I want to do it.”
For his part, Spitzer lauded the contributions of Republican senators for the second time in two weeks, singling out several for praise in his State of Upstate speech.
James T. Madore