Election 2002
New York Governor
At Pataki Headquarters, New Allies Abound
By Vinnee Tong
Nov. 5 -- A union member, a Latino, and a Democrat from Brooklyn, Silas Quinonez is not your traditional George Pataki supporter. But on Election Night he sipped ginger ale and cheered along with the crowd at the victory party in a midtown Manhattan hotel for New York's incumbent Republican governor, who had just won his third term.
Quinonez, a 42-year-old painter, has generally supported politicians like New York Senators Hillary Clinton and Charles Schumer, both Democrats. In fact, he said, he had only been a Pataki backer for three months. Still, Quinonez and other members of his union -- the International Union of Painters and Allied Trades, which has a statewide membership of more than 100,000 workers -- came to the governor's party dressed in black T-shirts with the slogan, "IUPAT Win with Pataki."
"In this case, we're not Democrats or Republicans," said Quinonez, an immigrant from Guatemala. "We're going with the person that's going to work with us."
Quinonez was not the only one to cross party lines in support of Pataki. Randi Weingarten, president of the United Federation of Teachers, which represents 140,000 educators across the state, appeared onstage with the governor, who claimed victory in a 10-minute speech just before 11:30 p.m. Nearby Weingarten stood longtime Democrat and former Mayor Ed Koch.
"To all the Democrats who crossed party lines to support me," Pataki said in his victory speech, "thank you."
Pataki specifically thanked Dennis Rivera, president of the state's largest health-care union, 1199 Service Employees International Union. He said of Rivera, there is "no harder worker or more loyal friend." Support like Rivera's provided Pataki with help outside the governor's own party and is a political necessity in a state when Democrats outnumber Republicans by 5-to-3 ratio.
By 10:20 p.m. on Election Night, CNN had called the race for Pataki. As of midnight and with 96 percent of precincts reporting, Pataki had 50 percent of the vote. Pataki's Democratic opponent H. Carl McCall had 33 percent, and Independent Party candidate B. Thomas Golisano had 14 percent. Final results won't be certified for 25 days.
Pataki's supporters at the party cheered, danced to music, drank beer, sipped wine and waved blue-and-white Pataki signs. The mood was jubilant, with supporters trickling in after polls closed at 9 p.m. Many of the party's attendees said a Pataki victory was a foregone conclusion. Quinonez said he had expected a Pataki victory with a certainty of "100 percent."
Joined onstage by his wife, daughter, mother, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and others, the governor spoke to about 500 supporters in the Grand Ballroom on the third floor of the Hilton on Sixth Avenue and 53rd Street.
"I have to thank every one of the 19 million people in New York for their confidence," Pataki said. "There are no stronger people than New Yorkers. When we stand together, we can accomplish miracles."
The Pataki win concluded a yearlong campaign in the three-way race. McCall, the state comptroller and the first black gubernatorial candidate in New York, posed an early threat to Pataki running in the heavily Democratic New York state with strong support from former President Bill Clinton and Sen. Hillary Clinton. The Clintons stayed with McCall, campaigning with him right up to Election Day. But, the McCall campaign depleted resources fighting Andrew Cuomo, the son of former governor Mario Cuomo, in the September primary. Meanwhile, Pataki prepared for the general election, raising money and ultimately outspending McCall in the most expensive non-presidential campaign in American political history.
The Pataki campaign appeared more sure of a victory in recent weeks as polls showed the governor possessed a sturdy lead over his two opponents. Pataki television advertisements running in the last week carried the slogan, "The choice is clear." And, campaign workers answering phones at the governor's headquarters picked up with a simple, one-word greeting: "Victory."
After the Tuesday-night party wound down, Pataki set off to begin his third term in Albany. Quinonez said he expects the governor to create more union jobs, delivering on the promises he made during the campaign.
Before heading home to Brooklyn, Quinonez added: "He better."
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