{"id":544,"date":"2026-08-05T21:48:48","date_gmt":"2026-08-05T21:48:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=544"},"modified":"2026-08-05T21:48:48","modified_gmt":"2026-08-05T21:48:48","slug":"pataki-urges-candidates-to-accept-gubernatorial-election-results","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessrelocationdigest.com\/?p=544","title":{"rendered":"Pataki urges candidates to accept gubernatorial election results"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

For just a few hours Wednesday morning, Old Albany came back to life, with sophisticated dress, food and cocktails and a man in the corner crooning Frank Sinatra\u2019s greatest hits. The occasion: a ribbon-cutting ceremony morning to honor the former governor and dedicate the new Gov. George E. Pataki Center in Albany\u2019s Center Square neighborhood.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Editor\u2019s note: My slightly scary upstate swing<\/a><\/p>\n

But the bipartisan smattering was a return to the Albany of yesterday, complete with pre-MAGA Republican politics, for another reason: Former Gov. George Pataki wants Republicans and Democrats in the state to accept the results of November\u2019s gubernatorial election after Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman\u2019s suggested last week that Democrats will likely \u201csteal\u201d the election to win, and said he\u2019ll only accept the outcome if it\u2019s \u201cfair.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking with reporters after the ceremony, Pataki wouldn\u2019t denounce Blakeman\u2019s recent claim that Democrats would cheat in November. \u201cI certainly hope not,\u201d he said when asked if he agreed with Blakeman\u2019s assertion. But Pataki stressed that it\u2019s important for both parties to accept the election results. \u201cWhoever wins, wins, and the election\u2019s over,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s quite the contrast from Blakeman, Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s Republican challenger, who sowed distrust in the state\u2019s election system last week \u2013 echoing a tactic of President Donald Trump\u2019s. Blakeman refused to say he\u2019ll accept the election results regardless of the outcome, and that his campaign expects Democrats to cheat, and said he will fight back.\u00a0<\/p>\n

But asked about Pataki\u2019s more democratic comments on the subject, Blakeman neither doubled down, nor changed his tune. \u201cThat\u2019s a ridiculous question. Of course, I will accept the results of the election because I’m going to win,\u201d he said before turning on his heel to leave.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Blakeman did not attend the dedication ceremony, but had lunch with Pataki and some of his former top aides in Saratoga on Wednesday afternoon. Pataki, the state\u2019s last Republican governor, threw his support behind Blakeman earlier this year and said they talk occasionally. He wouldn\u2019t share what advice he\u2019s given Blakeman as he tries to unseat Hochul. \u201cIt\u2019s not about a Republican beating a Democrat or a Democrat beating a Republican, it\u2019s about you being able to make people\u2019s lives better, and I would just run a campaign based on that,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Read more Darcel Clark is focused on preventing youth crime before prosecuting it<\/a><\/p>\n

In that spirit, politicians from both sides of the aisle attended Wednesday\u2019s ceremony. Former Albany Mayor Jerry Jennings and Gov. Kathy Hochul\u2019s Secretary Karen Persichilli Keogh gave remarks, and Red Apple Group Chair and CEO John Catsimatidis was in the crowd, along with state Budget Director Blake Washington, state Sens. Pat Fahy and Jake Ashby, Assembly Members John McDonald III and Scott Bendett.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cAs governor, you built a foundation for this state that we continue to benefit from, and it\u2019s a real credit to you in so many areas,\u201d Keogh said. She then jokingly thanked the former governor for his role in the landmark case Silver v. Pataki, which legally cemented the executive\u2019s overarching authority in the state budget process.<\/p>\n

The new center, located next to the state Republican Party headquarters on Spring Street, marks the first building to be named for Pataki, who served as the 53rd governor of the state from 1995 through 2006. The nonprofit, operated by Committee for the Governor George E. Pataki Leadership and Learning Center Inc., aims to help young people interested in government.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Pataki said both parties must put politics aside after an election in order to govern. \u201cThe election should not be the end, the election should be the beginning,\u201d he said. \u201cThat happens after you win, and too often, people in politics see it the other way around.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Concerned about e-bikes? Julie Menin is looking into them<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a new building in his honor, former Gov. 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