May 28--ALBANY -- Gov. David Paterson has threatened to wield his veto pen, saying he will block any new measures from the Legislature that increase spending.

"If there is any legislation this year that calls for more spending ... I will veto it, and they will not be able to override my veto," Paterson said Wednesday during an interview with John Gambling on WOR-AM.

He repeated that stance in a morning meeting at the Capitol with legislative leaders.

Paterson's fellow Democrats reacted with equanimity to the threat, and tried to downplay any intraparty strife.

Senate Democratic Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, for instance, noted they were working on a potentially cost-saving plan to give voters more power in consolidating special districts.

And Dan Weiller, spokesman for the Assembly's Democratic majority, said they will continue to work with the governor.

Paterson's remarks had insiders scratching their heads, wondering why a governor facing record low poll numbers would go out of his way to hint at a potentially bruising battle with lawmakers in his own party.

Adding to the concern by Democrats was the fact that the state's top Republican, Senate Minority Leader Dean Skelos, has said he would stand with the governor to uphold such vetoes. With Republicans in control of 30 of the Senate's 62 seats, they could deny the two-thirds needed for a veto override.

Paterson also urged lawmakers to take up and pass a spending cap he has proposed but which Democrats have resisted. The cap would limit budget increases to an average of the last three years of inflation.

That initiative wasn't the first the governor has pushed for in recent weeks only to find himself without legislative allies.

On Tuesday, Paterson proposed the creation of a new ethics commission that would oversee the Legislature as well as lobbying activities and state agencies. While governors usually put forth new proposals while surrounded by lawmakers in a show of support, in this instance Paterson announced the plan by himself.

Paterson's call for a new ethics commission also came after he said members of the Commission on Public Integrity should resign following a scathing report by the state Inspector General. Commission members, who are appointed by both the governor and lawmakers, defied Paterson and said they would stay -- and legislative leaders backed them up.

Unlike the call for resignations, the promise of a veto has some wiggle room, especially since the state's budget has already been approved.

Moreover, veto override battles are relatively rare, typically being ignited by big-ticket items such as the more than $1 billion in school aid cuts that former Gov. George Pataki tried to impose in 2003, only to be overridden.

Bills that pass after the completion of the budget generally have a relatively small cost. And when the cost rises, a veto doesn't necessarily lead to war.

Last year, for instance, Paterson vetoed a lead paint abatement bill due to the project's projected annual cost of $20 million, and there was no hue-and-cry among lawmakers.

Some lawmakers and observers said they realized the governor has to talk tough on spending given the bad economy and the probable need to cut billions from next year's budget.

"That's what they teach you in governor's school," remarked Assemblyman Richard Gottfried, D-New York City. "You've got to do things like this."

Edmund McMahon, director of the Empire Center for New York State Policy, said the best test of Paterson's veto pen will come next year.

"The real battle he will have to have is setting limits in the (2010-2011) budget," said McMahon.

Rick Karlin can be reached at (518) 454-5758 or rkarlin@timesunion.com.

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