ALBANY—Michael Bloomberg has refused to involve himself directly in attempts to fix the broken-down State Senate—his track record in the Capitol is, well, bad—but he is publicly boosting David Paterson's efforts, and is now calling on the governor to do more.

"Tonight a proposal was put forth asking the Governor to help negotiate a resolution within the deadlocked State Senate," Michelle Goldstein, the head Bloomberg's lobbying office in Albany, said in a Wednesday evening statement. "The Governor has been a consistent leader since the Senate stopped functioning, keeping the focus on State and City priorities. The Mayor would support any effort by the Governor to mediate this dispute and allow legislation, including mayoral control of schools and critical budget issues, to come to the floor."

Structurally, Paterson is the logical person to try and broker this fight, but he has so far insisted he does not believe it is proper for him to get involved. He is also perceived by most political players as weak, with approval ratings hovering around 20 percent, and lacking the stature to compel senators to do much of anything. They, in turn, seem to be able to agree only on their willingness to bash Paterson.

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