When Rep. Gregory Meeks reached out to Gov. David Paterson last September to convey concerns the White House was having about the governor’s re-election, many saw the move as the Obama administration’s most overt attempt to muscle Paterson out of the race, in favor of a much safer candidate in Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

But Meeks said it was merely his role as a concerned New Yorker, and as a concerned Democrat. And any private conversations he has had with Paterson, or President Obama for that matter, will remain private.

Having just returned from Massachusetts, where he stumped for failed Senate candidate Martha Coakley, Meeks discussed the 2010 races, the media’s love for political gossip and what his gut is telling him about the governor’s race.

City Hall: How did you get involved in the conversations between the White House and Governor Paterson about his re-election?

Greg Meeks: Well, I’m a concerned New Yorker, but I happen to be a friend of the governor, and I support and work very closely with the administration and the president. I’ve had several conversations with the governor on a number of occasions. This was again a private and off-the-record kind of conversation that should not have been public, so I’m not going to talk about the substance of it at all. However, you know, I’m in Washington, D.C. I support and want to be helpful to the President of the United States. I’m in New York. The governor is my friend and we got to make sure that we move forward in that regard, to the degree that we could do the best things for the country and the best things for our city and state. However I can be helpful there, I will always be helpful.

CH: Is the White House too involved in New York politics?

GM: You know what…without getting into the substance of my conversation with the governor, the White House is not telling the governor to run or not to run. At least that’s not what my conversation with the governor was about. And the White House has, I believe, gotten involved in several other races all over the country. I can recall when President Clinton was here, and I can recall President Bush and Republican states, they’re all concerned.

There’s a lot at stake. It affects the White House, how many senators [we have], as the race in Massachusetts indicates. It affects the White House’s agenda, how many Democratic governors that we have. We have a reapportionment coming up, and that affects the White House agenda. So the White House has concerns in that regard, so they’re doing what they have to do. That’s what a president should do.

CH: Do you still have personal concerns about the governor’s re-election this year?

GM: I mean you have to look at the total picture here because you got to make sure that we are successful, as I was just talking about, in November. And I think the governor would say the same thing. Anytime you look at a candidate, you got to look at the candidate, you got to look at the situation. … I would be the first to say that the governor may have been given a bad hand, just as the president has been given a bad hand to a larger degree. However, we’ve got to figure out how we win in November. What’s the best way? And so, I think that we’ll talk to the governor, going to talk to a number of other folks and try and figure this out. We all got to get together. There’s just so much on the line. I don’t want to go back in the minority. I’ve got to make sure that we maintain all the seats that we have in the House. I want to make sure that we win the Senate seat, retain the Senate seat. I want to make sure that we keep the gubernatorial [seat]. … I want to make sure that we keep the majority for the first time in the State Senate.

CH: Governor Paterson was criticized recently for defending Wall Street bonuses. Do you think he has struck the right tone about the financial industry?

GM: Well, I think that if the governor is saying that we don’t want Wall Street to go away, if the governor says that Wall Street helps Main Street and needs to explain how Wall Street helps Main Street because of the tax revenue, it means that we have more people, more jobs created for the Sanitation Department, more fire fighters, more health care workers, etc. That goes into that, but also, I think, that it has to be clearly understood that Wall Street can’t absolve itself from all of the wrong. And that we’ve got to make sure that we fix that and correct that. And that the practice of what Wall Street or how Wall Street was acting cannot continue to go on. So there’s got to be significant changes. But Wall Street has to remain competitive. It has to remain profit-making because of the jobs they do create, not only in the financial services area, but the ancillary jobs that are created as a result of Wall Street being in New York. And I might add that when you look at the services industry, that’s where most of New York’s jobs really are. And the jobs of the future will be in the service industry. We’ve got to protect those kinds of jobs and create those kinds of jobs, and that’s what keeps us competitive globally, because when you look globally, even in trade, we have a trade surplus in service industry jobs as opposed to anything else. So looking towards the future, that’s the way we have to go.

CH: What’s your take on the Queens County Party right now? Do you see any room for improvement?

GM: I think that, again, the Queens County organization and my good friend and colleague Joe Crowley did a fair and good job last year. … I think that what we have to do is to make sure that we’re reaching out to the broader base of candidates and individuals when there are open seats, because that’s what you’re looking at in the Queens County, the elections that you’re talking about, and be able to get individuals at an earlier stage involved in politics. I mean, I’m focused, for example, on making sure that we have more young people involved and engaged in politics. What we’re doing is we’re trying to put on mixers and different forums that would attract young people to come in, to get them involved in politics the way I got involved in politics at a young age. And I think that is what helps strengthen the county organizations and politics in general in Queens County.

CH: How do you make your endorsement decisions?

GM: Well, number one, I try to get to know the individuals, and try to get to know something about his or her views, if I don’t know already. What they stand for, who they are as a person. That’s important. Number two, I look at, overall, the politics of the situation. When I say politics, I want to make sure we have the right person at the right time to win so that we can move on with a progressive policy that I think my constituents would want to move. … You try to get that general feel of the person. And once you do that, and you look at the overall scenario, then it’s the gut a lot of the times. What’s in your gut? What’s your instinct? I have found in this business that I cannot ignore my instinct. Every time I’ve done that I’ve regretted it.

CH: So what’s your gut telling you about the governor’s race this year?

GM: My gut tells me I haven’t decided yet. Still digesting.

—Andrew J. Hawkins