Talking Policy and Philosophy

By THOMAS KAPLAN

Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo is looking for ideas.

After checking off many items from his campaign agenda during his first two legislative sessions, Mr. Cuomo, a Democrat, convened his first gubernatorial “policy conference” in Manhattan on Wednesday with the purpose of brainstorming initiatives to tackle during the second half of his term.

Mr. Cuomo, who usually avoids talking about Democratic politics and plans to skip the bulk of his party's convention next month, used the gathering as a moment to philosophize about the role of government.

“Fundamentally, the Democratic Party believes in government,” Mr. Cuomo said, adding, “The Democrat is arguing that the government as a vehicle for the collective can make a difference, and that we should try to do that â€" that it's not enough to strive for individual success, and a series of individual successes. We can do better, together.”

The conference, held in a ballroom at the Sheraton New York Hotel and Towers in Midtown, was co-sponsored by the State Democratic Party; the Center for American Progress Action Fund, a liberal advocacy group; and Third Way, an advocacy group of centrist Democrats. The event stirred speculation that Mr. Cuomo was trying to raise his profile in national Democratic circles, but it ended up being a relatively modest gathering: when Mr. Cuomo spoke, many of the attendees were his own aides. And much of the day's discussion was technical, not political, in nature, centered on PowerPoint slides and peppered with industry jargon.

In the morning, Mr. Cuomo sat with his teenage daughter Cara at a table in the front of the room and observed two panel discussions â€" one about leveraging scientific and technological innovations from academic research to spur economic growth, moderated by David J. Skorton, the president of Cornell University, and another about environmenta l-sector jobs, which included among its participants Bill Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico and federal energy secretary.

Two demonstrators opposed to hydraulic fracturing interrupted the energy panel and were removed by the governor's security detail. Scores of hydrofracking protesters also lined the sidewalk opposite the hotel to urge Mr. Cuomo not to approve the use of the controversial form of gas drilling.

Mr. Cuomo left at lunchtime. In the afternoon, John Podesta, the chairman of the Center for American Progress Action Fund and a former White House chief of staff for President Clinton, led a panel discussion on campaign finance reform, which Mr. Cuomo has indicated will be one of his priorities for the rest of his term.

All three panels included a significant amount of praise for Mr. Cuomo, but there was little talk of his future as a possible contender for his party's presidential nomination. The only panelist to break that rule was Mr. Richardson, a former Democratic presidential hopeful himself. On the jobs panel, he highlighted Iowa as a state with a community college system that was training young people for jobs in renewable energy, and then said to Mr. Cuomo, “You'll learn a little bit about Iowa in the future.” The audience laughed uncomfortably.