But that was just the beginning. The political system of payoffs
was deeply entrenched and a change of laundry at the top of the
flagpole was certainly not going to change the system of payoffs
that had worked so well for so long. Cleveland’s character was
tested early on when the Common Council (city council) voted to
accept the highest bidder for the job of cleaning the streets,
rather than the lowest. The high bidder had political
connections, and this was his payoff. When Cleveland uncovered
the scam, he vetoed the move, stating: I regard it as the
culmination of a most bare-faced impudent and shameless scheme
to betray the interests of the people, and to worse than
squander the public money. As Cleveland’s reputation of honesty
grew, so did the interest of the Democrat party to push him up
the ladder to higher office. In 1882, Cleveland ran for governor
of the State of New York, and won in a walk. And he also
continued to veto bills not to his liking. During his first two
months in office, he vetoed eigh