The grandson of two Caribbean nationals is posed to become the new governor of New York following Wednesday’s resignation of Governor Eliot Spitzer. Lieutenant Governor David A. Paterson (Born May 20, 1954) will be sworn in on Monday March 17 as New York‘s 55th governor; the first African American and the first legally blind governor to hold this position. Paterson will replace Spitzer who announced his resignation following revelations that he was involved in a prostitution ring.
Paterson’s grand parent’s heritage stretches back to Jamaica and Grenada.Paterson was born to politics. His father, Basil, represented the same Harlem district that his son later did, and ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor in 1970. He was also a former New York State senator. “I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me. To every New Yorker, and to all those who believed in what I tried to stand for, I sincerely apologize,” Spitzer said. As news of Spitzer’s departure spread Wednesday, Paterson begun to reach out to the state’s senior Democrats, including presidential candidate Senator Hillary Clinton and Congressman Charles B. Rangel, a fellow Harlem Democrat and strong advocate for the Caribbean, who has long ties to the Paterson’s family. An aide said that David Paterson’s office has been “flooded with calls of support from the state’s elected officials of both Democratic and Republican parties, friends and ordinary New Yorkers who wish him well and to offer their support and prayers.” Paterson is said to be liked and respected by leading figures in both parties, but is also considered untested. David A. Paterson was elected lieutenant governor of New York in November 2006 on the ticket led by Eliot Spitzer.
Mr. Spitzer’s resignation on March 12, 2008 over a prostitution scandal suddenly left Mr. Paterson in line to succeed him, with a swearing in ceremony on March 17th at the state capitol, Albany, New York.Previously, Mr. Paterson had served as the minority leader of the state Senate. The scion of a prominent Harlem political family, Mr. Paterson was left legally blind by an infection as an infant and worked as a prosecutor before entering politics. Mr. Paterson’s decision to become Mr. Spitzer’s running mate stunned many in Albany.
With the growing strength of Democrats in statewide elections, it seemed only a matter of time before his party took over the chamber, allowing him to join the ruling triumvirate in Albany and take his seat with the governor and the Assembly speaker to decide between them how New York State is governed. By contrast, the lieutenant governor’s post brings with it no power and little prestige. Mr. Paterson explained the decision in terms of the few lieutenant governors who had been given a real role, saying he wanted to be an “extension” of Mr. Spitzer. Others close to him spoke of the enviable position he would be in if there was a chance to move up. They were not, however, thinking of Mr. Spitzer. What they had in mind primarily was the chance Hillary Clinton’s senate seat were to become vacant — if for instance, she were to become president — meaning that the governor would appoint a replacement to complete her term. Mr. Paterson has demonstrated political skills and good timing in the past; he became the minority leader in the Senate by pulling off a coup, which is a rare feat in Albany.
As the leader of the Democratic minority in the Senate, Mr. Paterson has tried to make up for his lack of power with wit, flurries of reform proposals and unusual bursts of candor, a combination that has made him a quotable presence in a Capitol where such leaders are often ignored as irrelevant. He worked on making inroads with national Democrats, traveling to Washington to meet with Congressional leaders. And here, where much of what passes for legislative humor is of the backslapping variety, Mr. Paterson’s stands out. Take his request at a recent news conference on government reform. “Anyone else in this Capitol that’s telling you about the reform that they’re doing, I want you to give me their names, we’re going to bring them to this conference room, and we’re going to beat them up,” he said, with a straight face. The younger Mr. Paterson was raised at the knees of much of Harlem’s old guard. He also grew up legally blind, after an infection as an infant that left him totally without sight in his left eye and with severely limited sight in his right. His family moved to Long Island, where they found a school that agreed to educate him in regular classrooms. He graduated from high school in three years, went to college at Columbia and graduated from Hofstra Law School. When he was elected Senate minority leader, Mr. Paterson recalled the discrimination he had suffered because he is disabled. “So I have had this desire my whole life to prove people wrong, to show them I could do things they didn’t think I could do,” he said. “This is just another.” .
