David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 55th governor of New York, succeeding Eliot Spitzer and serving out nearly three years of Spitzer's term from March 2008 to December 2010. A member of the Democratic Party, he is the first

legally blind Visual impairment, also known as vision impairment, is a medical definition primarily measured based on an individual's better eye visual acuity; in the absence of treatment such as correctable eyewear, assistive devices, and medical treatment� ...

person to be sworn in as governor of a U.S. state, and is the first

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

governor of New York. Following his graduation from

Hofstra Law School The Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University (commonly known as Hofstra Law) is a law school located in Hempstead, New York on Long Island, affiliated with Hofstra University. Founded in 1970 and accredited by the ABA in 1971, the sc ...

, Paterson worked in the District Attorney's office of Queens County, New York, and on the staff of

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

borough president

David Dinkins David Norman Dinkins (July 10, 1927 – November 23, 2020) was an American politician, lawyer, and author who served as the 106th mayor of New York City from 1990 to 1993. He was the first African American to hold the office. Before enteri ...

. In 1985, he was elected to the New York State Senate to a seat once held by his father, former

New York secretary of state The secretary of state of New York is a cabinet officer in the government of the U.S. state of New York who leads the Department of State (NYSDOS). The current secretary of state of New York is Robert J. Rodriguez, a Democrat. Duties The secre ...

Basil Paterson. In 2003, he rose to the position of

Senate minority leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...

. Paterson was selected to be the

running mate A running mate is a person running together with another person on a joint ticket during an election. The term is most often used in reference to the person in the subordinate position (such as the vice presidential candidate running with a pr ...

of Democratic gubernatorial nominee Eliot Spitzer in the

2006 New York gubernatorial election The 2006 New York gubernatorial election took place on November 7, 2006, to elect the governor and lieutenant governor of New York, concurrently with elections to the United States Senate in other states and elections to the United States House ...

. Spitzer and Paterson were elected with 65% of the vote, and Paterson took office as lieutenant governor on January 1, 2007. After Spitzer resigned in the wake of a prostitution scandal, Paterson was sworn in as governor of New York state on March 17, 2008. Paterson held the office of governor during the

Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...

, and he implemented state budget cuts. Paterson also made two significant appointments: In January 2009, he appointed then-U.S. representative

Kirsten Gillibrand Kirsten Elizabeth Gillibrand (; ; born December 9, 1966) is an American lawyer and politician serving as the junior United States senator from New York since 2009. A member of the Democratic Party, she served as member of the U.S. House of ...

to a vacant U.S. Senate seat, and in July 2009, he appointed

Richard Ravitch Richard Ravitch (born July 7, 1933) is an American politician and businessman who served as Lieutenant Governor of New York from 2009 to 2010. He was appointed to the position in July 2009 by New York Governor David Paterson. A native of New Yo ...

as lieutenant governor. Paterson launched a campaign for a full term as governor in the

2010 New York gubernatorial election The 2010 New York gubernatorial election was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2010. Incumbent Democratic Governor David Paterson, elected as lieutenant governor in 2006 as the running mate of Eliot Spitzer, chose not to run for a full term. Democra ...

, but announced on February 26, 2010, that he would bow out of the race. During the final year of his administration, Paterson faced allegations of witness tampering, soliciting improper gifts, and making false statements; he was eventually fined for perjury. Since leaving office, Paterson has been a radio talk show host and chairman of the

New York Democratic Party The New York State Democratic Committee is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New York. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, and it has an office in Albany.Black, Blind, & in Charge: A Story of Visionary Leadership and Overcoming Adversity''.

Early life and background

Paterson was born in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

, New York, to Portia Hairston Paterson, a homemaker, and Basil Paterson, a labor law attorney. Basil Paterson was later a New York state senator for

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Ha ...

, Secretary of State under

Hugh Carey Hugh Leo Carey (April 11, 1919 – August 7, 2011) was an American politician and attorney. He was a seven-term U.S. representative from 1961 to 1974 and the 51st governor of New York from 1975 to 1982. He was a member of the Democratic Part ...

, and deputy mayor of New York City for

Ed Koch Edward Irving Koch ( ; December 12, 1924February 1, 2013) was an American politician, lawyer, political commentator, film critic, and television personality. He served in the United States House of Representatives from 1969 to 1977 and was ma ...

. According to a ''New York Now'' interview, Paterson traces his roots on his mother's side of the family to pre-

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

African American slaves in the states of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

and

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

. His paternal grandmother, a

Jamaica Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...

n, Evangeline Rondon Paterson was secretary to Black Nationalist leader

Marcus Garvey Marcus Mosiah Garvey Sr. (17 August 188710 June 1940) was a Jamaican political activist, publisher, journalist, entrepreneur, and orator. He was the founder and first President-General of the Universal Negro Improvement Association and African ...

. His paternal grandfather was Leonard James Paterson, a native of

Carriacou Carriacou is an island of the Grenadine Islands. It is a dependency of Grenada, and is located in the south-eastern Caribbean Sea, northeast of the island Grenada and the north coast of South America. The name is derived from the Carib lang ...

who arrived in the United States aboard the S.S. ''Vestris'' on May 16, 1917. It was reported by The Genetic Genealogist in March 2008 that Paterson had recently undergone genetic

genealogy Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

testing. Part of his father's ancestry consists of immigrants from England, Ireland, and Scotland, while his mother's side includes Eastern European Jewish ancestry, as well as ancestors from the

Guinea-Bissau Guinea-Bissau ( ; pt, Guiné-Bissau; ff, italic=no, 𞤘𞤭𞤲𞤫 𞤄𞤭𞤧𞤢𞥄𞤱𞤮, Gine-Bisaawo, script=Adlm; Mandinka: ''Gine-Bisawo''), officially the Republic of Guinea-Bissau ( pt, República da Guiné-Bissau, links=no ), ...

region of West Africa. At the age of three months, Paterson contracted an ear infection that spread to his

optic nerve In neuroanatomy, the optic nerve, also known as the second cranial nerve, cranial nerve II, or simply CN II, is a paired cranial nerve that transmits visual information from the retina to the brain. In humans, the optic nerve is derived fro ...

, leaving him sightless in his left eye and with severely limited vision in his right. Since New York City public schools would not guarantee him an education without placing him in

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

classes, his family bought a home in the Long Island suburb of

South Hempstead South Hempstead is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) in the Town of Hempstead in Nassau County, on Long Island, in New York, United States. The population was 3,243 at the 2010 census. History South Hempstead's name reflects its geogra ...

so that he could attend mainstream classes there. Paterson was the first student with a disability in the Hempstead public schools, graduating from Hempstead High School in 1971.

Education

Paterson earned a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

in history from Columbia College of

Columbia University Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...

in 1977 and a Juris Doctor from

in 1983. After law school, he went to work for the

Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...

District Attorney's Office, but did not pass the New York

bar examination A bar examination is an examination administered by the bar association of a jurisdiction that a lawyer must pass in order to be admitted to the bar of that jurisdiction. Australia Administering bar exams is the responsibility of the bar associ ...

, which prevented him from becoming an attorney at law. He claimed that his failing the New York bar was partially the result of insufficient accommodation for his visual impairment, and has since advocated for changes in bar exam procedures.

New York State Senate (1985–2006)

On August 6, 1985, state senator Leon Bogues died, and Paterson obtained the Democratic party nomination for the seat. In mid-September, a meeting of 648 Democratic committee members on the first ballot gave Paterson 58% of the vote, giving him the party nomination. That October, Paterson won the virtually uncontested special

State Senate A state legislature in the United States is the legislative body of any of the 50 U.S. states. The formal name varies from state to state. In 27 states, the legislature is simply called the ''Legislature'' or the ''State Legislature'', whil ...

election. At the time, the 29th Senate district covered the Manhattan neighborhoods of

, Manhattan Valley and the

Upper West Side The Upper West Side (UWS) is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded by Central Park on the east, the Hudson River on the west, West 59th Street to the south, and West 110th Street to the north. The Upper West ...

, the same district that Paterson's father had represented. He was re-elected ten times, and remained in the state senate until 2006, sitting in the 186th, 187th, 188th,

189th 189th may refer to: *189th (Canadien-Français) Battalion, CEF, a unit in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the First World War *189th Airlift Squadron, a unit of the Idaho Air National Guard that flies the C-130 Hercules *189th Airlift Wing, ...

, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th, 195th, and 196th New York State Legislatures. Paterson briefly ran in the Democratic primary for the office of

New York City Public Advocate The office of New York City Public Advocate (President of the City Council) is a citywide elected position in New York City, which is first in line to succeed the mayor. The office serves as a direct link between the electorate and city government ...

in 1993, but was defeated by Mark J. Green.

Senate minority leader (2003–2006)

Paterson was elected Minority Leader by the Senate Democratic Conference on November 20, 2002, becoming both the first non-white state legislative leader and the highest-ranking black elected official in the history of New York. Paterson unseated the incumbent minority leader, Martin Connor. Paterson became known for his consensus-building style and sharp political skills. Describing Paterson's tenure in the Senate, ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' cited his "wit, flurries of reform proposals and unusual bursts of candor".

2006 gubernatorial election

In 2006, Paterson was selected by New York attorney general and Democratic gubernatorial candidate Eliot Spitzer as his running mate. The news stunned the New York political world, as the Democratic minority was poised to possibly take over the state legislature. Paterson traded the possibility of becoming Senate majority leader for the opportunity to hold the largely ceremonial lieutenant governor post. During their 2006 campaign, Paterson resolved a dispute with Spitzer over turf wars between staff members. The Spitzer–Paterson ticket won a landslide victory in the election, with 65.7% of the vote. It was the largest margin of victory in a gubernatorial race in New York history, and the second-largest for any statewide race in New York history. In late December 2006, shortly before being sworn in as lieutenant governor, Paterson said that if he ever succeeded Spitzer as governor, he and Nelson A. Rockefeller would have something besides the governorship in common: great difficulty in reading. Rockefeller was dyslexic, and Paterson compared this to his own blindness.

Lieutenant Governor of New York (2007–2008)

Paterson took office as lieutenant governor on January 1, 2007.

Stem cell research

Paterson led Spitzer's successful 2007 legislative effort to approve a bond issue which will provide at least $1 billion toward stem cell research. Spitzer and Paterson touted the measure partly for its

economic development In the economics study of the public sector, economic and social development is the process by which the economic well-being and quality of life of a nation, region, local community, or an individual are improved according to targeted goals and ...

benefits, following California's $3 billion effort, which in turn had been prompted by the U.S. federal government halting funding for such research.

Voting rights

In September 2007, Paterson weighed in on a proposal before the New York City Council to extend voting rights to noncitizens. He told a crowd gathered at the West Indian American Day Carnival Parade that he believed noncitizens should be granted voting rights. He stressed he was asking for a change in policy, rather than a new law, citing that although 22 states and territories between 1776 and 1920 allowed the practice, none do now. Spitzer issued a statement that he did not agree with Paterson's position, and said he was unaware Paterson would be speaking on the matter. Paterson had tried to introduce legislation granting voting rights to noncitizens as a State Senator fifteen years earlier.

Reverse discrimination lawsuit

In February 2008, a U.S. District Judge denied a motion to dismiss a

racial discrimination Racial discrimination is any discrimination against any individual on the basis of their skin color, race or ethnic origin.Individuals can discriminate by refusing to do business with, socialize with, or share resources with people of a certain g ...

lawsuit naming Paterson.
Slip Copy, 2008 WL 398483 (N.D.N.Y.). February 12, 2007. United States District Court, N.D. New York. Maioriello v. New York. (Joseph MAIORIELLO, Plaintiff, v. NEW YORK State, New York State Senate, New York State Senate Minority, Defendants. N.D.N.Y., 2008. No. 1:05-CV-1062 (NAM/DRH)).

Governor of New York (2008–2010)

In the midst of a prostitution scandal, Governor Eliot Spitzer resigned his position effective March 17, 2008. Upon hearing that Spitzer intended to resign, Paterson called his then-wife Michelle and reportedly said, "I think I'll kill myself". Following Spitzer's resignation, Paterson was sworn in as the 55th governor of New York, at the

New York State Capitol The New York State Capitol, the seat of the New York state government, is located in Albany, the capital city of the U.S. state of New York. The capitol building is part of the Empire State Plaza complex on State Street in Capitol Park. Housi ...

on March 17, 2008, by New York chief judge

Judith Kaye Judith Ann Kaye ( Smith; August 4, 1938 – January 7, 2016) was an American lawyer, jurist and the longtime Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals, serving in that position from March 23, 1993, until December 31, 2008. She was the fir ...

. Paterson is the first black governor in the history of the state of New York and the fourth black governor in the history of the United States (the first three being the

Reconstruction Reconstruction may refer to: Politics, history, and sociology *Reconstruction (law), the transfer of a company's (or several companies') business to a new company *'' Perestroika'' (Russian for "reconstruction"), a late 20th century Soviet Unio ...

-era P. B. S. Pinchback of

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

's Douglas Wilder and

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

's Deval Patrick). The lieutenant governor's office remained vacant until September 22, 2009, when the New York Court of Appeals ruled in a 4–3 decision that Paterson's appointment of

was constitutional. David Paterson DNC 2008

Paterson is the second

governor of a U.S. state (the first was Bob C. Riley, who was acting governor of Arkansas for 11 days in January 1975). During his tenure, Paterson's staff read documents to him over voice mail. On July 17, 2008, Paterson was the keynote speaker addressing the 99th annual convention of the NAACP in

Cincinnati, Ohio Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...

. On October 24, 2008, Paterson's top aide, Charles J. O'Byrne, resigned from his post following the revelation that he owed nearly $300,000 in back taxes. O'Byrne admitted to having failed to pay taxes for five years. Although Paterson is a lifelong Democrat who was considered a liberal in the state Senate, he earned praise from conservatives during his time as governor for making major spending cuts; for providing mandate relief; for enacting an inflation-indexed property tax cap and a school tax "circuit breaker"; and for his appointment of Blue Dog Democrat

to a vacant seat in the

United States Senate The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States. The composition and pow ...

Executive Chamber

First days as governor

Paterson ascended to the governor's office during the busiest legislative period of the year. The state is required by law to pass its budget prior to April 1. He had only two weeks to negotiate with lawmakers a proposal to close a $4.7 billion deficit and pass a $124 billion budget from the Spitzer administration. He stated in his inauguration speech that it would be his top priority. Paterson made reference in his speech to the economic woes being faced in the United States, calling them a "crisis", and promised to "adjust the budget accordingly". Since 1984, New York State has only passed a budget on time once, in 2005, leading Paterson to call for an "end to the dysfunction in Albany" in his speech, echoing a 56-page study from the nonpartisan

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...

School of Law's Brennan Center for Justice, which referred to the legislature as "the least deliberative and most dysfunctional in the nation".Creelan, Jeremy and Moulton, Laura.
The New York State Legislative Process
. Brennan Center for Justice,

New York University School of Law New York University School of Law (NYU Law) is the law school of New York University, a private research university in New York City. Established in 1835, it is the oldest law school in New York City and the oldest surviving law school in N ...

. July 21, 2004. Retrieved on February 28, 2008. Paterson quickly signed five pieces of legislation on his first day in office: to add the New York State Department of Labor to the New York City Transit Track Safety Task Force; to eliminate a law that discouraged employers from holding blood drives; to change the way in which members are appointed to a state health and research board; to restore eligibility caps to certain senior employment programs; and to grant tax exemptions to several local development corporations in New York State. Paterson appointed

Christopher O. Ward Christopher Owen Ward (born 1954) is an American civil servant who served as executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from May 22, 2008, until November 1, 2011, and as New York City Department of Environmental Protecti ...

to be executive director of the Port Authority on May 22, 2008. Ward was successful in turning around construction at World Trade Center Site, and started the process of turning Farley Post Office into Moynihan Station.' One day after Paterson's inauguration as the governor of New York, both he and his wife acknowledged having had extramarital affairs, one with a state employee.

Same-sex marriage

In May 2008, Paterson informed New York State agencies that they were required to recognize

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

licenses from other jurisdictions for purposes of employee benefits. The governor's directive was purportedly based upon a decision from

New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division The Appellate Divisions of the Supreme Court of the State of New York are the intermediate appellate courts in New York State. There are four Appellate Divisions, one in each of the state's four Judicial Departments (e.g., the full title of the ...

's Fourth Department. The governor's directive did not receive widespread public attention until weeks after the directive was given. At that time, the governor's decision provoked public reaction on both sides of the issue. While Paterson's directive received widespread approval from same-sex marriage supporters, it was met with criticism from conservative legislators and from same-sex marriage opponents, one of whom referred to the directive as Paterson's "first major blunder" as governor. Then-Senate Majority Leader

Joseph Bruno Joseph Louis Bruno (April 8, 1929 – October 6, 2020) was an American businessman and Republican politician from upstate New York. Bruno served in the New York State Senate from 1977 to 2008 and was Senate Majority Leader from 1994 to 2008. Br ...

and others accused Paterson of having overstepped his bounds and usurped the authority of the legislature. Paterson reportedly described same-sex marriage as "beautiful," and contended that his decision was "the right thing to do"; the governor was enthusiastically cheered when he attended the 2008 gay pride parade in Manhattan. On June 3, 2008, a lawsuit was filed by the

Alliance Defense Fund Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF, formerly Alliance Defense Fund) is an American conservative Christian legal advocacy group that works to curtail rights for LGBTQ people; expand Christian practices within public schools and in government; and ...

challenging the governor's directive. On September 2, 2008, Justice Lucy A. Billings of the State Supreme Court in the Bronx issued a decision that Paterson acted within his powers when he required state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages from outside New York State. In her dismissal of the Alliance Defense Fund suit, Justice Billings found that the governor's order was consistent with state laws on the recognition of marriages from outside the state. In April 2009, it was revealed that Paterson would propose legislation to legalize

same-sex marriage in New York Same-sex marriage has been legally recognized in the U.S. state of New York since July 24, 2011 under the '' Marriage Equality Act''. The Act does not have a residency restriction, as some similar laws in other states do. It allows religious orga ...

. Paterson later tapped former Senate Majority Leader and former political foe

to support same-sex marriage in Albany. On December 2, 2009, same-sex marriage legislation was "overwhelmingly" defeated on the floor of the New York State Senate by a vote of 24 to 38; no Republican voted yes, eight Democrats voted no. The '' Daily News'' described the defeat as a "major blow", while ''The New York Times'' stated that the defeat "all but ensures that the issue is dead in New York until at least 2011, when a new Legislature will be installed." In late 2010, before the January 2011 expiration of his term as governor, Paterson reached out to members of the New York State Senate in an attempt to gauge support for the passage of same-sex marriage legislation during a lame-duck session of the

Legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make law Law is a set of rules that are created and are enforceable by social or governmental institutions to regulate behavior,Robertson, ''Crimes against humanity'', 90. with its p ...

; however, the governor came to the conclusion that passage of the bill during the lame-duck session was not feasible. When asked what would have to occur for same-sex marriage to be legalized in New York, Paterson responded, "Get rid of the lobbyists," and added that same-sex marriage advocates had "forced" a Senate floor vote prematurely in December 2009.

New York fiscal crisis

In March 2008, Paterson warned that New York state faced its worst fiscal crisis since 2001. On July 29, Paterson gave a rare televised address that was broadcast on all of New York's major news networks, stating that the state budget deficit had gone up $1.4 billion over the 90 days since his original budget submission, citing rising costs due to the poor economy and a struggling Wall Street, and calling the state legislature back to Albany for an emergency session starting on August 19, 2008. He also warned that the budget deficit was estimated to grow 22 percent by 2011. With

AIG American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...

on the verge of collapse on September 16, 2008, and in the aftermath of

Lehman Brothers Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. ( ) was an American global financial services firm founded in 1847. Before filing for bankruptcy in 2008, Lehman was the fourth-largest investment bank in the United States (behind Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, a ...

filing for bankruptcy, Paterson publicly lobbied for a government bailout of the insurance giant. He hit the cable networks early and was quoted by media around the world. Paterson revised Spitzer's record-size executive budget proposal to cut spending. Budget negotiations carried over past the deadline, causing the new governor to lament that too many lawmakers were "unwilling to make serious cuts to our budget". On April 10, 2008, a $121.7 billion budget package was passed by both houses of the state legislature. The budget closed a projected $4.6 billion deficit with $1.8 billion of spending cuts, $1.5 billion in additional revenue from increased taxes and fees and $1.3 billion of one time transfers, and did not tap into the state's $1.2 billion of reserves or increase the top income tax rate on those earning $1 million or more.Quint, Michael.
New York's Paterson, Lawmakers Agree on State Budget
".

Bloomberg L.P. Bloomberg L.P. is a privately held financial, software, data, and media company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was co-founded by Michael Bloomberg in 1981, with Thomas Secunda, Duncan MacMillan, Charles Zegar, and a 1 ...

April 9, 2008. Paterson's budget provided property tax relief, delivered aid to municipalities, and restored hundreds of millions in property tax rebates for middle-class homeowners and $1 billion for upstate economic development. The budget provided for a tuition remission program for military

veteran A veteran () is a person who has significant experience (and is usually adept and esteemed) and expertise in a particular occupation or field. A military veteran is a person who is no longer serving in a military. A military veteran that h ...

s, offering them free tuition at both SUNY and CUNY institutions. Paterson called the 2008 budget proposal "too big and too bloated", and he said he would work to convince the legislature to stop what he saw as unsustainable growth. In April 2008, Paterson asked the heads of all state agencies to cut their budgets by 3.35%, threatened a hiring freeze, and asked legislative leaders to follow suit. At his first State of the State address in January 2009, Paterson said "My fellow New Yorkers: let me come straight to the point—the state of our state is perilous. New York faces an historic economic challenge, the gravest in nearly a century. ... The pillars of Wall Street have crumbled. The global economy is reeling. Trillions of dollars of wealth have vanished." New York faced a budget deficit of $15 billion, and state debt approached $55 billion. Paterson's budget proposal called for dramatic across-the-board cuts to various state agencies; he described those cuts as "deep and painful". Paterson proposed to close the 81-year-old Reynolds Game Farm, in Tompkins county, the state's only remaining pheasant facility, but changed course following criticism from sportsmen's groups. In March 2009, Paterson announced that in light of the fiscal crisis, he would take a 10% pay cut.

Appointment of U.S. senator

After being nominated for the position on December 1, 2008, Senator

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...

was confirmed as

United States Secretary of State The United States secretary of state is a member of the executive branch of the federal government of the United States and the head of the U.S. Department of State. The office holder is one of the highest ranking members of the president's Ca ...

by the

. Clinton resigned her Senate seat on January 21, 2009, to assume the Cabinet post. By mandate of the

New York Constitution The Constitution of the State of New York establishes the structure of the government of the State of New York, and enumerates the basic rights of the citizens of New York. Like most state constitutions in the United States, New York's constitut ...

, Paterson was tasked with appointing a temporary replacement until a special election in 2010 for the conclusion of the term of her Class 1 seat. Persons mentioned in the media as potential appointees included U.S. Rep. Gregory Meeks, former State Comptroller H. Carl McCall, William C. Thompson, Jr., Byron Brown, Rep. José E. Serrano, Rep. Nydia M. Velázquez, Rep.

Nita Lowey Nita Sue Lowey ( ) ( Melnikoff; born July 5, 1937) is an American politician who formerly served as a U.S. Representative from New York from 1989 until 2021. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Lowey also served as co-Dean of the New York C ...

, Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney, former Hillary Clinton aide Leecia Eve,

United Federation of Teachers The United Federation of Teachers (UFT) is the labor union that represents most teachers in New York City public schools. , there were about 118,000 in-service teachers and 17,000 paraprofessional educators in the union, as well as about 54,00 ...

president

Randi Weingarten Randi Weingarten (born December 18, 1957)''Who's Who in America'', 2007. is an American labor leader, attorney, and educator. She is president of the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and a member of the AFL–CIO. She is the former presiden ...

, Rep.

, and political heiress

Caroline Kennedy Caroline Bouvier Kennedy (born November 27, 1957) is an American author, attorney, and diplomat serving in the Biden administration as the United States Ambassador to Australia since 2022. She previously served in the Obama administration as th ...

. While

New York Attorney General The attorney general of New York is the chief legal officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the Department of Law of the state government. The office has been in existence in some form since 1626, under the Dutch colonial government o ...

and former

United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the president's Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furnitur ...

Andrew Cuomo Andrew Mark Cuomo ( ; ; born December 6, 1957) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 56th governor of New York from 2011 to 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he was elected to the same position that his father, Mario Cu ...

refused to publicly declare his interest in the seat, he attracted a plurality of support from polled New Yorkers to take the seat. Cuomo was cited by some analysts as a savvy Senate appointee because his appointment might dissuade him from mounting a primary challenge against Paterson in the 2010 gubernatorial election. Paterson acknowledged on January 20, 2009, that Cuomo was indeed under consideration for the appointment. It was reported on December 5, 2008, that Paterson had spoken with Kennedy regarding her interest in the Senate seat. However, Kennedy abruptly withdrew her name from consideration on January 21, 2009. Up until her withdrawal, which Kennedy said was based on "personal reasons", the high-profile, well-connected daughter of former President

John F. Kennedy John Fitzgerald Kennedy (May 29, 1917 – November 22, 1963), often referred to by his initials JFK and the nickname Jack, was an American politician who served as the 35th president of the United States from 1961 until his assassination ...

was widely considered the front-runner for the nomination. After Kennedy removed herself from consideration, some reports indicated that Paterson "never intended" to pick Kennedy, having come to consider her "unready" for the seat after a series of media misfires. Some sources and analysts doubted the reports' veracity, calling the Paterson camp's denials of any interest in appointing Kennedy "misdirection". On January 23, 2009, Paterson chose Gillibrand—a moderate upstate representative from a largely conservative district—to fill Clinton's vacated seat. The

Kennedy family The Kennedy family is an American political family that has long been prominent in American politics, public service, entertainment, and business. In 1884, 35 years after the family's arrival from Ireland, Patrick Joseph "P. J." Kennedy beca ...

criticized Paterson's handling of the appointment. Although Gillibrand's appointment was praised by some (including Schumer, New York's senior senator; President Obama; and Clinton herself,) others criticized Paterson's choice, calling Gillibrand "sharp-elbowed", "too conservative", and "unliked". Others, including

liberal Liberal or liberalism may refer to: Politics * a supporter of liberalism ** Liberalism by country * an adherent of a Liberal Party * Liberalism (international relations) * Sexually liberal feminism * Social liberalism Arts, entertainment and m ...

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' editorialist

Maureen Dowd Maureen Brigid Dowd (; born January 14, 1952) is an American columnist for ''The New York Times'' and an author. During the 1970s and early 1980s, Dowd worked for ''The Washington Star'' and ''Time'', writing news, sports and feature articles. ...

and ''

New York Magazine ''New York'' is an American biweekly magazine concerned with life, culture, politics, and style generally, and with a particular emphasis on New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to ''The New Yorker' ...

'' writer Chris Smith, criticized Paterson's "peculiar" and "dithering" handling of the Senate appointment and suggested it was a cynical way of rallying upstate support for re-election. Paterson later admitted that he personally ordered his staff to contest Caroline Kennedy's version of events in the hours after she withdrew from consideration to be United States senator.

Appointment of new lieutenant governor

Due to the ongoing leadership crisis in the New York State Senate, in which the Senate tied with 31 Democratic votes and 31 Republican votes, with no presiding officer to break the tie, Paterson announced on July 8, 2009, that he would appoint

, a former chairman of the

Metropolitan Transportation Authority The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) is a public benefit corporation responsible for public transportation in the New York City metropolitan area of the U.S. state of New York. The MTA is the largest public transit authority in th ...

, to be lieutenant governor. On August 20, 2009, however, a four-judge panel of the New York State Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department ruled that Paterson had no legal authority to name a lieutenant governor, and that the lieutenant governor position could not be filled in any way other than via an election. On September 23, 2009, the New York Court of Appeals reversed the Appellate Division's decision, holding Paterson's appointment of Ravitch to be constitutional.

Aqueduct Race Track

In January 2010, Paterson awarded a contract to operate a 4,500

slot machine A slot machine (American English), fruit machine (British English) or poker machine (Australian English and New Zealand English) is a gambling machine that creates a game of chance for its customers. Slot machines are also known pejoratively a ...

racino A racino is a combined race track and casino. In some cases, the gambling is limited to slot machines, but many locations are beginning to include Casino game#Table games, table games such as blackjack, poker, and roulette. In 2003, Joe Bob Br ...

at the Aqueduct Race Track to Aqueduct Race Track Entertainment Group (AEG) in

. The selection AEG led to accusations of favoritism. The New York State inspector general, Joseph Fisch, said the state government showed "militant indifference" to the public's best interest. Fisch criticized Paterson for delegating the process to his aides, who Fisch said did not keep him properly informed. On March 9, 2010, Paterson

recused Judicial disqualification, also referred to as recusal, is the act of abstaining from participation in an official action such as a legal proceeding due to a conflict of interest of the presiding court official or administrative officer. Appli ...

himself from the case, saying he was doing so on the advice of his lawyers. On the same day investors

Floyd Flake Floyd Harold Flake (born January 30, 1945) is an American businessman and former politician who is the senior pastor of the 23,000 member Greater Allen African Methodist Episcopal Cathedral in Jamaica, Queens, New York, and former president of W ...

and Jay-Z withdrew from AEG. Flake had a 0.6% share.

Allegations of corruption

In February 2010, ''The New York Times'' reported that Paterson may have been involved in

witness tampering Witness tampering is the act of attempting to improperly influence, alter or prevent the testimony of witnesses within criminal or civil proceedings. Witness tampering and reprisals against witnesses in organized crime cases have been a difficul ...

in a

domestic abuse Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for '' intimate partne ...

case involving staffer David W. Johnson after

New York State Police The New York State Police (NYSP) is the state police of the state of New York in the United States. It is part of the New York State Executive Department, and employs over 5,000 sworn state troopers and 711 civilian members. History The Stat ...

and Paterson allegedly talked to the complainant in an attempt to persuade her to drop the case. Paterson was said to have asked the woman if she needed any help a day before the case was dropped. On February 26, 2010, Paterson withdrew his bid for a full term as governor of New York. In March 2010, the New York State Commission on Public Integrity asked Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to investigate allegations that Paterson had solicited an unlawful gift of free

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

tickets. He also faced allegations that he had lied under oath to the Commission on Public Integrity in 2010 during an investigation about the Yankees tickets. Following the "twin scandals", a poll showed that fewer than half of New Yorkers believed Paterson should remain in office. Despite this, Paterson announced on March 5, 2010, that he intended to remain in his post until his term in office concluded at the end of the year. Paterson was not criminally charged in connection with his witness interaction in the Johnson domestic abuse matter. On December 20, 2010, the Commission on Public Integrity found that Paterson had lied about accepting five free World Series tickets and fined him $62,125.

''Saturday Night Live''

After the ''

Weekend Update ''Weekend Update'' is a ''Saturday Night Live'' sketch and satirical news program that comments on and parodies current events. It is the show's longest-running recurring sketch, having been on since the show's first broadcast, and is typic ...

'' sketch featuring David Paterson aired in 2009 on the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

show ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...

'', Paterson was upset by the way the sketch portrayed him, stating that it was an offensive stereotype to those who were visually impaired. On the 36th-season premiere of ''Saturday Night Live'' (aired September 25, 2010), Paterson appeared in the ''Weekend Update'' sketch alongside

Fred Armisen Fereydun Robert Armisen (born December 4, 1966) is an American actor, comedian, writer, producer, and musician. With his comedy partner Carrie Brownstein, Armisen was the co-creator and co-star of the IFC sketch comedy series '' Portlandia''. ...

, who was comedically portraying Paterson.

2010 gubernatorial election

In October 2008, Paterson launched a campaign website and announced his intention to run for a full term as governor. Paterson's prime

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

opponent was expected to be former New York City mayor Rudy Giuliani. By February 2009, after the prolonged Senate appointment process, a Siena College poll indicated that Paterson was losing popularity among New Yorkers and showed Giuliani with a fifteen-point lead in a hypothetical contest. In April 2009, a

Quinnipiac Quinnipiac is the English name for the Eansketambawg (meaning "original people"; ''cf.'' Ojibwe: '' Anishinaabeg'' and Blackfoot: ''Niitsítapi''), a Quiripi-speaking Native American nation of the Algonquian family who inhabited the ''Wamp ...

poll found that 60% of voters disapproved of Paterson's performance (the worst-ever rating for a New York governor); 53% believed that Paterson should withdraw his candidacy for the gubernatorial election. In an August 21, 2009, radio interview, Paterson suggested that his low popularity was caused by racism and added that Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts had received a similar reception. Paterson added that President

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...

would be the next African-American elected official to suffer from poor approval due to his skin color. The White House asked Paterson to tone down his comments on race, but less than 24 hours later, Paterson said: " nevery successful minority is permissible; but when you see too many success stories, then some people get nervous." Giuliani never ran for Governor. Eventually, Republicans nominated Carl Paladino. On September 18, 2009, advisors to President Barack Obama informed Paterson that the President believed Paterson should withdraw his 2010 gubernatorial candidacy and clear a path for "popular Attorney General

" to run. According to ''

'', Obama was worried that Paterson's continued unpopularity could hinder the campaigns of New York's Democratic congressmembers and could also topple Democratic control of the state legislature. The ''Times'' cited a potential gubernatorial run by Giuliani as another reason for the Obama administration's request. On September 19, 2009, Paterson insisted he was still running. He reiterated his position on February 9, 2010, saying, " heonly way I'm not going to be governor next year is at the ballot box and the only way I'll be leaving office before is in a box". On February 26, 2010, however, Paterson withdrew his bid for a full term as governor of New York "amid crumbling support from his party and an uproar over his administration's intervention in a domestic violence case involving a close aide". Later in 2010, Cuomo became the Democratic nominee for governor of New York and won the election in a landslide over Paladino.

Later career

After leaving office at the end of 2010, Paterson appeared on New York radio station WOR on a number of occasions as a substitute talk show host, filling in for morning host John Gambling. On September 1, 2011, the station announced that Paterson would become the regular weekday afternoon

drive-time Drive time is the daypart in which radio broadcasters can reach the most people who listen to car radios while driving, usually to and from work, or on public transportation. Drive-time periods are when the number of radio listeners in this cla ...

host beginning on September 6. He replaced Steve Malzberg. In December 2012, Paterson was let go from his radio show at WOR after Clear Channel purchased the station. In 2012, then-governor Andrew Cuomo appointed Paterson to the board of the Metropolitan Transit Authority. Paterson was confirmed to this post in June 2012. In July 2013, Paterson said that he might run for Congress if U.S. Rep.

Charles Rangel Charles Bernard Rangel (, ; born June 11, 1930) is an American politician who was a U.S. representative for districts in New York from 1971 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the second-longest serving incumbent member of the Ho ...

retired. In December 2013, however, Paterson stated that he had "no intention of running for Congress in the 13th District, either now or in the future". Paterson was appointed in 2013 to be a

distinguished professor Distinguished Professor is an academic title given to some top tenured professors in a university, school, or department. Some distinguished professors may have endowed chairs. In the United States Often specific to one institution, titles such ...

of health care and

public policy Public policy is an institutionalized proposal or a decided set of elements like laws, regulations, guidelines, and actions to solve or address relevant and real-world problems, guided by a conception and often implemented by programs. Public p ...

, at Touro College, in Harlem, and to advise the

Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine The Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine (TouroCOM) is a private medical school with a main campus in the neighborhood of Central Harlem in New York City and an additional campus in Middletown, New York. It is a division of Touro College and ...

on public policy issues. Paterson was a director for investments with Stifel, Nicolaus & Company, a financial services holding company. In early 2014, Paterson unveiled his portrait that hangs in the Hall of Governors in the

. In May 2014, Andrew Cuomo appointed Paterson chairman of the

New York Democratic Party The New York State Democratic Committee is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of New York. Its headquarters are in Manhattan, and it has an office in Albany.Black, Blind, & In Charge: A Story of Visionary Leadership and Overcoming Adversity'' in late 2020. The book discussed not only his life, but the figures around him and the history that affected him. In the

2021 New York City Democratic mayoral primary The Democratic Party primary for the 2021 New York City mayoral election took place on June 22, 2021. Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams defeated 12 other candidates, including Kathryn Garcia, Maya Wiley and Andrew Yang. Adams went on to defe ...

, Paterson endorsed the eventual winner of the primary,

Eric Adams Eric Leroy Adams (born September 1, 1960) is an American politician and retired police captain serving as the 110th mayor of New York City since January 1, 2022. Adams was an officer in the New York City Transit Police and then the New York ...

. In August 2022, New York Governor

Kathy Hochul Kathleen Hochul ( ; née Courtney; born August 27, 1958) is an American politician serving as the 57th governor of New York since August 24, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, she is New York's first female governor, as well as the first ...

planted a tree in Paterson's honor at the

New York State Executive Mansion The New York State Executive Mansion is the official residence of the governor of New York. Located at 138 Eagle Street in Albany, New York, it has housed governors and their families since 1875. History The building was constructed in 1856 as ...

. Paterson endorsed

in the 2022 New York gubernatorial election.

Personal life

Paterson dated Michelle Paige in college. After he broke up with her, she went on to marry someone else, have a daughter, and get divorced. In 1992, Paterson and Paige married. Two years later, they had a son named Alex. The couple separated in 2012 and divorced in July 2014. Paterson reportedly dated a member of his staff, Pamela Bane, from 2012 to 2014. Paterson then began to date Mary Galda, former wife of

Curtis Sliwa Curtis Sliwa (; born March 26, 1954) is an American activist, radio talk show host and founder and chief executive officer of the Guardian Angels, a nonprofit organization for unarmed crime prevention. Sliwa was the Republican nominee for the ...

. Sliwa tweeted out his "approval" of the relationship in 2015. Paterson got engaged to Galda in 2019, and they were married on August 10, 2019, at the Water Club on the East River. The ceremony was officiated by former New York City mayor

. Paterson is

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Works

* Paterson, David (2020). ''Black, Blind, & in Charge: A Story of Visionary Leadership and Overcoming Adversity''. New York: Skyhorse Publishing.

References

External links

* , - , - , - , - , - , - , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, David 1954 births African-American state governors of the United States African-American state legislators in New York (state) African-American people in New York (state) politics American people of Carriacouan descent American politicians of Jamaican descent American politicians with disabilities Blind people from the United States Blind politicians Politicians from Brooklyn Columbia College (New York) alumni Democratic Party governors of New York (state) Lieutenant Governors of New York (state) Living people Hofstra University alumni Maurice A. Deane School of Law alumni Democratic Party New York (state) state senators People from Hempstead (village), New York 2004 United States presidential electors 2008 United States presidential electors Activists for African-American civil rights Andrew Cuomo African-American writers African-American Catholics Distinguished professors in the United States