David A. Paterson will assume the position of governor of New York upon the resignation of ex-governor Eliot L. Spitzer, effective March 17.David A. Paterson was elected lieutenant governor of New York in November 2006 on the ticket led by Eliot Spitzer. Previously, Mr. Paterson had served as the minority leader of the state Senate. The scion of a prominent Harlem political family, Mr. Paterson was born legally blind 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 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. If, for instance, Hillary Clinton were to become president, Mr. Spitzer 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.
Mr. 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. 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.”
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