"So, who is this Governor Paterson?" (The Official Thread)

[JackRiddler]

Anyone have interesting stories to relate about him?

ON EDIT: Corrected spelling of the man's name. One t. Oops.

[Fredda Weinberg]

1. You have to look at his father. If you like machine politics, you'll

love a Patterson administration.

[RB TexLa]

3. You know political organizations get things done and gets people's needs taken care of

I guess everyone just accepts "machine politics" as a slur, but many a political machine has taken care of it's constituents very well.

[Fredda Weinberg]

5. I know ... just can't get over my first "Sugar Daddy" offer. The machine

carries a price ...

[madinmaryland]

2. Here is a brief bio of him..

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Paterson

David A. Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician and the current Lieutenant Governor of New York. He is the first African American and legally blind person to hold this position. He was selected as running mate by New York Attorney General and Democratic Party nominee Eliot Spitzer in the 2006 New York gubernatorial election. With current news reports indicating that Governor Spitzer may resign as soon as the evening of March 11, 2008, Paterson is poised to become the first African-American Governor of New York and the first legally blind governor in the nation.<1>

Paterson was born in Brooklyn in 1954, with no sight in his left eye and severely limited vision in his right.<2> He has optic atrophy. Paterson received a BA from Columbia University in 1977 and later his law degree from Hofstra Law School. After law school, he went to work for the Queens District Attorney's Office.

In 1985, he joined the campaign staff of David Dinkins for Manhattan Borough President. In October of that year, longtime state Senator Leon Bogues, representing a district covering Manhattan neighborhoods Harlem, Manhattan Valley and the Upper West Side, died and Paterson won a highly competitive New York (Manhattan) County Democratic party Committee selection process to serve the rest of Bogues' term. The following year, 1986, he won the seat for his first full term representing the 29th District in the New York State Senate.

Paterson is the son of former New York Secretary of State Basil Paterson, who was the first African American NYC Deputy Mayor and the first to run for statewide office in New York. Secretary Paterson was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor in 1970. The elder Paterson also served in the NY state Senate in the same seat his son occupied. The elder Paterson was also the first African-American vice-chair of the national Democratic Party.<3>

[JackRiddler]

4. NYT says resignation imminent...

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/11/nyregion/11cnd-spitzer.html?hp=&pagewanted=print

Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson and his staff have begun laying the groundwork for him to take over as governor and are reaching out to members of the Legislature, the aides said.

The developments came a day after law enforcement officials said the governor was a client of a high-priced prostitution ring broken up last week by federal authorities.

In Albany, there was little sign of activity outside the governor’s offices in the Capitol on Tuesday morning. Mr. Paterson was at his residence in Schenectady.

(...)

Mr. Spitzer called Sheldon Silver, the Assembly speaker, on Monday afternoon after his statement, but his aides did not share details of the conversation. Mr. Paterson was said to be keeping a low profile, awaiting the governor’s decision.

Times profile of Paterson:

http://topics.nytimes.com/top/reference/timestopics/people/p/david_a_paterson/index.html?inline=nyt-per

[JackRiddler]

6. This obviously now rates a kick for more info.