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(graphic courtesy of twolf1)
Embattled New York Governor (I don’t know, “embattled” seems like the wrong word here, but I’ll press on. . . ) David Paterson will not run for election this fall, the New York Daily News is reporting. Paterson, long suffering from low approval ratings, an uncooperative State legislature, and a fiscal crisis, has been dogged this month by stories of questionable conduct by a close aide, David Johnson—and earlier this week, that story escalated to include the Governor, himself:
Last fall, a woman went to court in the Bronx to testify that she had been violently assaulted by a top aide to Gov. David A. Paterson, and to seek a protective order against the man.
In the ensuing months, she returned to court twice to press her case, complaining that the State Police had been harassing her to drop it. The State Police, which had no jurisdiction in the matter, confirmed that the woman was visited by a member of the governor’s personal security detail.
Then, just before she was due to return to court to seek a final protective order, the woman got a phone call from the governor, according to her lawyer. She failed to appear for her next hearing on Feb. 8, and as a result her case was dismissed.
Though the drip, drip, drip of this story began several weeks ago, Paterson still chose just last week to launch his bid for a first full term as NY Governor. Paterson originally took office after the previous Governor, Eliot Spitzer, resigned.
Paterson swore to press on as recently as Wednesday, but several close aids have gone public in the last 24 hours with calls for Paterson to withdraw from the race. Notably, State Senator Bill Perkins, who holds Paterson’s old seat in Harlem:
Amid accusations that Paterson and the New York State Police intervened in a domestic violence case against one of Paterson’s top aides, Perkins said in an interview Thursday evening that the governor’s campaign has weakened, and this could be the final straw.
“Weak as the campaign was, this investigation has made it even weaker,” he said.
Denise O’Donnell, the governor’s Deputy Secretary for Public Safety, resigned on Thursday, saying she could not defend Paterson’s actions:
“The fact that the governor and members of the State Police have acknowledged direct contact with a woman who had filed for an order of protection against a senior member of the governor’s staff is a very serious matter,” she wrote. “These actions are unacceptable regardless of their intent.”
…
Ms. O’Donnell, a former federal prosecutor and social worker, wrote that she found the breach “particularly distressing” in an administration “that prides itself on its record of combating domestic violence.
“The behavior alleged here is the antithesis of what many of us have spent our entire careers working to build,” she added, “a legal system that protects victims of domestic violence and brings offenders to justice.”
O’Donnell’s office oversees the state troopers that are alleged to have participated in harassing the woman accuser of Johnson.
The governor has long been thought vulnerable to a primary challenge from State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, though Cuomo has not officially entered the race. Whispers around New York suspect that Cuomo or his close associates have something to do with driving the story of Paterson’s aide to the surface, a rumor made public by announced GOP aspirant for NY Governor, Rick Lazio:
Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio released the letter below addressed to possible opponent AG Andrew Cuomo. In it, the ex-Congressman seems bent on fueling the rumor that Cuomo spread rumors about Paterson. Since he knows the Timesfolk aren’t about tell who they talk to off-the-record about anything — including Lazio, presumably — and Cuomo isn’t going to answer questions from his political detractor related to a pending investigation, the intended effect must be to make the rumor-spread accusation in the form of a “request.”
…
“The people have the right to know the truth behind the allegations that were reported in today’s New York Times. The people also have the right to know that your investigation into Governor Paterson and his involvement is conducted honestly and objectively.
“As you begin your investigation, I ask that you state publicly whether you or any of your associates, members of your office or campaign team aided or supplied the New York Times the information it published in any of its stories this past week attacking Governor Paterson, his staff and his conduct; or if you or any of your agents were involved in spreading the rumors about such stories. If so, common decency, if not the law, would demand you recuse yourself from this investigation to ensure an independent process free of your political ambition.
Paterson’s anemic fundraising has also cast doubt on his electoral viability.
Though suspending his run for a full term, Governor Paterson is not, as of now, resigning.
So, what is considered a socially acceptable amount of time for Cuomo to announce his entrance into the race?
Update: I should have known that David would have something on this. . . .
Update 2 ( 3:18 PM EST): In a just completed news conference, Governor Paterson confirmed that he is indeed ending his campaign for a full term. Citing political realities, Paterson said that he wants to get back to the business of the state, and that he looks forward to a full investigation of the accusations leveled against him and his administration.
Paterson is not, however resigning, “There are 308 days left in my term; I will serve every one of them. . . .”
Update 3: Governor Paterson called on the state AG, Andrew Cuomo, to investigate the improprieties of the state police and the governor’s office. Cuomo, of course, has been itching to run again for governor since his last failed attempt eight years ago. Back then, Cuomo was criticized for complicating matters for eventual Democratic nominee, H. Carl McCall, the first African American to run for NY governor. It was an open secret around the state that Cuomo was not eager to be seen as again trying to push aside an African American in his quest for higher office.
Since Cuomo is now tasked with investigating Paterson, the question arises: Does he go softer on the governor for having done him the favor of stepping aside, or does Cuomo now feel extra pressure to give extra scrutiny to the governor’s actions, in order to prove that no kind of deal was made?
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Feeling sad about this story–I had high hopes for Paterson when he took over. His reported behavior in this case, if true, however, is unacceptable. He would never have survived the campaign–now, the question: can he survive the year?
5…4…3…
Why did you have high hopes? People said nice things about him when he took over, but he’s been completely ineffective as near as I can tell. Is there something in his congressional record that made you think he’d be a good gov?
I cannot cite cahapter and verse on his legislative record, but my general impression living in NYC is that Paterson was smart, politically smart, and more liberal on many issues than Spitzer. By the time of the first budget battles, however, he mostly disabused me of those thoughts.
That said, this state’s government is completely farblondget, and I give Paterson some credit for at least making a public issue of some of the problems.
Because Cuomo needed the extra help from the scandal for his run. Please.
After a couple of years here, I still consider myself a political junkie newbie. But I think I’ve gleaned that, unless you study a pol’s record in detail, you are just guessing whether they’ll do well in an executive position. Negatives, OTOH, are much easier to spot. For nonpols entering the fray it’s even more impossible. For example, Carolyn Kennedy’s half-baked entry into the senate appointee race made it clear right away that she was not the person for the job. Yet, she had rabid defenders at FDL, who thought she’d be great, but who had no idea whether she would or not.
If Paterson intervened in that domestic violence case, he was certainly wrong, and perhaps he should resign, but not if we compare him to our other public officials, who have given us a police state, torture, illegal wars, and mega-corruption.
The villain of the Paterson era is upstate billionaire Tom Golisano, who, acting on behalf of the chamber of commerce and the real estate interests, openly bought off two NYS senators, and thereby nullified the Dem takeover, created governmental paralysis, and prevented any progressive legislation.
Cuomo got badly burned in a primary against the first African American to seek the governorship. It’s widely thought he didn’t want to repeat that by running against, and likely defeating, Paterson.
So he bided his time, or pushed this story out there. Depending on who you believe.
Paterson is credited with many of the gains in Dem numbers in the NY Senate. And his stands on social safety net stuff while in the legislature were liberal and sensitive to the needs of communities that weren’t Wall Street.
DP seemed to lose both skill and sensitivity as soon as he got into the gov’s office.
I was also fond of Paterson’s dad, Basil, and thought surely the elder would serve as good counsel to the younger. That was perhaps silly.
Thank you for that context. I was out of the country back then.
I’m sure people aren’t too surprised about this story. It would be like being surprised that a killer whale killed his trainer.
But, I’m not saying you shouldn’t have covered this story. Thanks, Gregg.
Actually, I’m in the mood for a surprise. A nice surprise.
Teddy Partridge has a new post up: Judd Gregg Loved Reconciliation, Defended It on Senate Floor in 2005
I think that Paterson is the most progressive and decent NY gov in recent memory (unless you liked Cuomo Sr., the “Hamlet of the Hudson”). Paterson moved right once in office, but they all do.
It’s no surprise that the establishment opposed him, or that Paterson got the job only by accident, after disgruntled Wall Streeters exposed the whoring ways of previous Gov Spitzer.
Paterson didn’t move fast enough to satisfy the cable news cycle in replacing Hilary as Senator, but I don’t see what was wrong with that. And apparently there was a bit of dithering on the part of Ms. Kennedy. In the end he bowed to the pols who are criticizing him now, and appointed then-Blue Dog Gillibrand.
As a state senator, Paterson was the primary proponent of an independent prosecutor for police misconduct, and a champion of anti-bias legislation. He earned his cred as a mensch two decades ago, when he was a leader of the NYS Black and Puerto Rican legislative caucus. The caucus could have had their anti-bias bill if they dropped the sexual orientation provision, but they refused.
Paterson made a tactical error. He declared he would leave office only by the ballot box or in a pine box. Well, he just eliminated the ballot box option, so he’s in a world of hurt if he lives up to his word. g)