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This belongs to you. Take it back...
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David Paterson 
Fri Mar 05, 2010 at 11:44:33 AM EST
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News reports are surfacing that Governor Paterson is convening an emergency staff meeting at 2:30 today. Is he going to tell his staff he is resigning?
Will there be a Governor Ravitch by Monday?
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Tue Mar 02, 2010 at 22:52:09 PM EST
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The drip from the Times keeps dripping and it keeps getting worse.
A key figure in the domestic abuse scandal bedeviling Gov. David A. Paterson told investigators that the governor phoned to enlist her help in quieting the accuser, according to a person with knowledge of her account.
"Tell her the governor wants her to make this go away," Deneane Brown said Mr. Paterson told her, according to the person. Ms. Brown, a state worker, was friends with both the governor and the woman who says that a senior aide to Mr. Paterson roughed her up in a violent Halloween altercation.
It's certainly not going away now, is it?
Unbelievable.
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Mon Mar 01, 2010 at 23:28:34 PM EST
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This certainly appears to be checkmate for the Accidental Governor. The Times drops yet another bombshell on Paterson and this one is probably, or at least should be, fatal.
Paterson Is Said to Have Ordered Calls in Abuse Case
Gov. David A. Paterson personally directed two state employees to contact the woman who had accused his close aide of assaulting her, according to two people with direct knowledge of the governor's actions.
Mr. Paterson instructed his press secretary, Marissa Shorenstein, to ask the woman to publicly describe the episode as nonviolent, according to a third person, who was briefed on the matter. That description would contradict the woman's accounts to the police and in court.
Mr. Paterson also enlisted another state employee, Deneane Brown, a friend of both the governor and the accuser, to make contact with the woman before she was due in court to finalize an order of protection against the aide, David W. Johnson, the two people with direct knowledge said. Ms. Brown, an employee of the Division of Housing and Community Renewal, reached out to the woman on more than one occasion over a period of several days and arranged a phone call between the governor and the woman, Mr. Johnson's companion.
After the calls from Ms. Brown and the conversation with the governor, the woman failed to appear for the court hearing on Feb. 8, and the case was dropped.
These accounts provide the first evidence that Mr. Paterson helped direct an effort to influence the accuser.
Just when you thought this whole sordid tale couldn't get worse, it does. Can anyone tell me that what the governor and his staff engaged in here isn't de facto witness tampering? Don't people go to jail for that?
Say what you want to about Spitzer, but when the Times had him dead to rights, he manned up, admitted it and walked away.
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Fri Feb 26, 2010 at 14:55:14 PM EST
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You can watch it here.
Does he go the Full Monty and resign? Take the poll.
UPDATE: And he's out....of the race. Paterson says "I have never abused my office, not now, not ever." and vows to serve out the rest of the term.
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Wed Feb 24, 2010 at 21:47:49 PM EST
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This, friends, does not look good at all, not one bit.
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 early this month, days 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.
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On Wednesday night, in response to inquiries from The New York Times, a senior administration official said Mr. Paterson would request that Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo investigate his administration's handling of the matter. The official also said the governor would suspend Mr. Johnson without pay. He declined to answer any specific questions about the governor's role in the matter.
It's worse than you already think. You should really go read the whole thing.
UPDATE: Just got this statement via email from the Governor's office:
"Serious questions have been raised about contact the State Police may have had with a private citizen who filed a complaint against a member of my staff. Any allegation of improper influence must be investigated thoroughly and completely.
"Superintendent Harry Corbitt has directed the State Police to conduct an internal investigation into this matter. I have full faith and trust in the integrity and ability of the State Police to conduct a thorough investigation.
"Because of the seriousness of these allegations, and the sensitive role of this staff member in my Administration, I am asking the Attorney General to investigate the matter to ensure in the public's mind that a comprehensive and independent inquiry has been conducted. Pending the outcome of the investigation, I am suspending David Johnson without pay."
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Wed Feb 17, 2010 at 08:21:36 AM EST
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That Times story is finally out, heavy on "shell", light on "bomb."
David W. Johnson has worked for Gov. David A. Paterson for much of his adult life. He began as a young, ambitious intern from Harlem when Mr. Paterson was a state legislator. He rose to be Mr. Paterson's driver, serving as a kind of protector and scheduler.
In recent months, however, Mr. Johnson's ascent has been striking: he is now one of the most senior people in the governor's administration, paid $132,000. He is described as Mr. Paterson's closest confidant, a man with a designated room for his overnight stays in the Executive Mansion, and a broadening role in areas like campaign strategy, government initiatives and the management of the governor's staff.
A review of Mr. Johnson's rise and his history, undertaken after he emerged as perhaps the man closest to the state's chief executive, shows that he was twice arrested on felony drug charges as a teenager, including a charge of selling cocaine to an undercover officer in Harlem.
The examination of his background, based on interviews and records, shows he has at least one other arrest, for misdemeanor assault in the 1990s, although there is very little publicly available about that case.
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Sun Feb 07, 2010 at 20:22:25 PM EST
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The twitters seem to be aflame with some rather thinly sourced rumors that the Gov will be resigning tomorrow after that "bombshell" Times story finally comes out tomorrow.
People keep asking me if I have heard anything more than what everyone else has. I haven't.
You?
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Thu Jan 28, 2010 at 14:45:05 PM EST
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Via Ben:
"I don't regret asking David to be Lieutenant Governor when I ran. I think David has been thrust into a very difficult environment," he says in the clip above, noting that governors from Corzine to Schwarzenegger have also been battered.
Via Crain's:
Gov. David Paterson's 2010 election chances remain low, despite small increases in his poll numbers released Monday, according [to] the Siena Research Institute.
Mr. Paterson's electability and favorability ratings in January each increased two percentage points from the previous month to 21% and 38%, respectively.
We have gone from a steamroller to a tricycle, apparently.
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Wed Jan 20, 2010 at 02:50:02 AM EST
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Once again, the legislature's inability to innovate for fear of ruffling the feathers of the special interests has cost New York millions of federal dollars. In 2008 we threw away over $300 million in federal transportation dollars at the behest of the parking lobby. Today, despite the support of 94% of the eligible school districts, the legislature failed to vote on a law that would have possibly sent $700 million in federal Race to the Top funds to our state:
New York's Race to the Top never got out of the starting gate.
Bickering state lawmakers could not agree on a plan to lift the cap on charter schools by Tuesday's 4:30 p.m. deadline to apply for up to $700 million in federal education money.
"It's dead," Assembly Education Committee Chairwoman Catherine Nolan declared moments before the deadline passed.
We can only wonder about the economic vitality that an extra billion dollars on education and infrastructure could have created for our state. What we have in Albany is a pathetic travesty of leadership where legislators are literally more interested in kicking blame away than getting anything done for the well-being of the state's citizens. Add that in with an army of special interests that is so spooked by any possible change to the status quo and we have the epic and complete failure that our state government is today. I have called this a race to the bottom, but it looks like that race is over and we've already hit the showers.
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Mon Jan 04, 2010 at 18:04:54 PM EST
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(Workers tunneling in the 7 Train extension. Photo: MTA)
Stephen Cohen has a nice summary of one of Pataki's worst legacies:
One of the victims of the economic downturn in New York is state support for mass transit. Unfortunately, this is not simply a result of the recent decline in state tax revenues, but rather a long-term trend that was exacerbated by over-borrowing for mass transit during the Pataki era.
(snip)
Unfortunately, under Governor Pataki, the mass transit capital subsidy was sharply reduced, forcing the MTA to use more and more of their budget to pay debt service on transit bonds. Even worse, during the current $6.8 billion state budget crisis, Governor Patterson has further reduced the state's subsidy for the MTA, contributing to the transit agency's $400 million budget gap.
Pataki was a bad example an anti-infrastruture Republican, and it's hard to stomach that now with Democrats in control of all the levers of state government, they're carrying out the same neglect. The last MTA bailout was the ultimate short-term politically pathetic bandaid solution. Either the State has to mandate a minimum amount of expenditure for the MTA in the State Constitution, we need to toll the East River bridges, or implement congestion pricing. Unless the MTA has enough fixed revenue streams to make up for the decline of state and city funding over the past decade, the system will fall into disrepair and its capital plans will be chronically under-funded. Add that the additional infrastructure spending will boost employment, something really should be done.
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Tue Dec 15, 2009 at 10:25:47 AM EST
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Qunnipiac University released their latest New York poll and it has some key details on the governor's race and the U.S. Senate race.
For Governor David Paterson, the Q Poll has one piece of good news. His favorable rating is up to 38 percent - the highest it has been since earlier this year. The last four Q Polls had Paterson's favorable rating under 30 percent. That favorable rating is padded by New York City, where respondents had a 49 percent favorable rating of Paterson. Elsewhere, Paterson's favorable rating was between 31 to 35 percent.
In the hypothetical Democratic primary between Paterson and Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, Cuomo wins 60 percent to 23 percent. Paterson would defeat Republican Rick Lazio 41 percent to 37 percent but Cuomo would win easily over Lazio 62 percent to 22 percent.
In the race for the seat currently held by Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, 2009 New York City mayoral candidate Bill Thompson would defeat Gillibrand in a primary, according to the poll. Among registered Democrats, Thompson beats Gillibrand 41 percent to 28 percent.
What is interesting about this though is that Gillibrand fares better than Thompson against Rudy Giuliani in the general election. Giuliani would defeat Gillibrand 50 percent to 40 percent while the former New York City mayor would knock off Thompson by a 52 percent to 36 percent vote.
Gillibrand's favorable rating is similar to where it was when she was appointed to the post. She has a 26 percent favorable rating - only one percentage point higher than what it was in January 2009.
For Thompson, the favorable rating isn't much better. His favorable rating comes in at 25 percent, so while he might be ahead of Gillibrand in a primary, his favorable rating isn't higher and is right on par with Gillibrand. So while some question Gillibrand's viability as a candidate, her prospective challengers have never fared any better in this department.
But perhaps the most interesting finding in the poll was Governor Paterson's job approval rating. His favorable rating and electoral ratings aside, his job approval rating is at 40 percent. His disapproval rating is at 49 percent. So while his disapproval rating is still high, having the approval rating he has at this point is encouraging for him. It also might help him in his argument that he can run in 2010 and be a viable candidate, although other polls down the road might change that.
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Mon Nov 16, 2009 at 23:30:37 PM EST
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What do you do when the latest poll puts you trailing your rival by 60 points in a hypothetical matchup?
Parrot a GOP talking point, of course.
"I would prefer that U.S. government not be trying the terrorists in New York City.
"I think it raises the threat in our area . . . There had to be some place to hold these trials that I think would have been safer."
I guess anything to alter the results on a Google News search for "David Paterson" these days...
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Mon Sep 21, 2009 at 17:31:25 PM EDT
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It's the question on everyone's lips, and most people probably have a different answer depending on their point of view. The popular view is that Paterson has been running the Governor's office as "amateur hour," bungling many issues. While there's some small sliver of truth to this--which we'll get to later--I think that on the whole this is greatly exaggerated.
Up front disclosure: I like Governor Paterson. I always have. Honestly I don't think that his tenure has been nearly as disastrous as most people think it has. And I completely agree with the President's decision to try and curb Paterson's attempts to run next year, because if he does it will be a disaster.
Governor Paterson's rapid slide into the annals of New York political history can be chalked up to three things. Two are his fault, one is not. The budget shortfall problem was going to need to be dealt with no matter who sat in the Governor's mansion, and there are a limited number of ways to deal with that. New York has to reduce spending and raise revenue, neither of which is a popular thing to do, and even less so when you've got a screaming mob of legislators trying to pin you as either kicking disabled veterans out of nursing homes, or taxing poor people into starvation.
However, where things really went awry is not primarily with policy--it was with communicating about policy. There has been an overall lack of a clear and consistent message coming out of the Governor's office. Paterson can be a really good communicator when he wants to be--I had the privilege of getting to see him in person during his stop at SUNY Geneseo this past spring, and he firmly and clearly presented his case for why the budget needed to be the way it was.
I think it's fair to say that if every single one of our 19 million New Yorkers got to see the Governor explain the current governmental situation in person, we wouldn't be having this discussion. However, they don't have that luxury, and that brings us to the crux of the matter: the use (and misuse) of mass media. The Governor's office has not well handled the press. From the broad range of anonymous (and contradictory) leaks during and after the Senate appointment process, to the invocation of race as a reason for falling poll numbers, to the lack of a statewide address explaining the budget crisis, the message coming out of Albany has mostly been in bits and pieces, not a coherent whole.
Then there's the third and final reason for the Governor's political demise. This is a simple misjudgment on his part: opposition to the "millionaire's tax" as a partial relief to the budget crisis. While no one likes raising taxes, the media moguls and Wall Street barons affected by this can afford it far better than most New Yorkers could deal with cuts to vital state services and jobs.
Lastly, as to the President's involvement, I can only say this. Like any good political observers, President Obama and his advisers can look at the history of Cuomo vs. McCall in 2002, as well as Paterson's statements invoking race, and recognize a serious disaster coming from a long way away--one that not only could hand the Governor's mansion to a Republican, but could damage turnout across New York State and even become a national story leading up to the crucial 2010 mid-term elections.
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Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 16:22:32 PM EDT
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Liz reports that a 4 judge panel of the appellate division has rejected Governor Paterson's appointment of Richard Ravitch as Lt Governor. Looks to be something of a slam dunk.
"The governor's purported appointment of Mr. Ravitch was unlawful because no provision of the Constitution or of any statue provides for the filling of the vacancy in the office of lieutenant governor other than by election, and only the temporary president of the Senate is authorized to perform the duties of that office during the period of the vacancy."
"We hold, therefore, that the Supreme Court properly granted the Senators' motion for a preliminary injunction."
Cue Dan Jacoby to come tell us exactly what this all means.
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Thu Aug 20, 2009 at 12:42:29 PM EDT
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CapCon says Paterson will call the long expected special session for September 10.
UPDATE: Word is that this will be a Senate only special session.
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Fri Jul 31, 2009 at 12:11:26 PM EDT
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The 2nd Department of the Appellate Court ruled that Richard Ravitch can stay on as lieutenant-governor -- for now -- but he cannot preside over the Senate.
I haven't read the actual decision yet, so I won't comment beyond saying that this strikes me as truly weird. Presiding over the Senate is the minor power, and being ready to step in as Governor should the need arise is the major power. While this is still being argued, if the court didn't want to grant Ravitch full power, wouldn't it make sense to let him do the small stuff but not the big stuff, and not the other way around?
More to come once I've read the actual decision. Meanwhile, this ruling is only in effect until August 18.
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Wed Jul 22, 2009 at 08:49:18 AM EDT
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In what is certain to be only the first of several rounds, State Supreme Court Justice William R. LaMarca has ruled that Governor Paterson's appointment of Richard Ravitch to be lieutenant-governor is unconstitutional, and has granted a temporary restraining order prohibiting Ravitch from acting as such.
The text of the judge's decision is available here.
I'm not a lawyer, but since the judge agreed not only with my conclusion by also with my reasoning I find the decision to be clear and well-written; others may disagree.
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Thu Jul 16, 2009 at 09:21:33 AM EDT
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In an opinion piece in the Albany Times-Union, former Chief Judge Sol Wachtler called the appointment of Richard Ravitch as lieutenant-governor "clearly unconstitutional, contrary to existing precedent and itself a dangerous precedent."
I've been saying this ever since I read the relevant portions of the state constitution, current state law, and the Ward v. Curran decision, under which proponents of this appointment claimed it was legal -- but which really had nothing to do with current law. I'm glad to be joined by so eminent a legal mind in my opinion.
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