Is it just me, or does Gov. Paterson bear a striking resemblance to a certain beloved guv from the movies?
Posted on 03/13/2008 9:41:50 AM PDT by neverdem
NEW York may be about to have its first African- American governor - and not a minute too...
--snip--
He even gets along well with Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno; he just might be able to bring a welcome spirit of openness to Albany.
Not incidentally, he is the son of Basil Paterson - one of Harlem's famed Gang of Five, along with Rep. Charles Rangel, former Mayor David Dinkins, Assembly Ways & Means Chairman Denny Farrell and Harlem clubhouse boss Percy Sutton. The group has long run Harlem's political scene.
Basil was New York City's first black deputy mayor - as well as the first black candidate for statewide elected office (lieutenant governor) in New York, and under Gov. Hugh Carey the first black secretary of state. He once held the same state Senate seat his son would later in effect be given by the Harlem leadership after its then-occupant died in office.
But, while his father may have effectively anointed him a state senator, David has kept an arms-length over the years from the Gang of Five - repeatedly running for office even as his father endorsed opposing candidates, and taking some taboo positions, including prominent support for vouchers and school choice.
Still, it's hard to know what to make of a would-be reformer who spent 20 years as an Albany backbencher before taking a larger role in 2002, or of an independent who owed his Senate seat to the Harlem clubhouse.
Yet David Paterson, legally blind his whole life, has beaten the odds before. After all, before yesterday, he was seen as unlikely to ever become governor.
Now, after less than a year and a half of Gov. Spitzer, this former longshot may well be the best bet New York has for a clean sweep in Albany.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
Dumb question in NY does the Guv and LTG run as a ticket or separately?
Still, as Michelle Obama will tell you, America is a racist place and it's hard to be proud of our country. Gag.
Like McCain, even if youvigorously disagree with Paterson, you have to like his personal story. The achievement of a legally blind person becoming governor is sort of inspiring, even though he’s a liberal.
They run separately in the primary, but as a ticket in November.
The running mate of Arthur Goldberg in 1970. They lost to Rockefeller-Wilson, despite a strong Conservative Party showing.
That Gang of Five the article mentioned.... What do those men have in common? I don’t know much about Paterson but the others all were racial dividers in one way or another. I will never forget how when Sutton lost the primary for mayor in 1977 his concession speech essentially blamed racism for his loss.
IIRC, they run as a pair, but each get a separate pull of the lever on the voting machine, but I could be wrong.
You could check by opening this URL:
http://vote.nyc.ny.us/pdf/results/2006/general/recaps/02NYGovernorRecap.pdf
He won’t be the first blind governor. There were a lot of Democrat governors in the old South who were blind.... to justice.
“I will never forget how when Sutton lost the primary for mayor in 1977 his concession speech essentially blamed racism for his loss.”
Is it just me, or does Gov. Paterson bear a striking resemblance to a certain beloved guv from the movies?
The headline on a Bloomberg story - that I can’t link to because of rule restrictions (Thanks Michael /s )
>>Paterson Refuses to Rule Out New York Tax Boost as Growth Slows <<
One bloody day in office....
*snicker* “Unusual rise”
>>*snicker* “Unusual rise”<<
Tis is a NY paper so I’ve got to wonder if they knew about the affairs when they chose that headline.
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