Beset by waning support and a recent scandal with a top aide, N.Y. Gov. David Paterson sets aside the idea of running for a full term.
NEW YORK – New York Gov. David Paterson put an end to his long-shot bid to stay in office, acknowledging that critics who said he was a failed leader with fading support were hurting his chances.
But the announcement that the governor for 300-plus more days won’t seek election may not be enough to quiet growing questions and a criminal investigation into Paterson’s handling of an abuse complaint against a top aide.
State Attorney Andrew Cuomo, the Democrat who will likely run for the office Paterson will leave, is heading a probe into whether the Paterson administration, and the governor himself, improperly intervened in a domestic violence case involving one of Paterson’s most trusted aides, David Johnson.
At his recent announcement, Paterson was characteristically defiant when addressing his role in how the domestic violence case was handled by the administration.
Raising his right hand beside his wife, Michelle, he told a crowded press room: "I give you this personal oath. I have never abused my office. Not now, not ever. I believe that when the facts are reviewed, the truth will prevail."
While politicians from both parties wouldn’t say the governor should resign because of the scandal, the city’s leading tabloids called for his ouster in front-page editorials Friday.
"Time to go, Dave," the New York Post said in its headline. The New York Daily News said that Paterson had "demeaned his high office" and was not trustworthy.
Paterson insisted that he would not resign and pledged to serve out his term "fighting for the state of New York."
Paterson took office amid the prostitution scandal that ended fellow Democrat Eliot Spitzer’s term, defiantly introducing himself to legislators at his swearing in, declaring: "I am David Paterson and I am the governor of New York!"
"He started out as a nice guy with the best wishes from everyone, and it just went downhill," said Maurice Carroll of the Quinnipiac University poll. "As a personal story, it’s too bad because everyone who ever knew David Paterson liked him."
Paterson’s problems intensified in recent weeks with a series of critical newspaper articles.
One report portrayed Paterson as distant and detached from the job, spending time
hobnobbing with rich patrons instead of traveling the state seeking support for his agenda and his candidacy. In the article, current and former aides were critical of the governor for relying on a handful of loyalists instead of seasoned political pros.
Paterson was the scion of a Harlem political power base that included his father, former state Secretary of State Basil Paterson; the late Percy Sutton, who was Manhattan borough president; U.S. Rep. Adam Clayton Powell; former Mayor David Dinkins; and embattled Rep. Charles Rangel.
"I hope that history will remember that I fought the good fight," Paterson said, "That I did what was hard, and I put the people first."
Copyright 2010 Associated Press
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