David Paterson Biography 

A man who could almost be described as the ‘reluctant governor’ having aspired to the position due the misappropriate behaviour of his predecessor, Eliot Spitzer, after he was deposed following a sex and prostitution scandal in March 2008.

David Alexander Paterson was born on May 20th 1954 in Brooklyn, New York. Following an illness which left him with no sight in his left eye and limited sight in his right eye, David’s family moved to Hempstead, Long Island where he attended regular mainstream school as opposed to a school for the blind.

Paterson was an excellent student and graduated from Hempstead High School in 1971 and went on to Columbia University where he graduated in 1977 with a BA in history before completing his education at Hofstra Law School in 1983 with a law degree.

After failing his exams to serve at the bar, Paterson blamed the lack of accommodation for his impaired vision and has since championed a cause to have changes made to the exam to aid the visually impaired. As a person with limited vision Paterson is an active advocate for people with visual and physical impairments.

He was elected as a member of the American Foundation for the Blind. Paterson serves on the board of directors of the Achilles Track Club, an organization which sponsors disabled athletes and disabled veterans competing in marathons. Paterson completed the New York City Marathon in 1999.

Paterson’s father before him, Basil Paterson, was a labor lawyer and former New York Secretary of State and was the first African American Deputy Mayor of New York City, and the second African American to run for statewide office in New York. His father also served in the New York State Senate, in the same seat his son later occupied and was the first African American vice-chair of the national Democratic Party.

As the Governor of New York he is the first African American and the first legally blind person to hold this position. In 1985, he was elected to the New York State Senate. In 2003, he rose to the position of Senate Minority Leader. Paterson was selected as running mate by then New York Attorney General and Democratic Party nominee Eliot Spitzer in the 2006 New York gubernatorial election. They were elected in November 2006 with 69% of the vote, and Paterson took office as Lieutenant Governor in January 2007.

On March 12, 2008, as a result of a scandal, Spitzer announced his resignation as governor, effective March 17th, 2008. Under provisions in the New York State Constitution, Paterson then became governor. The date was requested by Paterson to provide time for a smooth and orderly transition, and to permit his swearing in before a joint session of the New York legislature.

Paterson is the a basketball player and teacher and an avid fan of New York sports teams.

Prior to taking up the position of Governor of New York, David had been mentioned in political circles as a possible successor to Senator Hillary Clinton should the fellow New York Democrat win the 2008 U.S. presidential election and resign the seat to assume the presidency. Paterson is currently a Democratic party national convention super delegate and has endorsed Clinton.

Paterson is a proponent of embryonic stem cell research. He led Governor Spitzer's successful 2007 legislative effort to approve a bond issue which will provide at least $1 billion toward stem cell research. Spitzer and Paterson touted the measure partly for its economic development benefits, following California's $3 billion effort, which in turn had been prompted by the U.S. federal government halting funding for such research. The New York state legislature had opposed funding the research, and it remains controversial.

In February 2008, a U.S. District Judge denied a motion to dismiss a $1.5 million racial discrimination lawsuit naming Paterson. A former staff photographer, a white male, claimed that he is the victim of discrimination in 2005 when Paterson's office replaced him with an African American photographer. According to the New York Post, Paterson's chief of staff "denied the claim. Paterson, in his deposition, countered that the decision was simple politics and the photographer was a holdover from former Minority Leader Marty Connor, who was ousted by Paterson in 2003.

Following Governor Spitzer's resignation, Paterson was sworn in as the 55th Governor of New York, at the New York State Capitol on March 17th, 2008.

His inauguration ceremony was attended by former New York Governors George Pataki and Hugh Carey, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Paterson is the first African American Governor of New York and the fourth in any U.S. state and is the second legally blind governor of any U.S. state.

Paterson and his wife Michelle live in Harlem. They have two children, Ashley, his wife’s daughter from a previous marriage and Alex, who attends school in New York City.

ABB