Columbia Spectator - Harlem Sen. To Run With Eliot Spitzer

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Harlem Sen. To Run With Eliot Spitzer

Surprising Many Political Pundits, Paterson Has Agreed to Run for Lieutenant Governo
By Sara Vogel
Spectator Staff Writer

January 27, 2006

State Senator David Paterson (D-Harlem), the Senate minority leader, will run for lieutenant governor alongside Eliot Spitzer, the state attorney general and front-runner in the race for governor, news outlets reported this week.

Spitzer�s selection of Paterson, who has represented Harlem in Albany since 1986, comes as a surprise to the political world, both because of its early timing in the campaign season and its implications for former Hillary Clinton counsel Leecia R. Eve, another black candidate whom many Harlem Democrats had endorsed for the position.

�Eliot believes that David will be a tremendous asset in helping to build consensus for change in the State Legislature,� Robert Toohey, Spitzer�s campaign manager, wrote on the campaign�s blog. �In David, he has a trusted partner who can deftly work the halls of the state capitol. This is critical because to a large degree an executive is only as effective as his ability to unite others in working towards a common goal.�

The lieutenant governor has few defined responsibilities other than being next in line for the governor�s chair and serving as the ceremonial presiding officer of the Senate. By running statewide, Paterson is giving up the prospect of assuming the much more powerful post of Senate majority leader in the event Democrats win control of the Senate within the next few years.

The Spitzer campaign declined comment on the particulars of the decision. Paterson�s office also declined comment and has not yet released an official acceptance statement.

Eve, who has not officially withdrawn from the race, has been preparing her campaign for lieutenant governor for almost a year. She was endorsed by several leading Harlem Democrats including Representative Charles Rangel (D-Harlem); David Dinkins, the former mayor; Percy Sutton, a former Manhattan borough president; and even Paterson�s father, Basil Paterson, a fixture in state and city administrations.

�I don�t remember David Paterson asking any of us for his support, but if Eliot has picked a candidate, who am I to deny him that decision?� Rangel told The New York Times.

At least one community leader expressed delight at the prospect of a Lieutenant Governor Paterson.

�As lieutenant governor, he will be visible and out in the forefront. I know he will not forget where he came from,� said

Jordi Reyes-Montblanc, chair of Community Board 9. �When New York City gets the short end of the stick, Harlem gets no stick, and with David Paterson there, that will not happen.�