AP sources: NY Gov. Paterson won't seek new term

[FourScore]

Source: AP

New York Gov. David Paterson is not seeking election, Democratic officials told The Associated Press on Friday.

Democratic officials in Washington were informed of Paterson's plans early Friday. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity because Paterson had not publicly disclosed his plans.

Paterson formally announced his campaign just days ago but faced mounting calls to drop out of the race in the midst of controversy. A top aide is ensnared in a domestic-violence scandal, the governor was finding dwindling support in his own party and his campaign bank account paled in size to his rivals.

Paterson became governor in 2008, when former Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned in a prostitution scandal. Paterson's decision paves the way for Andrew Cuomo to make an unimpeded run for the Democratic nomination...

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_ny_governor

[Habibi]

1. Wow!

[RFKHumphreyObama]

2. Now that's a sudden turnaround

[Unvanguard]

3. Excellent. He needs to go. n/t

[WriteDown]

4. He may be serving his next term in a jail cell. nt

[iwearshoesinky]

5. Huh

So I guess Kaine and the national leadership are making forcing out pro-Gay candidates their strategy for 2010.

[stray cat]

6. Wow - you seem to think Kaine is one powerful guy - I thought it was NYers fed up with him

NYers love him - he is the most beloved gov ever and Kaine is ruining everything. GO Figure :sarcasm:

[Habibi]

7. I could be wrong, but

I don't think Kaine has anything to do with this.

[Rhiannon12866]

13. Even President Obama weighed in on this, didn't want him to run...

I assumed the original reason that the Democrats were discouraging him from running was the belief that he would be likely to lose...

[Name removed]

8. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Princess Turandot]

16. err, is Andrew Cuomo (son of Mario) an opponent of gay rights? He's now the presumptive candidate.nt

[NashVegas]

9. Wouldn't It Be Beautiful

If this was leaked in the same vein as "Caroline Kennedy is dropping out" was leaked?

[Historic NY]

10. Its was bound to happen the accidental Gov. was not revered here

from his half ass decisions
to waste 30+ million on new license plates that will never go on cars

to a payroll tax on local business & governments for the MTA which in the end wasn't enough but is costing people who never ever would use the service.

cutting local school aid is going over like a fart in church as school scamper to close & cut programs.

his latest proposal closes all the historic sites in my town leaving those in richer areas open.WTF.

he has been more sensitive to padding his NY City buddies pockets with contracts

the only time the rest of the state gets his attention is when he is trolling for votes..he sat down with the local Orthodox conclave and picked up 100k

his disastrous waffling over picking a US Senator

the list goes on and on he squander the control the Dems had by alienating the majority


Andrew Cuomo is the best choice for keeping the Governorship

[HughMoran]

11. lol - it's weird when a 8 hour old story just hits the Greatest Page now

:)

[Rhiannon12866]

14. I gave it the 5th rec... ;)

Looked for it after hearing this on my 6pm local news... This is hugh news here in NY! :wow:

[Rhiannon12866]

12. K&R. Heard this on my local (Albany) news... Not a surprise.

The powers that be have been telling him not to run for a long time now. I can't help wondering if they finally managed to find a persuasive enough reason. :shrug:

[Princess Turandot]

15. It's been reported that both Paterson and the State Police head of his security detail ..

contacted the long time companion of the governor's long term personal aide/advisor (David Johnson) whilst the woman was in the process of getting a final order of protection against the guy. She had already told the judge that she was being pressured/intimidated by the governor's security people to drop the matter. Then Paterson himself called her the day before the final court hearing; she did not show up at the hearing, so the request was tossed. (There's been no direct comment by her about what Paterson said to her AFAIK but I may be wrong about that.)

The NYT article is a little more detailed. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/nyregion/27paterson.html?hp

[Rhiannon12866]

17. +1. Here's more: Experts Assail Call as Claimed Between Paterson and Aide’s Accuser

In the world of lawyers and advocates who specialize in domestic violence and family law, a moment-to-moment concern is that a woman who has made an accusation — or gone to court for protection — will be intimidated by even the slightest pushback, whether it comes from the man she has taken action against or from his family, his friends or his co-workers.

For that reason, these experts say, contact between a powerful official like Gov. David A. Paterson and a woman who had testified that she had been violently assaulted by one of his top aides was inappropriate.

“If the governor called this woman for the first time and there was no other legitimate purpose than to talk about this incident, that should raise eyebrows,” said Leah A. Hill, a clinical associate professor of law at Fordham University Law School and co-director of Fordham’s Interdisciplinary Center for Family and Child Advocacy.

“This is already a very complex issue,” she said. “There’s no place for communication from a high official in the decision-making in the victim of domestic violence. The call should raise eyebrows.”

The New York Times reported Wednesday night that the governor had called the woman, who had gone to court seeking a protective order against David W. Johnson, a longtime aide to Mr. Paterson. The woman’s lawyer, Lawrence B. Saftler, said the minute-long conversation took place shortly before she was to return to court in the Bronx for a hearing on the final protective order. But the judge dismissed the case when she did not attend the hearing, on Feb. 8.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/26/nyregion/26reax.html

[WhiteTara]

18. Paterson to Drop Out of Governor Race

Source: NY Times

Gov. David A. Paterson, his administration caught up in a whirlwind of allegations about its intervention in a domestic violence episode involving a top aide, is set to announce that he is suspending his election campaign and will not run in November, according to a person told about the plans.

Mr. Paterson is expected to make the announcement Friday afternoon. It would end his campaign less than a week after it officially began, with an angry speech at Hofstra University on Long Island.

As he prepared for the announcement, some newspaper editorial writers were demanding something more than an end to his campaign: they were calling for his resignation. That only added to the increasing sense that it would be nearly impossible for him to run the state and the campaign with the abuse case in the background.

Still, as recently as Thursday evening, Mr. Paterson — who was elected lieutenant governor in November 2006 and became governor in March 2008 after Eliot Spitzer resigned amid a prostitution scandal — had said he would stay in the race.

But he also said in a brief appearance on Thursday that he was consulting with other Democrats. And many had said publicly this week that Mr. Paterson’s chances had been damaged, perhaps irreparably, by the disclosures that the governor himself had stepped in on behalf of David W. Johnson, 37, a close confidant who rose from being a young intern to being Mr. Paterson’s driver and scheduler and, later, to a wider role in Mr. Paterson’s operation.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/27/nyregion/27paterson.html

---

why don't the thugs drop out after terrible events in their careers? Oh right, I just remembered; they have no shame.

[TheWraith]

19. Really, this is just the last straw.

Paterson was "done" long before this happened, and he'd have lost in the primary or in the general.

[Cha]

20. This is Huge! Thanks WhiteTara!

Now, who's clean enough to run for Gov of New York and win?:bounce:

[TheWraith]

21. Andrew Cuomo is already planning for it.

There really aren't any other credible candidates.

[Cha]

23. I figured and I'm happy he

finally gets his turn..I was actually asking subtly if Andrew's record is good to go?

When he was in the primary a few years ago..I had my Andrew pin I wore to work.

[TheWraith]

24. (Shrug) Seems fine to me.

He's pretty much spent his entire term as AG doing the sort of profile-building stuff that you do when you're auditioning for higher office--attacking child porn and fighting Wall Street. He doesn't have any obvious drawbacks that I know of. Then again, neither did Spitzer, but maybe the last two Govs getting ridden out of town on a rail will force him to stay awake and do things right. Not to mention the fact that I suspect he's got higher ambitions than being Governor, so he's got extra incentives not to screw up.

[Cha]

27. Yeah, good..

I was just thinking of his divorce but I think she left him for a republican. :o

[bread_and_roses]

25. And I've never forgiven him for running a primary against Carl McCall

Nor the Democratic Party for the lack of support to McCall. Cuomo's done some good things as AG. He's popular. I will never be enthusiastic about him and I wish it were someone else.

[Cha]

26. He dropped out ot the primary to

let Carl have it.

I don't know why the campaign for Carl McCall wasn't better..I sure voted for him enthusiastically!

[Number23]

22. Can't say I'm surprised but this is big news nonetheless

[brooklynite]

28. Announcement at 3 PM: Link to Live Webcast

http://pointers.audiovideoweb.com/asxfiles-live/ca25winlive2138.asx

[lurky]

29. I was starting to think he would never get the hint.

Maybe we can get a Democratic governor who doesn't self-destruct as soon as he or she is sworn in.

While we're at it, maybe we could get a governor who doesn't act like a damn Republican on fiscal issues. Oops, I forgot... that's not "realistic".

[robcon]

30. He should resign, or be impeached.

He's corrupt.

My Congressperson, Nita Lowey (D_NY): "Aside from the allegations, the political reality is the Governor cannot be an effective candidate or official for New York.”

[Elmore Furth]

31. AP Analysis: NY Gov. Paterson's Pals Factor in Fall

Too much scandal.

Gov. David Paterson's inspiring, tumultuous political rise and fall is ending under the weight of suspicion that he chose personal loyalty over the integrity of his office -- suspicions that still have some people demanding his resignation.

The final push to end Paterson's campaign and the undoing of his troubled administration came this week in a New York Times report that said state police and Paterson intervened in a domestic violence case involving Dennis ''D.J.'' Johnson, a trusted aide.

His longtime chief of staff, Charles O'Byrne, was forced from office by relentless press reports that, years before, he hadn't paid his income taxes. He had failed to pay the taxes while under a physician's care for depression and ended up repaying all but a fraction over the years before the story broke. Nonetheless, O'Byrne was called a tax cheat, even nuts in bold-faced headlines.

Analysis: NY Gov. Paterson's Pals Factor in Fall