In , he was elected to the New York state senate to a seat that was once held by his father, former New York secretary of state Basil Paterson. In , he rose to the position of Senate minority leader. Paterson was selected as running mate by then- New York attorney general and Democratic Party gubernatorial nominee Eliot Spitzer in the New York gubernatorial election. When Spitzer resigned in the wake of a prostitution scandal , Paterson was sworn in as Governor of New York on March 17, Paterson was born in Brooklyn to Portia Paterson, a homemaker, and Basil Paterson , a labor law attorney.

Basil Paterson was later a New York state senator and secretary of state, and served as deputy mayor of New York City. Vestris on May 16, At the age of three months, Paterson contracted an ear infection that spread to his optic nerve , leaving him sightless in his left eye and with severely limited vision in his right. Paterson was the first disabled student in the Hempstead public schools, graduating from Hempstead High School in Paterson received a B. He claimed that his failing the New York bar was partially the result of insufficient accommodation for his visual impairment, and has since advocated for changes in bar exam procedures.

While he was governor, Paterson's staff read documents to him over voice mail. Paterson was the first governor of New York to be partly blind. Paterson and his wife, Michelle Paige Paterson, separated after 19 years of marriage in September In , Paterson resigned from the Queens District Attorney's office so he could join the campaign of then city clerk David Dinkins to win the Democratic nomination for Manhattan Borough President.

That summer, on August 6, state senator Leon Bogues died, and Paterson sought and obtained the Democratic party nomination for the seat. That October, Paterson won the virtually uncontested special State Senate election. In November , he was elected lieutenant governor. Paterson was elected by the Democratic caucus of the Senate as Minority Leader on November 20, , becoming both the first non-white state legislative leader and the highest-ranking black elected official in the history of New York State, unseating the incumbent Minority Leader, Martin Connor.

Paterson became known for his consensus-building style coupled with sharp political skills. In , Paterson sponsored a controversial bill to limit the use of deadly force by the police, but later changed that position. He also supported non-citizen voting in New York local elections. According to the New York Post , he "chalked up a heavily liberal record". Paterson was selected by New York Attorney General Eliot Spitzer as his running mate for the governor's office in The news stunned the New York political world, as the Democratic minority was poised to possibly take over the state legislature.

Paterson would trade a possible powerful Senate Majority Leader position for the largely ceremonial lieutenant governor post. It was the largest margin of victory in a gubernatorial race in New York history, and the second-largest for any statewide race in New York history. In late December , shortly before being sworn in as lieutenant governor, Paterson said that if he ever succeeded Spitzer as governor, he and Nelson A.

Rockefeller would have something besides the governorship in common: Rockefeller was dyslexic, which Paterson compared to his blindness. Paterson was the first black governor of New York and the fourth in any U. The lieutenant governor's office remained vacant until September 22, , when the New York Court of Appeals , ruled in a 4—3 decision that Paterson's appointment of Richard Ravitch was constitutional. Paterson has used Global Strategy Group consultants for political advice as governor.

His relationship with the firm began earlier. When he was lieutenant governor, GSG executives advised him on how to make the job more prominent, and the firm again advised him during the transition and afterward. Soon after becoming governor, Paterson hired former Risa B. Heller from GSG as his director of communications. Although Paterson is a lifelong Democrat who was considered a liberal during his time in the state Senate, he earned praise from conservatives during his time as governor for his efforts to combat the New York fiscal crisis by major reductions in spending and the enaction of an inflation-indexed property tax cap, a school tax "circuit breaker," and unfunded mandate relief, as well as his appointment of Blue Dog Democrat Kirsten Gillibrand to the United States Senate to fill the vacancy created by Hillary Clinton 's appointment as United States Secretary of State.

In September , Paterson was one of seven governors to receive a grade of F in the Cato Institute 's fiscal-policy report card. Paterson ascended to the governor's office during the busiest legislative period of the year. The state is required by law to pass its budget prior to April 1.

Paterson also made reference in his speech to the economic woes being faced in the United States, calling them a "crisis", and promised to "adjust the budget accordingly". Paterson quickly signed five pieces of legislation on his first day in office: He went on to ask for letters of resignation from all of his top staff members and state-agency commissioners. This typical action does not mean the hold overs from the Spitzer administration will be replaced, and Paterson said that "having the letters gives him the flexibility to make changes if he decides to".

One day after Paterson's inauguration as the governor of New York, both he and his wife acknowledged having had extramarital affairs, one with a state employee. In May , Paterson informed New York State agencies that they were required to recognize same-sex marriage licenses from other jurisdictions for purposes of employee benefits.

While Paterson's directive received widespread approval from same-sex marriage supporters, [74] it was met with criticism from conservative legislators and from same-sex marriage opponents, one of whom referred to the directive as governor Paterson's "first major blunder". On June 3, , a lawsuit was filed by the Alliance Defense Fund challenging the governor's directive. Billings, of the State Supreme Court in the Bronx, NY, issued a decision that Paterson acted within his powers when he required state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages from outside New York State.

In her dismissal of the Alliance Defense Fund suit, Justice Billings found that the governor's order was consistent with state laws on the recognition of marriages from outside the state. In April , it was revealed that Paterson would propose legislation to legalize same-sex marriage in New York. In late , before the January expiration of his term as governor, Paterson reached out to members of the New York State Senate in an attempt to gauge support for the passage of same-sex marriage legislation during a lame-duck session of the Legislature ; however, the governor came to the conclusion that passage of the bill during the lame-duck session was not feasible.

As a result, I am directing DEC to initiate a formal public process to update the SEQRA Generic Environmental Impact Statement that is applicable to oil and gas drilling to ensure that it is suitable to address potential new environmental impacts from drilling, including horizontal drilling in Marcellus shale formations. This action created an immediate moratorium, and began the environmental review which eventually led to Governor Cuomo to sign an executive ban on fracking six years later.

In July , Paterson warned state lawmakers and citizens of New York that the state faces its worst fiscal crisis since the s. New York faces an historic economic challenge, the gravest in nearly a century. The pillars of Wall Street have crumbled. The global economy is reeling. Trillions of dollars of wealth have vanished. Paterson revised Spitzer's record-size executive budget proposal to cut spending. Budget negotiations carried over past the deadline, causing the new governor to lament that too many lawmakers were "unwilling to make serious cuts to our budget". Although the legislature was unable to come to a decision on a separate bill to enact congestion pricing in New York City, Mayor Michael Bloomberg called the budget "good news for our city".

In April , Paterson asked the heads of all state agencies to cut their budgets by 3. The budget also recommended dramatic across-the-board cuts to various state agencies, which he called "deep and painful" in his address. He also moved to close the year-old Reynolds Game Farm, in Tompkins county, the state's only remaining pheasant facility.

This decision drew criticism from sportsmen groups, as the farm is funded through licensing fees paid by hunters, and not taxpayer dollars. On June 2, , Paterson announced layoffs of state of workers that would be planned and executed by January 1, Amidst the failed attempt of passing a furlough, Paterson stated that he expected the layoffs would help close the budget deficit. According to state Senator Liz Krueger , Paterson has always been against capital punishment.

In spring , the state Senate passed a bill that would make murderers of policemen eligible for execution. The state Assembly did pass a similar bill, [ citation needed ] , but in any event it was certain that Paterson would not sign it, [ citation needed ] and there is no longer any death penalty in New York.

Clinton resigned her Senate seat on January 21, , in order to assume the Cabinet post. Paterson's aides had intimated that his desire was to appoint a candidate who is from upstate, since every other statewide official in New York save Clinton herself was from New York City. Rangel , Nita Lowey , Gregory W.

Meeks , and two staffers. Some thought that Paterson might appoint a prominent minority member such as Meeks, H.

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Carl McCall , William C. Serrano or Nydia M. It was reported on December 5, that Paterson had spoken with Caroline Kennedy regarding her interest in filling the seat of Secretary of State-designate Hillary Clinton, [] but in a confusing turn of events, Kennedy abruptly withdrew her name from consideration on January 21, Kennedy was widely considered the front-runner for the nomination.

On January 23, , Paterson chose Kirsten Gillibrand —a moderate upstate congresswoman from then-largely conservative district—to fill Clinton's vacated seat. Dowd went so far as to will Andrew Cuomo to run against Paterson in the gubernatorial election. Paterson later admitted that he personally ordered his staff to contest Caroline Kennedy's version of events in the hours after she withdrew from consideration to be United States senator.

Due to the ongoing leadership crisis in the New York State Senate , which has left the Senate tied with 31 Democratic votes and 31 Republican votes, with no presiding officer to break the tie, Paterson announced on July 8, that he would appoint Richard Ravitch , a former chairman of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority , to be the lieutenant governor.

On August 20, , however, a four-judge panel of the 2nd judicial department appellate division in Brooklyn ruled that Paterson had no legal authority to name a lieutenant governor, and that the lieutenant governor position cannot be filled in any other way other than via an election. The appellate division decision was overruled, and Paterson's appointment of Richard Ravitch was held to be constitutional by the New York State Court of Appeals, on September 23, The appointment has generated controversy because of charges that AEG, which had the worst bid of those bidding, was allowed to change its bid so that it had the best.

Paterson is reported to have demanded that the ownership have an affirmative action component.

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Paterson has maintained there was no quid pro quo. On March 9, , Paterson recused himself from the case, saying he was doing so on the advice of his lawyers. Flake had a 0. In February , the New York Times reported on allegations that Paterson may have been involved in witness tampering in a domestic abuse case involving staffer David W. Paterson was said to have asked the woman personally if she needed any help a day before the case was dropped. After the Weekend Update sketch featuring David Paterson aired in on the NBC show Saturday Night Live , Paterson was upset by the way the sketch portrayed him, stating that it was an offensive stereotype to those who were visually impaired.

In October Paterson announced his intentions to run for a full term as governor and launched a campaign website. The White House asked Paterson to tone down his comments on race, but less than 24 hours later, Paterson said: On September 18, , advisors to President Barack Obama informed Paterson that the President believed Paterson should withdraw his gubernatorial candidacy, stepping aside for "popular Attorney General Andrew Cuomo.

Furthermore, the Times cited a potential gubernatorial run by Rudolph Giuliani as a reason for the Obama administration's request. On September 19, Paterson insisted he was still running, even knowing he could face a primary challenge from Andrew Cuomo if he continued to seek election, [] and reiterated his insistence on February 9, "the only way I'm not going to be governor next year is at the ballot box and the only way I'll be leaving office before is in a box".

After leaving office at the end of , Paterson appeared on New York radio station WOR on a number of occasions as a substitute talk show host, filling in for morning host John Gambling. Paterson was appointed in to be a distinguished professor of health care and public policy , at Touro College , in Harlem, and to advise the Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine on public policy issues. From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other people named David Paterson, see David Paterson disambiguation. New York gubernatorial election, Executive Chamber of David Paterson. Capital punishment in New York.

The New York Times. Retrieved September 7, Archived from the original on August 7, Retrieved March 17, Retrieved October 2, Retrieved 25 August Retrieved March 11, Retrieved March 20, Retrieved February 26, Paterson announced on Friday afternoon that he was suspending his election campaign and would not run in November. Retrieved March 18, Retrieved July 17, Retrieved August 29, Archived from the original on March 13, Archived from the original on March 14, Retrieved March 27, I didn't have a video for Survivor so it was just kind of on a whim.

Throw it in, throw in a random photo, and then they found it funny. There would've been me versus some other teacher somewhere fighting for a place. He was comfortable in front of the cameras, and hasn't ruled out a career change. He's just resigned from his job as a teacher at Otumoetai Intermediate School to travel and relief teach.

He is engaged to Australian model and writer, Christina Macpherson no relation to the famous Elle who has 72, social media followers on Instagram. The pair are currently travelling and working together on upcoming creative projects, as well as talking with TVNZ about other opportunities yet to be made public.


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He might not have won Survivor , but he has X-factor. The weirdest opportunities are coming out of it and if there's good enough offers, you'd have to consider them and be smart I'm not really worried about failure. Water had to be sourced from a well, and the 16 contestants - two from Tauranga the other was Mike Sparrow had only water and sand to scrub their bodies. He recalls feeling like a true Robinson Crusoe when he and fellow contestant Jak Thomas went for a walk and spotted a group of tourists looking for surf breaks.

It was the weirdest thing We'd almost forgotten about civilisation. Another time, two guys on motorbikes came into camp through the jungle. We went up to them: It's a curious thing to go from city boy to deserted island ruffian. He would find himself sneaking away as the first sun peeped over the sapphire sea, padding his feet over soft sand, and evaporating into the jungle.

I'd go and train. So I was in a bush, throwing rocks trying to do weird little things He was happy they filmed in Nicaragua. The only place he would have hated to compete inwas Guatemala, after watching a particularly gruelling Survivor US series filmed there in Kiwi contestants were placed into two competing tribes - Mogoton and Hermosa - they later merged into one tribe, Casar, as cast members were eliminated one by one by their peers.

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The prize is "no way" enough. Create a different tension. One is life-changing, and the other could be depending on who won. Competitors, who must provide for themselves, had been whittled down to three by the end - Paterson, Ducker-Jones and Barbara "Barb" Raos.


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Paterson suspected it would come down to himself and Ducker-Jones but didn't expect it to be a landslide victory: People like an underdog and I'm essentially still that. Returning home, he wasn't ready to face anyone, but was grateful for routine and the distraction of work.

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Filming finished in September last year but the live final was only held this month. On conclusion of filming, the three finalists gorged themselves on food and alcohol back at the crew's resort. Paterson, whose favourite food is eggs, chose a lobster, on top of a steak, with a side of cocktails. A highly competitive and physical person, he got what he wanted out of the game and that was to push himself to his limits. He won't concede he's a sucker for punishment but he would do it again. Describing himself as "goofy", even on his worst days he could laugh. You see the best and worst of people.

Alliances and enemies were formed early on, with contestant Shayna "Shay" Tapusoa, instantly putting Paterson on her hit-list. To put it simply: We just butted heads in the game. His incredible mental stamina and physical prowess saw him win five immunity challenges in a row - equal with the most won on any international Survivor series.

One task saw him balancing a vase on a plank with his foot, for three hours. He fell off at the end and got concussion. I think I probably pulled out all of the stops when they needed to happen at the right times.

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He hit out at the treatment of a fellow finalist, Barbara Raos, saying the last episode before the live final turned into a roast by eliminated contestants that crossed a line. It was revealed even more harsh words were spoken that didn't make it to air. In essence, they kind of just got outplayed by someone who was a strategist. It didn't sit well with me.

He represented New Zealand when at boarding school in basketball he can shoot a half court , and moved to Australia after university. He came back two-and-a-half years ago with fiancee Macpherson. Keen on surfing, photography and classic and alternative rock, his portrayal on the show was accurate. By the end, I'd found my feet.