Gov. David Paterson his own worst enemy, experts say
ALBANY — David Paterson’s quest to remain governor came to an end rather expectedly, the latest installment in a course of events largely of his own making.
Paterson may have started his tenure as governor with good will from the public and colleagues in government, but he demonstrated he was ineffective, unprepared for the job and unsure of his own powers, politicians and observers said.
In the end, his few Democratic allies were drowned out by others in his party who urged him to drop his campaign for a full four-year term.
“He quickly discarded all of the cards that he had been dealt,” said Curt Smith, host of Perspectives on WXXI-AM (1320) and a self-described “lapsed Republican.”
“I think he had a brain, he had a heart. I’m not sure he had a spine.”
The party deserted Paterson in large part because of its preference for Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, who has not announced his plans, though Paterson’s stumbling took a more serious turn in recent days.
His reputation went from ineffective to possibly sinister after reports surfaced that the State Police and Paterson himself might have interfered with a woman who was allegedly beaten by a top gubernatorial aide in a domestic violence incident.
The weight of it all seemed too heavy for Paterson, who announced Friday he would not run for a full four-year term, though he denied doing anything improper.
“It’s a sad personal story,” said Maurice Carroll, director of the Quinnipiac University Polling Institute. “He came in with the best good will. Everybody liked him.”
Paterson took over as governor in March 2008 amid a groundswell of support from voters and lawmakers. Both groups were eager to put steamrolling Eliot Spitzer, and the prostitution scandal that brought his term as governor to an abrupt end, behind them.
But the problems that would befall the Paterson administration appear to be written in the past.
Paterson agreed to join the Spitzer ticket, sure to be a success, in 2006 with hopes that he might be appointed to the U.S. Senate, not with the expectation that he might one day be governor.
He grew up in a political family with an influential father, former state Secretary of State Basil Paterson, and spent decades in the state Senate and led the minority conference. But those did not prove to be the right training grounds for a future chief executive.
Assemblyman Joseph Morelle, D-Irondequoit, called Paterson a “poor choice” to be Spitzer’s running mate.
“I don’t think the governor had to learn, as a legislator, how to govern or how to legislate,” said Morelle, chairman of the county Democrats and a Cuomo ally who did not attend Paterson’s campaign kickoff in Rochester on Feb. 20.
“I think he was unsure of his powers,” Morelle said. “I think he was unsure of the role he was supposed to play.”
Those in and around the state capital complained that he was ineffective. He talked tough about the state’s finances, which the public appreciated, but agreed to increase taxes and fees, which were unpopular. He also couldn’t get fellow Democrats in the Legislature to help him achieve his goals, such as legislation that would have made New York competitive in a national competition for education funds, known as Race to the Top.
Sen. James Alesi, R-Perinton, called Paterson’s governorship an “abject failure,” saying he never made a successful transition from legislator to governor and wasn’t qualified for the job.
“The average person has no idea how inept this administration has been, especially considering that you had a guy who was perfectly capable being the minority leader in the Senate,” said Alesi, who called the governor “a wonderful guy.”
“There’s such a thing as being a lame duck, and then there’s a really lame duck. His administration has been paralyzed for a year and now it’s beyond that. It’s comatose.”
A dramatic drop in public opinion polls — from 75 percent of voters saying Paterson would govern effectively in a March 2008 Quinnipiac University poll to an all-time low approval rating of 17 percent last fall — was helped along by blunders in selecting a new junior senator and a poor economy.
It was a steep fall for someone who had widespread support when he took over, though some experts noted he was never elected governor and kicked off his administration with admissions of marital infidelity.
“I think he was never on strong footing,” said Gerald Gamm, chairman of the political science department at the University of Rochester.
Even scandal-damaged Spitzer didn’t poll as low as Paterson, said Lee Miringoff, director of the Marist poll.
“He at one point not too long after taking office had a 57 percent approval rating. That was quickly squandered and left him at all-time lows for the three decades we’ve been polling,” Miringoff said.
The governor said Friday that he was being a political realist in deciding not to run. A multitude of “obstacles” prevented him from getting his message to the public, he said.
Not everyone has deserted him.
Assemblyman David Gantt, D-Rochester, stood by Paterson, saying he was a good person to work with.
“He’s always willing to take the time to give you his ear,” Gantt said.
The New York Times has written several stories about Paterson’s struggles as governor, most recently focusing on gubernatorial aide David Johnson, who allegedly physically assaulted his girlfriend.
According to the Times, the governor spoke with the woman, and State Police met with her and may have interfered in the case. The case was dismissed when she didn’t show up in court a day after the governor talked with her. The attorney general is investigating.
Paterson’s announcement throws Albany into distraction at a time when lawmakers are expected to be working on a budget, which is due April 1.
“This is a combination of Rod Serling meets Lewis Carroll,” said Baruch College political science professor Doug Muzzio. “It’s the Twilight Zone plus Wonderland. You never know what’s happening because the story is more absurd than you can think.”
Spitzer, reached at his office Friday, declined to comment on Paterson’s situation.
JTERRERI@DemocratandChronicle.com
Includes reporting by staff writer David Andreatta and Gannett Albany bureau chief Joseph Spector.
