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New York state lawmakers are bracing constituents for a third round of major budget cuts this year, a ripple effect of the crisis on Wall Street. The financial crisis that has felled Wall Street titans is now before Democratic Gov. David Paterson, a new governor who inherited the state's top job when Eliot Spitzer resigned earlier this year in a prostitution scandal. A longtime lawmaker before becoming lieutenant governor, Mr. Paterson must now shepherd the state through its worst financial downturn in years. Mr. Paterson has culled a team of economic experts and sought advice from the likes of Joseph...

The financial-market implosion and the coming transformation of the securities industry pose a risk to the national economy. But they especially imperil New York State, which for decades has built its budgets on the expectation of raising ever-greater revenues from a Wall Street that now no longer exists. New York was once a great industrial state. But for the past quarter of a century, with occasional bear-market interruptions, the state's dependence on Wall Street has grown as manufacturing has shriveled. Last year, nearly 18% of private wages in New York State came from the securities industry. That was up from...

Former Gov. Michael Dukakis said Monday that John McCain's presidential campaign is using the same race-based tactics that were used against him in the 1988 presidential run...

DENVER – When Valerie Wilson saw Illinois Sen. Barack Obama on TV delivering the keynote address four years ago at the Democratic National Convention, she knew he was someone to follow.  And follow him she did. Over the last four years she has avidly watched his media appearances and she has been following his campaign closely, sharing information on Obama with friends and relatives and registering everyone she knows to vote as the election approaches.On Wednesday, Wilson, 59, a Paterson native, and her daughter, Aisha Wilson, 31, arrived in Denver for the Democratic National Convention. Their aim was to...

In a bid to jump-start the snail's-pace reconstruction at the site, the mayor called on Gov. Paterson to dismantle the Lower Manhattan Development Corp. Bloomberg branded the state agency "just another level of bureaucracy you don't need" - and in a power grab, he said its redevelopment mission should be "handed over" to City Hall. Noting that one of LMDC's signature jobs is to demolish the toxic Deutsche Bank tower at 130 Liberty St., he said another agency, the Lower Manhattan Construction Command Center, is better suited to finishing the task by the July 2009 deadline. "The multilayers of authority...

New York Governor David Paterson says Sarah Palin's criticism of Barack Obama's time as a community organizer is racially charged. Paterson said Tuesday, "There are overtones of potential racial coding in this campaign. I think the Republican Party is too smart to call Barack Obama 'black'... but you can take something about his life... a community organizer. They kept saying it, they kept laughing." He said such language is "designed to inhibit other people's progress with a subtle reference to their race." The McCain camp says Palin's criticism of Obama's community organizer days was not racist but was in response...

ALBANY, N.Y. -New York Gov. David Paterson said Tuesday that there were racial overtones in the Republican presidential ticket's criticism of Democrat Barack Obama's work as a community organizer. "There are overtones of potential racial coding in the campaign," Paterson said at an event in New York City. Paterson said that while Republican candidates John McCain and Sarah Palin haven't directly talked about race, it's strongly implied in comments Alaska Gov. Palin and others have made about Obama. McCain's camp said Paterson's claim is false. "The Republican party is too smart to call Barack Obama 'black' in a sense that...

PATERSON - Ramadan this year began with a little thanksgiving. On Saturday, a few dozen area Muslims and public officials gathered in the foyer of the Passaic County Administration Building for the county government's lighting of the Islamic crescent moon. The ceremony, now in its 10th year, marks the start of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of prayer and fasting that began this year on Sept. 2. But while the ceremony was meant to commemorate the 1,400-year-old tradition, the men and women in attendance observed, and praised, a more recent event. On Thursday, a federal immigration judge struck down an...

On Monday, Gov. David Paterson angered some state lawmakers by comparing them to vampires, calling them a bunch of "blood suckers." On Tuesday, he raised eyebrows again, and tempers, by accusing the John McCain campaign of veiled racism. At the Crain's Business Forum this morning, Paterson drew attention to a phrase used numerous times by speakers at the Republican National Convention to describe Barack Obama's leadership experience: community organizer. "I think the Republican Party is too smart to call Barack Obama 'black' in a sense that it would be a negative. But you can take something about his life, which...

Albany, N.Y. (AP) -- New York Gov. David Paterson said Tuesday that there were racial overtones in the Republican presidential ticket's criticism of Democrat Barack Obama's work as a community organizer. "There are overtones of potential racial coding in the campaign," Paterson said at an event in New York City.

Gov. Paterson Accuses McCain Campaign Of Racism Feels Use Of 'Community Organizer' References Is Republican Code For 'Black' Don Dahler ALBANY (CBS) ― On Monday, Gov. David Paterson angered some state lawmakers by comparing them to vampires, calling them a bunch of "blood suckers." On Tuesday, he raised eyebrows again, and tempers, by accusing the John McCain campaign of veiled racism. At the Crain's Business Forum this morning, Paterson drew attention to a phrase used numerous times by speakers at the Republican National Convention to describe Barack Obama's leadership experience: community organizer. "I think the Republican Party is too smart...

HYPERAGGRESSIVE Sen. Chuck Schumer really outdid himself last week at the Democratic National Convention in Denver... Schumer lied to Paterson about the circumstances under which he upstaged the governor by denying him his agreed-on role of introducing Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton... "Chuck had agreed to turn the microphone over to Paterson when Hillary showed up at the New York delegation breakfast, but then he hogged it for himself ... "Chuck lied about what happened, and the governor knows he lied." Added another prominent delegate, "Chuck was out of control. "He was elbowing people on the floor of the convention, pushing...

Gov. David A. Paterson and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg warned on Monday of further deterioration in state and city finances, with each saying that he or his successor would have to grapple with huge budget deficits in the years ahead. Both men appeared at a meeting of the State Financial Control Board, where Mr. Bloomberg and the New York City comptroller, William C. Thompson, said that the city’s budget shortfall would balloon from $68 million in fiscal 2009 to more than $2 billion in 2010 and more than $5 billion the following year. But Mr. Bloomberg also said that the...

·11250 Waples Mill Road ·   Fairfax, Virginia 22030    ·800-392-8683   New York Governor Signs Youth Hunting Bill!   Friday, July 25, 2008   Earlier this week, Governor David Paterson (D) signed Assembly Bill 11033, New York’s “Youth Hunting” bill, sponsored by State Assemblywoman Francine DelMonte (D-138).    The companion bill is Senate Bill 8228, sponsored by State Senator Dale Volker (R-59).  A11033/S8228 allows 14 and 15 year olds, who already are permitted to hunt small game in New York, to also hunt deer and bear with a firearm under specified conditions and only while supervised.  It also creates a trapper-mentoring program.  Thirty...

I am known as New York's accidental governor.I would like to point out a couple of facts. The two adjoining states to New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, have had three government changes in the last five years. None of those people were called the accidental governor. ... Nobody called Teddy Roosevelt an accidental president. Nobody called Truman an accidental president. And nobody called LBJ an accidental anything.So why was this non-illustrious title held all of these years for me?I will leave the answer to all of you and the Freudians in the audience because I haven't had the chance...

Governor Paterson, delivering a speech today at the NAACP's 99th annual convention at Cincinnati, suggested that the defeat of Senator Obama in the presidential election would be a victory for racism in America. Mr. Paterson, a former lieutenant governor whose sudden rise to power following the resignation of Eliot Spitzer has led the press to dub him the "accidental governor," said he is offended by the label and suggested that it was motivated by racism.

When Governor Paterson in late May was promoting an effort to slash the budgets of his state agencies by 3.35%, he delivered an unusually harsh warning to his commissioners. "If you can't cut 3.35% off of your budget and still be effective, I would ask them to go back and take another look at it," Mr. Paterson said before a gathering of reporters in Albany. "If that doesn't work, maybe we'll have somebody else take a look at it." For the former lieutenant governor, whose administration must carve out the same percentage of spending from his new office, leading by...

ALBANY BUREAU CHIEF ALBANY - Gov. Paterson wants to give the National Rifle Association - of all people - a state-sanctioned role in training would-be gun owners in New York. Paterson is proposing a gun safety bill that, in part, requires buyers of guns to first take a firearms safety course. A clause tucked away in the bill says the program must meet or exceed the standards of "the home firearms safety course as approved by the National Rifle Association" or another course approved by the state police. While the NRA training program is well-regarded, its inclusion in the bill...

Bishop William Murphy Rockville Centre, NY, Jun 20, 2008 / 05:07 am (CNA).- Rockville Centre Bishop William Murphy has criticized New York Governor David A. Paterson for ignoring the democratic process in order to recognize same-sex “marriages” in the state and for acting contrary of the common good of the state. In his weekly column in Long Island Catholic, the prelate began by recalling that in the wake of the decision to approve same-sex “marriages” in Massachusetts, the New York judicial system declared any ruling on the matter beyond its mandate. However, the bishop pointed out, “previous governors indicated...

Mayor Bloomberg is a nasty, untrustworthy, tan trum-prone liar who "has little use" for average New Yorkers - like the 1,500 workers who would have lost their jobs had OTB closed, a furious Gov. Paterson has said privately. "He appears to be self-destructing," the governor said. According to a source with firsthand knowledge of Paterson's comments, the governor said that during talks last week on OTB's future, Bloomberg threw the same kind of bizarre tantrums that disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer had been known for. "He has the same kind of anger that reminds you of Spitzer," The governor charged...

NY's upstate economic development czar resignsBy: The Associated Press Thursday, June 5, 2008 1:15 PM EDT ALBANY -- New York's first upstate director of economic development is resigning and an official familiar with Gov. David Paterson's plans says a statewide director is expected to be named today. Paterson has wanted to return to a system in which one official coordinates economic development statewide instead of the two-leader system created by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer. Dan Gundersen's resignation comes two months after the resignation of Patrick J. Foye, the co-chairman of the Empire State Development Corp. who handed New York City-area...

A Muslim cleric graphically described the torture to which he claims he was subjected to in Israeli custody as he fought to block U.S. efforts to deport him on grounds he lied on his residency application. "Judge, you cannot imagine," Mohammad Qatanani said Monday, his voice breaking. "They say, 'We will kill your family.' They say: 'You know what your family is doing now? We will go to them, we will burn them.'" Qatanani paused to compose himself before telling Immigration Judge Alberto J. Riefkohl, "At that time, you feel that death is better than life." The detention is at...

ALBANY — Five state lawmakers, backed by a conservative Christian policy group, sued Gov. David A. Paterson on Tuesday, seeking to block the governor’s order directing state agencies to recognize same-sex marriages performed outside New York. The lawsuit, filed in State Supreme Court in the Bronx, came as the Senate Republican conference all but ruled out taking any action to try to challenge the governor. The Christian group, the Alliance Defense Fund, based in Arizona, which represents the lawmakers, has fought efforts to legalize same-sex marriage in several states. In Tuesday’s suit, it argued that Mr. Paterson usurped the Legislature’s...

ALBANY - Gov. Paterson has refrained from politicking for a Democratic takeover of the Senate - but his wife has entered the fray with a fund-raising invitation on state letterhead. That's a no-no. First Lady Michelle Paige Paterson sent the invitation for the June 24 Manhattan fund-raiser on behalf of family friend Don Barber, who is challenging upstate Sen. James Seward (R-Milford). "I know that you will agree with me that our 'blue' state should be led by a Democratic Senate and Don's campaign will help us achieve that goal," the First Lady wrote. Senate spokesman Mark Hansen called the...

Opposition is forming against Gov. David Paterson's directive to state agencies to recognize gay marriages legally performed in other states and countries. The Rev. Duane Motley of New Yorkers for Constitutional Freedoms says the Democratic governor is circumventing the Legislature and courts and slapping New Yorkers in the face. granting government benefits to gay couples will come at a cost to the state even as Paterson calls for cuts in spending because of looming deficits.

ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada. In a directive issued on May 14, the governor’s legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere “should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union.” The revisions are most likely to involve as many as 1,300 statutes and regulations in New York governing everything from joint filing of income tax returns to transferring fishing licenses between spouses. In a videotaped...

ALBANY — Gov. David A. Paterson has directed all state agencies to begin to revise their policies and regulations to recognize same-sex marriages performed in other jurisdictions, like Massachusetts, California and Canada. In a directive issued on May 14, the governor’s legal counsel, David Nocenti, instructed the agencies that gay couples married elsewhere “should be afforded the same recognition as any other legally performed union.”

ALBANY, N.Y. - New York Gov. David Paterson is granting a full and unconditional pardon to rapper Ricky "Slick Rick" Walters for the attempted murders of two men in 1991. The pardon is expected to halt efforts to deport Walters to the United Kingdom, the country he left as a child.

New York Governor Pardons Slick Rick May 23, 2008, 3:35 PM ET Hillary Crosley, N.Y. Veteran rapper Ricky "Slick Rick" Walters received a full and unconditional pardon from New York governor David Paterson today (May 23) for the attempted murders of two men in 1991, apparently ending a long legal sega. Walters has already served approximately five years in prison and was released in 1997 on parole and discharged in 2000. But he faces deportation under a federal statute mandating the removal of a lawful resident alien upon conviction of an aggravated felony or a weapon offense. In 1995, an...

ALBANY — The other day, the state’s top Republican, Joseph L. Bruno, stepped out of a meeting to take a phone call. “Governor Bruno?” the voice on the other end said. “Who’s this?” Mr. Bruno asked, momentarily disoriented. “It’s David!” said the real governor, David A. Paterson, who was in Washington. “You are the governor!” Technically it was true. Under the State Constitution, when Mr. Paterson leaves New York his duties transfer to Mr. Bruno. “I’m glad you called,” cracked Mr. Bruno, who described the exchange later to a reporter. “I’m going to run right down and see what the...

After admitting himself to a hospital with symptoms of a severe headache, Gov. David Paterson was diagnosed Tuesday with acute glaucoma in his left eye and was undergoing a routine procedure to relieve pressure on that eye, his office said. The operation, called an iridotomy, will not have any long-term impact on the governor's overall health, the statement said. "The governor will remain conscious throughout the procedure, but in an abundance of caution, the Senate majority leader and the Assembly speaker were advised of this pursuant to standard protocol," it said.

What is it about Governor Paterson that he seems to be able to get away with misdeeds that would topple politicians in states with higher standards for the behavior of their politicians? The latest case in point is from yesterday’s Daily News, which reports that Paterson, as a state senator, directed $60,000 in state money to nonprofits connected to a Museum of African American Cinema. The article indicates that only a quarter of the money actually got to the museum. The nonprofits gave $1,600 to Mr. Paterson’s campaign. That’s right, the nonprofits — not their employees or board members, but...

NEW YORK, (AP) -- Gov. David Paterson pledged to examine undercover police conduct on Thursday, a day after more than 200 people were arrested protesting the acquittal of three detectives involved in the shooting death of an unarmed man. Paterson said he understood the activists' frustrations as he stood with the slain man's fiancee and the Rev. Al Sharpton, who were among the demonstrators arrested while disrupting evening rush hour traffic. But the governor stopped short of endorsing their actions. "No civil servant can condone civil disobedience," Paterson said, but he added: "They felt that they had no other choice...

ADMITTED TO AFFAIRS BEFORE PROBE Associated Press May 2, 2008 -- Gov. David Paterson said Friday that he admitted past marital affairs in part because he feared an "out-of-control" element in the state police that he says was investigating politicians. The Democrat, who took office in March after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer amid a prostitution scandal, had already called for an investigation into lawmakers' claims that a state police unit was keeping tabs on elected officials. At that time, though, he wouldn't say if he believed there was such a unit and the state police union said it doubted...

Paterson: New York has to cut spending, or elseBy JOHN KEKIS Associated Press Writer Published April 23, 2008 06:41 am SYRACUSE, N.Y. (AP) — Gov. David Paterson, who aims to cut the next state budget by up to 10 percent, said Tuesday that the Division of the Budget and key members of his staff will begin work on proposals to reduce future state spending. Paterson also said he intends to take a close look at the STAR property tax relief program in the next couple of months. STAR sends about $5 billion a year in state funds that are supposed...

Governor Paterson’s promising speech—and enormous budget A sex scandal drives the old governor out, and the new governor cuts through partisan politics to say what voters need to hear: change is imperative. “The days of spending like there’s no tomorrow end today,” the governor, who hails from the legislature, tells his former colleagues. “The good news is we’re not bankrupt. The bad news is we’re close,” he adds, continuing his refreshing straight talk. The editorialists are thrilled, seeing an upside to the previous officeholder’s embarrassing resignation. New York governor David Paterson in 2008? No: New Jersey acting governor Richard Codey...

Some Democrats terrified that their bloody primary campaign will doom them in November are floating a consolation prize for Hillary Clinton: governor of New York. The travails of New York Gov. David Paterson have opened up a new potential career path for Clinton, according to well-informed Democratic Party insiders who refused to allow their names to be used when discussing contingencies. They want her to consider the option if she concludes after the April 22 Pennsylvania primary that she cannot overtake Barack Obama for the party's presidential nomination. Hillary Clinton, while fully committed to continuing her presidential campaign, was said...

Today's New York Post reports that new Governor David Paterson has authorized Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to launch a criminal probe into the New York State Police. The allegations to be investigated include illegal leaks of information statewide, politically motivated investigations and looking the other way while former Governor Eliot Spitzer repeatedly patronized high priced prostitutes. If this is how the state's police operate, no wonder Hillary has expressed interest in running for governor if her presidential bid fails.

March 31, 2008 ALBANY - The scandal-scarred State Police is suspected of harboring a renegade unit that for years has secretly compiled personal information on top New York officials - possibly including Gov. Paterson, The Post has learned. The governor got a whiff of the existence of such an illegal, politically directed operation after being told by several lawmakers that the State Police targeted them for unjustified traffic stops and "interfered in their personal lives," a senior Paterson aide told The Post yesterday. The explosive information - supplied to Paterson by both Democrats and Republicans - suggests that the Dirty...

I've been busy reading books like crazy, and during my neglect of The Judge Report a number of interesting things have happened relating to New York State politics, or what's left of it, with some national implications. Now that the self-flagellation has stopped from interim Governor David Paterson, we are suddenly confronted with the news that former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani might be interested in being the Republican candidate for governor if there should be a special election in November. Huh? Following quickly on that revelation is a Newsweek article theorizing that after she loses the Pennsylvania primary...

***Get Paterson to a priest so he can confess his sins and the state can go on with its business NAMES REDACTED Fort Lee, NJ *** Does Paterson want to be governor of NY or a daytime talk-show host? Freeport *** ....the motel stays, which he is reimbursing now, sounds like covering his butt. Would he have paid this back if it weren't for all the eyes on him? I don't think so! Woodside *** Paterson is living proof that individuals who do drugs do not go on to lead responsible lives. He cheated on his wife, misused public funds...

Some Dems float the New York Statehouse as an option. Some Democrats terrified that their bloody primary campaign will doom them in November are floating a consolation prize for Hillary Clinton: governor of New York. The travails of New York Gov. David Paterson have opened up a new potential career path for Clinton, according to well-informed Democratic Party insiders who refused to allow their names to be used when discussing contingencies. They want her to consider the option if she concludes after the April 22 Pennsylvania primary that she cannot overtake Barack Obama for the party's presidential nomination. Hillary Clinton,...

According to established theory, sex addiction is very real. Social scientists agree that sexual addicts act in a compulsive manner without regard for the risks involved as they hunt for sexual experiences. Neither their station in life, nor the possible damage to their family means anything to the prowling sex addict. So if family considerations mean little to the addict, laws and other social conventions mean still less. David Paterson shows some of the signs of sexual addiction, but he has no history with prostitutes. Such “walks on the wild side” were done by Eliot Spitzer, but not Paterson. Paterson...

GIULIANI WEIGHING 'SPECIAL' RUN FOR GOVBy MAGGIE HABERMAN March 28, 2008 -- In the latest twist in New York politics, Rudy Giuliani is eyeing a run for governor in a special election this fall should Gov. Paterson be forced to resign, sources say. A top adviser to the former mayor, who pulled the plug on his presidential bid in January, yesterday dangled the possibility of Giuliani's running in a special election. It would happen in a year in which presidential nominee John McCain would be at the top of the GOP ticket. The Post reported this week that state lawmakers...

Paterson Weighs Giving Spitzer E-mails to DAby Karen DeWitt March 25, 2008 NEW YORK, NY — Gov. David Paterson is weighing whether to turn over to Albany County District Attorney David Soares the e-mails of his predecessor, Eliot Spitzer. Soares requested the correspondence, after reports indicated that Spitzer was deeply involved in the scheme to use troopers to discredit Senate Leader Joe Bruno. Karen DeWitt has more. The DA has asked that the new Gov. David Paterson agree to make public all e-mails related to the incident. Spitzer had claimed that the documents did not have to be released claiming...

State records seem to conflict with Governor Paterson's claim that a busy schedule as lieutenant governor required him on more than a dozen occasions to spend the night at expensive hotels in Albany on the taxpayer's dime rather than at his home in the suburbs. A copy of Mr. Paterson's 2007 official schedule obtained by The New York Sun shows that sometimes Mr. Paterson opted to stay at a hotel the night before a day that was free of official morning activities. Records suggest that many times Mr. Paterson's day did not begin until 9 a.m. On one occasion, he...

Gov. Paterson Admits to Dope, Coke, Grassy Knoll Shots by Scott Ott for ScrappleFace · 1 Comment (2008-03-25) — New York Gov. David Paterson, who replaced disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer this month, today added to his previous revelations of marital infidelity, and marijuana and cocaine use, by claiming that he has also sniffed glue, tagged subway cars with graffiti, bet on dog fights, driven with his seatbelt unbuckled while talking on a cell phone and fired several shots from the grassy knoll on Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963. At his regular daily confessional news conference, Gov. Paterson played...

After saying he ended an affair with a state employee years ago, Gov. David Paterson recently made two trips with the woman to campaign for Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton’s presidential bid in Iowa and South Carolina, aides said today. Paterson and ex-lover Lila Kirton, of White Plains, traveled together to Iowa on Nov. 20-21, 2007 and to South Carolina on Jan. 24-27 to campaign for Clinton, aides confirmed. Aides said they stayed in separate rooms and traveled together on personal time, with expenses paid by the Clinton campaign. Paterson said last week that his affair with the unnamed aide ended...

ALBANY - Gov. Paterson, who confessed to repeated infidelities last week, admitted tonight that he used cocaine and marijuana when he was in his 20s. Paterson, 53, the former lieutenant governor who succeeded disgraced Gov. Spitzer last week, claimed on NY1 that he had only used cocaine "a couple of times" when he was "22 or 23" years of age. He said he had only used marijuana "probably when I was about 20," adding, "I don't think I've touched marijuana since the late 70s."

David Paterson is still adding to his string of confessions. “I tried it a couple of times,” he said in an interview with the NY1 News, when asked if he had ever used cocaine. It was is first television interview since he became governor last week. Host Dominic Carter asked Paterson a number of questions about prior drug use. The governor also admitted he has used marijuana, but added that he has not touched illegal drugs since his early twenties. Carter asked a similar series of questions during the 2006 gubernatorial campaign. Both Eliot Spitzer and Tom Suozzi said they...