David Paterson | |
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Chair of the New York Democratic Committee | |
In office May 21, 2014 – November 4, 2015 |
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Preceded by | Keith L. T. Wright |
Succeeded by | Andrew Cuomo |
55th Governor of New York | |
In office March 17, 2008 – December 31, 2010 |
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Lieutenant |
Joseph Bruno (Acting) Dean Skelos (Acting) Malcolm Smith (Acting) Pedro Espada Jr. (Acting) Richard Ravitch |
Preceded by | Eliot Spitzer |
Succeeded by | Andrew Cuomo |
Lieutenant Governor of New York | |
In office January 1, 2007 – March 17, 2008 |
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Governor | Eliot Spitzer |
Preceded by | Mary Donohue |
Succeeded by | Joseph Bruno (acting) |
Minority Leader of the New York State Senate | |
In office January 1, 2003 – December 31, 2006 |
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Preceded by | Martin Connor |
Succeeded by | Malcolm Smith |
Member of the New York Senate from the 30th district |
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In office January 1, 2003 – December 31, 2006 |
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Preceded by | Leon Bogues |
Succeeded by | Bill Perkins |
Member of the New York Senate from the 29th district |
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In office December 10, 1985 – December 31, 2002 |
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Preceded by | Leon Bogues |
Succeeded by | Thomas Duane |
Personal details | |
Born |
David Alexander Paterson May 20, 1954 New York City, New York, U.S. |
Political party | Democratic |
Spouse(s) | Michelle Paige |
Children | 2 |
Education |
Columbia University (BA) Hofstra University (JD) |
Signature |
David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician. He was the 55th Governor of New York, in office from 2008 to 2010. He was the first African American governor of New York and also the second legally blind governor of any U.S. state after Bob C. Riley, who was Acting Governor of Arkansas for 11 days in January 1975. Since leaving office, Paterson has been a radio talk show host on station WOR in New York City, and was in 2014 appointed Chairman of the New York Democratic Party by his successor as governor, Andrew Cuomo.
After graduating from Hofstra Law School, Paterson worked in the District Attorney's office of Queens County, New York, and on the staff of Manhattan Borough President David Dinkins. In 1985, 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 2003, 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 2006 New York gubernatorial election. Spitzer and Paterson were elected in November 2006 with 69 percent of the vote, and Paterson took office as lieutenant governor on January 1, 2007.