Governor will leave post 'only in a box'
Source: Agencies |
February 11, 2010, Thursday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
NEW York Governor David Paterson, defying calls from even fellow Democrats to drop out of the race for a full term, said on Tuesday that he would leave only if the voters turned him out through the ballot box, or he's carried out "in a box."
Paterson, who got the job after his predecessor resigned in a prostitution scandal, is fighting unconfirmed rumors and news reports of womanizing and drug use.
The rumors about Paterson's personal conduct have been circulating in the state capital of Albany - and sometimes appearing online and in newspaper reports - at a crucial moment in the Democratic governor's career. His popularity has fallen precipitously, but he has vowed to run for re-election in November despite lack of support from Washington Democrats.
Paterson, New York's first black governor, has cited as fabricated a January 30 New York Post report that he was caught by state police in the governor's mansion cavorting in a utility closet with a woman other than his wife.
He told reporters on Monday that he had not been involved sexually with another woman since he and his wife separated temporarily around 1999, reiterating an admission he made when he took office 23 months ago.
The Post has said it stands by its story.
"For the last couple of weeks I have been the subject of what, even by Albany standards, has been a spate of outrageous rumors about me," Paterson said.
While the reports are unconfirmed, they mean fresh trouble to the governor, who had been facing pressure from Washington and within New York to drop out of the election because of his low poll numbers, and concerns from other Democrats that he might hurt their chances in 2010.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, many Democrats' preferred candidate for governor, refused to comment. "We don't comment on rumors," a Cuomo spokesman said. "There are serious problems facing our state and the attorney general is busy doing the job he was elected to do."
Paterson took the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer amid allegations Spitzer hired a high-priced prostitute from an escort service.
Paterson, who got the job after his predecessor resigned in a prostitution scandal, is fighting unconfirmed rumors and news reports of womanizing and drug use.
The rumors about Paterson's personal conduct have been circulating in the state capital of Albany - and sometimes appearing online and in newspaper reports - at a crucial moment in the Democratic governor's career. His popularity has fallen precipitously, but he has vowed to run for re-election in November despite lack of support from Washington Democrats.
Paterson, New York's first black governor, has cited as fabricated a January 30 New York Post report that he was caught by state police in the governor's mansion cavorting in a utility closet with a woman other than his wife.
He told reporters on Monday that he had not been involved sexually with another woman since he and his wife separated temporarily around 1999, reiterating an admission he made when he took office 23 months ago.
The Post has said it stands by its story.
"For the last couple of weeks I have been the subject of what, even by Albany standards, has been a spate of outrageous rumors about me," Paterson said.
While the reports are unconfirmed, they mean fresh trouble to the governor, who had been facing pressure from Washington and within New York to drop out of the election because of his low poll numbers, and concerns from other Democrats that he might hurt their chances in 2010.
New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo, many Democrats' preferred candidate for governor, refused to comment. "We don't comment on rumors," a Cuomo spokesman said. "There are serious problems facing our state and the attorney general is busy doing the job he was elected to do."
Paterson took the post after the resignation of Eliot Spitzer amid allegations Spitzer hired a high-priced prostitute from an escort service.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
