Scandal could pave way for 1st black N.Y. governor

Scandal could pave way for 1st black N.Y. governor

New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer has been tied to a prostitution ring.

ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) — Less than two years after he reluctantly ran for lieutenant governor, David Paterson is suddenly in line to be only the third black governor since Reconstruction, and the first in New York.

“He’s the next governor and probably quite soon,” said Maurice Carroll, director of Quinnipiac University’s Polling Institute and a longtime New York political reporter.

Attention turned to Paterson immediately after word surfaced Monday that Gov. Eliot Spitzer had been linked to a high-priced prostitution ring.

The scandal drew immediate calls for the Democrat to step down. At a news conference before about 100 reporters, a glassy-eyed Spitzer, his shell-shocked wife at his side, apologized to his family and the people of New York.

But he gave no details of what he was sorry for, did not discuss his political future and ignored shouted questions about whether he would resign.

“I have disappointed and failed to live up to the standard I expected of myself,” said the 48-year-old father of three teenage girls. “I must now dedicate some time to regain the trust of my family.”

Spitzer was caught on a federal wiretap arranging to meet at a Washington hotel room with a prostitute from a call-girl business known as the Emperors Club VIP, according to a law enforcement official who spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the investigation is still going on.

The governor has not been charged, and prosecutors would not comment on the case.

The scandal came 16 months after Spitzer stormed into the governor’s office with a historic margin of victory, vowing to root out corruption in New York government in the same way that he took on Wall Street executives with a vengeance while state attorney general.

“He has to step down. No one will stand with him,” said Rep. Peter King, a Republican congressman from Long Island. “I never try to take advantage or gloat over a personal tragedy. However, this is different. This is a guy who is so self-righteous, and so unforgiving.”

The allegations were outlined in papers filed in federal court in New York. The governor, identified in the papers only as “Client 9,” met last month with a woman in a Washington hotel the day before Valentine’s Day, the law enforcement official said.

A defendant in the case, Temeka Rachelle Lewis, told a prostitute identified only as “Kristen” that she should take a train from New York to Washington for an encounter with Client No. 9 on the night of Feb. 13, according to a complaint. The defendant confirmed that the client would be “paying for everything — train tickets, cab fare from the hotel and back, mini bar or room service, travel time, and hotel.”

The prostitute, described in the complaint as a “petite, pretty brunette, 5-feet-5 inches, and 105 pounds,” met the client in Room 871 about 10 p.m., according to the complaint. He paid $4,300 in cash, with some being used for the encounter and the rest apparently to be used for credit for future trysts, according to the papers.

If Spitzer quits, Paterson automatically becomes governor and would complete Spitzer’s term, which ends Dec. 31, 2010.

There was no immediate comment from Paterson.

Paterson, a 53-year-old Democrat from Harlem who is mostly blind, is well respected by Republicans and Democrats.

Former New York City Mayor Edward Koch recently called Paterson “very capable, not withstanding his near sightlessness. It’s never impeded his public actions or his personal actions, and he’s really overcome it in an extraordinary way.”

Paterson, who does not use a cane or a guide dog, can make out shapes and even people up close. He lost most of his sight as an infant when an infection damaged his optic nerve. He still talks of his fragile self-esteem in childhood and recalls not being invited to parties because “people thought I would fall and hurt myself.”

Paterson’s disability has never been an issue in Albany in his 20-year political career. He has memorized lengthy, impassioned speeches without missing a mark.

“He’s knowledgeable about New York state government and politics, and he’s a guy who likes to get along with people,” Carroll said.

The only other black governors since Reconstruction were Deval Patrick, currently serving in Massachusetts, and L. Douglas Wilder of Virginia, who left office in 1994.

As for what a Gov. Paterson would face, Carroll sees a “fairly placid, amiable time for a while.”

Paterson has enjoyed a good relationship with Spitzer’s chief nemesis, Republican Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, despite being the architect of a plan that got Democrats to within one seat of controlling the Senate. In pointed yet humorous floor debates, a kind of father-son relationship was evident between the younger Harlem Democrat and the rural, upstate Republican, who is 78.

Two years ago, Paterson was so focused on taking control of the Senate and becoming majority leader that he was surprised by Spitzer’s offer to be lieutenant governor.

Paterson would have an advantage in that he would ascend to the governor’s office with most of three years remaining in the term he would fill. That spares him the challenge of being a lame duck.

“If he becomes governor, he can move forward with what he wants to do as governor and start to set a tone,” said Lee Miringoff of the Marist College Institute for Public Opinion. “The state will have been shaken by all these revelations. And I think he’s someone who is widely respected, and he has a lot of experience in the corridors of Albany.”