WXXI: Paterson to be More Involved Lieutenant Governor (2007-02-02)

New York's new Lieutenant Governor, David Paterson, has not received as much attention as Governor Eliot Spitzer, but Paterson says he intends to not be an average lieutenant governor and will play a key role in shaping policy. His most prominent role this week was adding some humor into the Governor's somewhat somber budget presentation.

Paterson introduced a bit of levity into Spitzer's straight man routine when he said he he intends to be a more involved Lieutenant Governor, compared to what he joked was the main purpose of the job.

"The previous job of lieutenant governor was to wake up very early in the morning and call the governor's private line," said Paterson. "And if he answers, you can go back to sleep, your work is done for the day."

During Spitzer's presentation to the legislature, Paterson made lawmakers laugh when he quipped that the purpose of proposing universal pre-kindergarten in the budget was so that parents did not have to answer their toddler's persistent questions.

During the press briefing on the budget, he launched into a detailed lecture on Dostoevsky's "Crime and Punishment", comparing the confessing of past sins and acceptance of consequences to what the legislature needed to do in response to Spitzer's spending plan.

The two most recent Lieutenant Governors did not have an easy time at their jobs. Betsy McCoy feuded with her boss, Governor George Pataki. Mary Donohue was mostly ignored.

Paterson, in an interview, says he wants to model his position on that of Mario Cuomo's Lieutenant Governor, Stan Lundine. Like Lundine, Paterson has been given tasks by Governor Spitzer. One of them is promoting a bond act to launch stem cell research in New York.

Paterson says he also looks to the example of Malcolm Wilson, who was second in command under Nelson Rockefeller, and whom Paterson met when he was a boy. He says he sees similarities between the wealthy, erudite Rockefeller, and Spitzer.

Like any good Lieutenant Governor, Paterson spends a lot of his time talking about the virtues of his boss. He sees Spitzer's propensity to enter confrontations, like inserting himself into the hotly contested Senate race on Long Island, as a positive.

"He is not afraid of risk," said Paterson. "That's what I love him for."

Paterson left his post as leader of the Senate Minority Party Democrats, in order to join Spitzer's ticket. It's considered likely that the Democrats will take the Senate in 2008, so Paterson could have been walking away from the powerful job of Senate Majority Leader. He says that's another reason why he needs to make the Lieutenant Governor's job fulfilling.

Paterson, in addition to being the first African-American Lieutenant governor, is also the first legally blind Lieutenant Governor. He is the son of the well-known Harlem Congressman Basil Paterson. Basil Paterson, now 80, ran unsuccessfully for Lieutenant Governor back in 1970.

"I think having broken this barrier and fulfilled my father's dream, after this, I can go out and start my own life," he said, with a smile.

When asked about his next job, Paterson does not immediately say Governor or U.S. Senator, he says instead he might like an appointed job, such as Director of the Budget. Though he does not deny higher office has entered his mind. But for the present, says Paterson, the job "doesn't have to be about me".