Lt. Governor David Paterson
David A. Paterson became New York's 74th lieutenant governor on November 7, 2006, the first African-American to hold that post.
Paterson, 53, is seen on the verge of becoming the state's new governor if current Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigns in the wake of a report in The New York Times linking him to a prostitution ring.
The report shocked New Yorkers as well as Wall Street. Spitzer on Monday apologized for a "private matter," but made no reference to the reports.
Spitzer's resignation would make Paterson New York's first African-American and first legally blind governor.
The following are some facts about Paterson.
* Paterson was born in Brooklyn to Portia and Basil Paterson. His father who was the first non-white secretary of state of New York and the first African-American vice chair of the national Democratic Party.
* He earned his bachelor's degree in history from Columbia University, graduating in 1977, and completed his law degree at Hofstra Law School in 1982.
* A lawyer by training, Paterson became a public servant in 1985 when he began representing Harlem in the New York State Senate, according to the New York governor's Web site.
* In 2002, he became the body's minority leader, the first non-white legislative leader in New York state history.
* In 2004, he became the first legally blind person to address the Democratic National Convention.
* In 2006, Paterson was elected New York's first African-American lieutenant governor.
* Paterson ran the New York City marathon in 1999.
* Paterson, an adjunct professor at Columbia's School for International and Public Affairs, lives in Harlem with his wife, Michelle Paige Paterson, and their two children.
Reuters.com
http://www.reuters.com/article/companyNewsAndPR/idUSN1048835420080310?pageNumber=2&virtualBrandChannel=0
