This has been a strange week, to say the least. The silver lining in the sad events that have unfolded this week is that David Paterson will become Governor. On Monday, when Lt. Governor Paterson takes the oath of office and becomes Governor of New York State, we will have a Governor who has a long record of championing progressive issues in New York.

David Paterson has enormous legislative and political experience, and a track record on some of our top issues. He is a long-time champion of Clean Elections – full public funding of campaigns. As a State Senator and as Senate Minority Leader, Paterson was the prime sponsor of Clean Elections legislation. Click to read articles mentioning his support of Clean Elections in Newsday and Crains.

Paterson has long been a proponent of Rockefeller Drug Law reform and has maintained his anti-Death Penalty position. As Senate Minority Leader David Paterson was one of our most consistent allies on school funding reform. His support for public education has not wavered.

He has provided leadership as Lt. Governor on health care, with the stem cell research initiative, development of a statewide plan for renewable energy, and efforts to combat domestic violence. He has worked to bring economic development to every part of the state.

Paterson has shown his ability to stay true to his values and ideals, even when working across partisan lines to get things done. We expect he will be firm in fighting for the needs of working people in New York State.

Citizen Action of New York looks forward to working with our new Governor on the issues that matter most to our members and activists, and that will benefit the working families of New York.

Karen Scharff & Richard Kirsch
Executive Directors