Until a few days ago, there was no way Governor David Paterson was going to drop his campaign for a full term. So it isn’t that far of a stretch to think he could resign over his ethics violations.
The New York Times: Gov. David A. Paterson falsely testified under oath during an ethics investigation into his acceptance of free World Series tickets last fall, according to the State Commission on Public Integrity, which announced Wednesday that it had asked prosecutors to determine if criminal charges should be brought against the governor.
The commission said that Mr. Paterson sought and accepted five free tickets for Game 1 of the World Series at Yankee Stadium. When inquiries were made about the tickets, he testified that he had always intended to pay for them.
The commission said the governor backdated, or had another person backdate, a personal check to buttress his explanation that he had planned to pay the Yankees for the seats, which were behind home plate and had a face value of $425 each.
The commission’s report was a jarring development in a tumultuous week for Mr. Paterson. Last Friday, he abandoned his campaign for election amid accusations that his administration intervened in a domestic violence proceeding involving a top aide to the governor, David W. Johnson, and he has faced calls for his resignation.
Paterson says he won’t step down. But analysts believe he will.
Fox News: I just don’t think he can survive all of this,” Justin Phillips, a professor of political science at Columbia University and expert on state politics, told Fox News.com.
“This seems to me death by a thousand cuts,” he said. “There’s sort of the sense there’s no end to this. He has no support left in the party. A lot of people are going to want him out. I doubt he’s going to provide much in the way of leadership over much of the year.”
Phillips expects Paterson to resign by the end of the month.
Another analyst believes he’ll wait to resign until after Attorney General Andrew Cuomo gives him a pass. This puts Cuomo in kind of tough spot. If he does give Paterson a pass, it can be used against him in his own run for governor.
With New York politicians there’s never a dull moment, is there?
Via memeorandum
