Path of political footprints leads Paterson to Albany

On Monday, through a twist that few could have foreseen, Lt. Gov. David Paterson will be sworn in as the 55th governor of New York — an accidental governor thrust into a position of extraordinary power by the sudden, gaudy downfall of his former running mate, Eliot Spitzer.

His rise from relative obscurity to center stage has come with astonishing speed, and with it, Paterson is about to face something new: serious scrutiny of his legislative record, political connections and handling of government money over two decades.

A review of Paterson's time in office reveals many of the typical footprints of a long legislative career. But it also shows that at times he supported controversial policies, made strikingly candid comments and took actions that might have raised questions about conflicts of interest. By and large, his record escaped notice.

As a state senator, for instance, Paterson helped direct hundreds of thousands of dollars to a hospital in his Harlem district that for a time employed his wife, including for two years as its paid lobbyist in Albany.

He sponsored legislation that would have made it legal for noncitizens to vote in state and local elections and another bill that would have made it legal to use force against a police officer while resisting a wrongful arrest — a proposal that was blasted by police unions and went nowhere. And his father, Basil Paterson, is a top lawyer for some of the state's most powerful unions, whose money has long influenced policymaking in Albany.

Within the confines of the Harlem district that he represented for 23 years, Paterson is a well-known commodity. But to the rest of the state, he is a virtual unknown, having received little attention and even less scrutiny.

"He is a governor who has only been, quote unquote, 'vetted,' by the constituents in his state Senate district in Manhattan," said Douglas A. Muzzio, a political scientist at Baruch College. "He has never gotten the statewide scrutiny that a gubernatorial candidate would expect."

In a statement Saturday, Paterson's office said his legislative record was "thoroughly reviewed when he was chosen to join the ticket with Attorney General Spitzer."

Paterson, 53, was first elected in 1985, at age 31, to the Senate seat in Harlem his father once held. He gained a reputation as a smart, engaging, funny, consensus-driven leader who pushed for reform in a state government that had become famous for dysfunction.