He is legally blind, intelligent and full of conviction. Yet David Paterson, the man to replace Eliot Spitzer, who has since resigned his post as Governor of New York, in an alleged sex scandal with prostitutes, walks unaided and reads documents without the use of Braille.
Paterson was three months old when an infection ravaged his optic nerve. His family doctor had told his parents that he was blind in the left eye and had minimal sight in his right eye. Following tests, he pronounced him legally blind. But being legally blind does not mean that he cannot see. He has sufficient vision in his right eye to allow him to walk without a cane or human assistance. It also allows him to distinguish people at close proximity to him and to read from documents if held inches from his face. His never made his disability an obstacle. He refused to learn Braille and instead, opted to wear spectacles.
David Paterson, will occupy his new position as New York’s first black Governor on Monday after a swearing-in ceremony at Albany. He will serve Spitzer’s remaining three years until the elections in 2010. Spitzer resigned last Wednesday, amid calls for him to step down.
At a news conference in the state capital, Albany, Paterson said he was ready to face the challenges of his position and was putting measures in place to meet the budget deadline on April 1. Yesterday he met with members of the legislature to discuss methods to close the gap on a $4.7 billion deficit, a shortfall in Spitzer’s $124 billion proposal.
Paterson's determination to rise above his disability and occupy one of the highest offices in the state of New York is an inspiration for others who are visually impaired and blind. He is seen as a role model to those blessed with all their faculties fully functional.
David Paterson, 53, a lieutenant governor and Democrat from Harlem has been married to 46-year-old health care expert Michelle Paige for 16 years. They have two children, one from Paige’s first marriage. He has spent more than two decades in state government, starting from 1985. In 2006, as a state senator he had supported a bill to limit the use of deadly force by police against crime suspects who threatened them. The move outraged the police and drew opposition from Spitzer. He also pushed a motion that would have allowed non-citizen residents to vote in local elections. He has since dropped both.
He strongly opposes the Iraq war and the death penalty and supports embryonic stem cell research, legalized abortion, gay marriage and rent control. And he fully supports Hilary Clinton for the Democratic presidential nomination
Paterson was born in Brooklyn and raised in Harlem. His father, Basil Paterson, once served as state senator, deputy mayor and he was the first black secretary of state.
Paterson attended Hempstead's Fulton School and Hempstead High School where he graduated in 1971. When he graduated from Columbia University, he returned to Hempstead and enrolled at Hofstra Law School. He obtained his law degree in 1983.
