ALBANY—Former Gov. David Paterson and all his baggage will now head the state Democratic Party.
Gov. Cuomo made the announcement Wednesday as the State Dem. Convention kicked off on Long Island.
Paterson will replace state-co-chairman and Assemblyman Keith Wright, who himself who landed in hot water after The Post reported exclusively on Tuesday the Harlem representative requested travel reimbursements for nights he wasn’t in Albany.
Paterson takes over the state party four years after he left the governor’s mansion. He was the first African American to lead the state after being thrown into the office when disgraced Gov. Eliot Spitzer resigned amid a prostitution scandal.
“Governor Paterson is one of New York State’s finest public servants with a lifetime of fighting for a stronger and more progressive State, and there is no one better prepared to lead the State Democratic Party,” Cuomo said, according to a press release.
During his time in Albany Paterson made headlines amid his own scandals.
In 2011 Paterson’s top aide, David Johnson, pleaded guilty to a minor charge of harassment after admitting he shoved his girlfriend in a heated argument.
Paterson was criticized for making a call to the victim.
In 2009 Paterson accepted free Yankees’ World Series tickets then lied about paying for them. Paterson in unprecedented fashion, was slapped with a $62,125 fine from a state ethics panel. The penalty consisted of the $2,125 value of the tickets and $60,000 for three violations of the state’s public officer’s law.
Paterson, through a statement, said he is looking forward to moving ahead.
“I am honored to have been asked by Governor Cuomo to lead the New York State Democratic Party as we prepare for an exciting path to victory this November,” Paterson stated.
“Over the past years the Democratic Party has built a new reputation and established itself as a Party that can act and deliver real results for people,” he added.
“At the center of the new Democratic Party is our economic credibility, where we have restored job growth in every region of the state, put hundreds of thousands of our state’s residents to work, and reduced the tax burden on New Yorkers to its lowest level in a generation, including the lowest middle class tax rate in more than 60 years.”
Democratic Party officials insisted that The Post’s probe of Wright’s suspect travel expenses had no role in his exit as state leader. Wright remains chairman of the Manhattan Democratic Party.