Basil Paterson

[barking_iguana]

I'm pretty sure I remember him as a hopeful for the statewide nomination to something other than Attorney General. Was he one of the folks who was headed for the 1982 gubernatorial primary before Koch cleared the field of everyone but Cuomo?

ETA: I'm not talking about his 1970 Lt. Gov. run. Something more recent than that.

Comments

[chemoelectric.livejournal.com]

I think it’s spelled K*ch.

[bugsybanana.livejournal.com]

Paterson, with one T. He was NY Secretary of State under Gov. Carey. His Wikipedia entry doesn't mention anything major statewide. Maybe he ran against Koch for mayor in '77 or '81, but I don't really remember.

I think Paterson was briefly a patron of my uncle's and may have arranged for his appointment to the Family Court bench a million years ago.

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

No, I remember the mayoral races and he wasn't in them. I think he had prepared a campaign for Senate (probably 86 or 92), Governor (82), or maybe Attorney General or state Comptroller, and then didn't run. Since lots of people prepared campaigns for Governor in 82 and then didn't run, that's my best guess, but I have a nagging feeling it was Senate.

[bugsybanana.livejournal.com]

I dunno about '86 or '92, I think I'd have remembered if he ran then, especially '92 which was the one with 4 Democrats who cancelled one another out?

[bugsybanana.livejournal.com]

Just looked it up: Robert Abrams beat out Gerry Ferraro, Al Sharpton, and Liz Holtzman in '92. I was rooting for Holtzman first and Abrams second back then. Ferraro was already looking shabby...

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

I know Paterson wasn't on the ballot; I looked stuff up, too. That's why I've been saying he prepared to run for something.

[barking-iguana.livejournal.com]

BTW, the interlocking and opposed careers of Carey, Koch, and Cuomo is quite the tale, full of twists and turns. I can give you the 3 minute version next time I see you, if you want.

[bugsybanana.livejournal.com]

Please do. I know something about Koch and Cuomo's rivalry, but Carey was already governor by the time I was paying attention.

BTW, I learned the other day that the Tappan Zee Bridge was renamed for Malcolm Wilson (who took over when Rockefeller resigned) in 1994. Tappan Zee is still part of the name, so they weren't wholehearted about the name change, or probably just knew it wouldn't stick with the driving public.