Embattled New York Gov. David Paterson may as well just step down. The layers of his onion are being peeled back, exposing all kinds of wrongs. Now, authorities say he secured free World Series tickets from the Yankees for his son. Aide David Johnson, at the center of Paterson’s other troubles, was also in attendance. The charges carry a fine of $90,000, and the panel referred the matter to AG Andrew Cuomo for more investigation.
Members of the New York government’s executive branch are barred from accepting gifts from lobbyists that could sway them, which is exactly what the state’s Commission on Public Integrity says Paterson did in accepting the tickets.
In an attempt to cover his tracks, the governor wrote a backdated check, claiming he had intended to pay for them and the commission caught it. Instead of covering his tracks, he made additional ones in something rather stinky.
In a bizarre and delusional move, Paterson assembled his entire cabinet and spoke optimistically about the future of his administration. “This isn’t an end, this is a beginning,” he told The New York Times. “There [are] a lot of things that we can still accomplish for the people of the state of New York.”
The one thing that you can accomplish, Paterson, for New Yorkers and well-intentioned black politicians in general, is to step aside and make way for new, honest blood. Beat it, joker, your time is up. –gerald radford
