Paterson hires aide's ex-girlfriend for $165,000 job

ALBANY - Gov. David A. Paterson has given a $165,000-a-year job to a recent girlfriend of one of his aides, raising questions of favoritism.

Carra L. Wallace will assume the new post of chief diversity officer on Oct. 15, helping minority- and women-owned businesses secure state contracts. Paterson announced the appointment last week, but some of his closest advisers did not know of Wallace's connection to Clemmie Harris, a longtime gubernatorial confidant.

Some good-government groups Wednesday called Wallace's hiring inappropriate. "It feels that favoritism is going on," said Susan Lerner, executive director of Common Cause. "The governor needs to explain what sort of [job] search was done and why this appointment is appropriate."

Paterson spokesman Morgan Hook said Wallace was eminently qualified to bolster state business with minority and female entrepreneurs, citing her work at the state Dormitory Authority and in the private sector. Wallace "was the most qualified of multiple candidates," Hook said. "Anything outside of her outstanding credentials for the position is not relevant to her appointment."

Wallace's position was established by a July 15 law.

Hook refused to make Wallace and Harris available for interviews Wednesday.

Wallace joined the authority in October 2008 and oversees initiatives for minority- and women-owned companies, which have increased significantly since 2007. She is paid $163,559.

Wallace dated Harris, a former State Trooper, for some time, but the relationship recently ended, according to the New York Post, which first reported the issue.

Harris has known Paterson for years and was his roommate in Albany when he served in the State Senate. Harris currently is an $82,400-a-year aide with responsibility for promoting ties between New York and minority- and women-owned businesses.

In July, an independent prosecutor chastised Harris for attempting to dissuade the girlfriend of another Paterson aide from pursuing legal protection in a domestic violence incident.

The prosecutor said Harris was more concerned about shielding Paterson from the incident, which eventually led him to drop his election campaign after only six days.

Despite the public admonishment, Paterson has not disciplined Harris but did suspend aide David W. Johnson without pay. Johnson has pleaded not guilty to a misdemeanor assault charge.

Lerner said, "The governor has a limited number of people around him and some of them are not serving him well."