Paterson: Rumors aimed to thwart election campaign

ALBANY - Gov. David A. Paterson charged Wednesday that rumors about a newspaper report on allegations of personal misconduct during his 23-month tenure were aimed at scuttling his election campaign.

Paterson, the state's first African-American governor, suggested the speculation had racial undertones. He also hinted that special interests opposed to his budget cuts might have played a role, though he couldn't say for certain.

Paterson also again denied acting improperly since succeeding Eliot Spitzer, who resigned in March 2008 amid a prostitution scandal.

"For a person that has such weak poll numbers and hasn't raised enough money and has diminished political support, someone is going very far out of their way to see that I'm not a candidate this year," Paterson told Fox Business Network's "Imus in the Morning" program.

"I don't know who it is and for me to speculate on it would be actually committing the same act that I'm complaining about - rumoring . . . I just know that it's a well-orchestrated attempt to do this," he said.

Still, when pressed by interviewer Don Imus for the culprit, Paterson cited a "relationship" between lobbyists and news organizations.

"I have closed $33 billion of deficit in 20 months . . . I have made sure that the schools and the local governments have been funded, balanced budgets, kept the credit ratings strong," he said. "I'm black, I'm blind and I'm still alive. Now how much better do they want me to be?"

Paterson noted the speculation centers on admissions he made after being sworn in as chief executive. In 2008, he acknowledged being unfaithful to his wife in the past and said they had reconciled. He also said he had used illegal drugs in his youth.

"If you noticed all of these rumors come back to these revelations," Paterson said Wednesday. "They're not really calling for different types of conduct and what I think is that I have been depicted in a way that has been racialized, sexualized, hyper-sexualized and dissolute."

Rumors of a New York Times story with damaging information about Paterson coincided with telephone calls he was making to Democratic county leaders asking for their support for his election. He plans to kick off the campaign on Feb. 20 with an event in Hempstead.

Paterson is very unpopular with Democrats, many of whom want Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to run for the Executive Mansion instead. After some improvement in Paterson's job approval rating last year, there was a slight reversal in two polls released last week.