David Paterson

David Alexander Paterson (born May 20, 1954) is an American politician who served as the 55th governor of New York from March 17, 2008, to January 1, 2011. Paterson, born in Brooklyn to Basil and Portia Paterson, lost most of his vision as an infant due to a bacterial infection and later graduated from Columbia University with a degree in history. He ascended to the governorship upon the resignation of Eliot Spitzer, who stepped down amid a prostitution scandal, making Paterson the first African American and the first legally blind individual to hold the office in New York State history. During his tenure, Paterson implemented a reformed budget process that ensured on-time state budgets, signed measures imposing criminal penalties on predatory lending practices amid the foreclosure crisis, and advanced initiatives in renewable energy and criminal justice reform. However, his administration faced investigations into alleged improper influence in a domestic violence case involving an aide and acceptance of gifts, leading to fines for false statements and his decision not to seek election to a full term amid declining support.

Part of his father's ancestry consists of immigrants from England, Ireland, and Scotland, while his mother's side includes Eastern European Jewish ancestry, as well as ancestors from the Guinea-Bissau region of West Africa.