Paterson could be New York's 1st black governor

David Paterson is standing on the brink of becoming the third black governor since Reconstruction, and the first in New York, less than two years after being persuaded to run for lieutenant governor.

"He's the next governor and probably quite soon," said Maurice Carroll, director of Quinnipiac University's Polling Institute and a longtime New York political reporter.

Attention turned to Paterson immediately after word surfaced Monday that Gov. Eliot Spitzer had been linked to a high-priced prostitution ring. In a brief appearance in front of reporters, Spitzer issued a vague apology and did not mention resignation.

If Spitzer resigns, Paterson automatically becomes governor and would complete Spitzer's term, which ends Dec. 31, 2010.

Paterson, a 53-year-old Democrat from Harlem who is mostly blind, is well respected by Republicans and Democrats.

Former New York City Mayor Edward Koch recently called Paterson "very capable, not withstanding his near sightlessness. It's never impeded his public actions or his personal actions, and he's really overcome it in an extraordinary way."

Paterson, who does not use a cane or a guide dog, can make out shapes and even people up close. He lost most of his sight as an infant when an infection damaged his optic nerve. He still talks of his fragile self-esteem in childhood and recalls not being invited to parties because "people thought I would fall and hurt myself."

Paterson has enjoyed a good relationship with Spitzer's chief nemesis, Republican Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, despite being the architect of a plan that got Democrats to within one seat of controlling the Senate. In pointed yet humorous floor debates, a kind of father-son relationship was evident between the younger Harlem Democrat and the rural, upstate Republican, who is 78.

(Agencies)