NY. Gov. Paterson, wife admit they had several affairs

Jet, April 7, 2008

New York's new governor David Paterson recently admitted that he had affairs with several women, including a state employee.

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The confession came a day after he was sworn in as governor, replacing Eliot Spitzer, who resigned from office amid a prostitution scandal.

"I do not feel I have broken my commitment to the citizens of New York State," Paterson said at a news conference with his wife, Michelle Paige Paterson.

"Several years ago, there were a number of women. The public wants to know who its elected officials are and sometimes, even though you are human, and you are someone who just has feelings and has faults, there comes a time, perhaps, when you have to tell the public."

He insisted that the affairs happened during a rough time in his marriage and that the state employee did not work for him. He insisted he did not advance her career, and that no campaign or state money was spent on the affairs.

The Patersons said they both had affairs during a time when their marriage was headed toward divorce. But they admitted the infidelity, sought counseling and have built a stronger marriage and family.

"We dealt with it as a family," his wife said. " A marriage has peaks and valleys ... no marriage is perfect."

The governor said the affairs started around 1999, and that one extended into the beginning of his term as Senate minority leader, which began in 2002. None involved prostitutes, he said.

He came forward now because he didn't want the rumors to cloud his governorship.

"I didn't want to be blackmailed," he said.

Gov. Paterson said, "I think we have a marriage like many Americans, maybe even like many of you. Elected official are really just reflections of the people we represent."

--Associated Press