Ex-Gov. David Paterson signaled Wednesday he wants to let bygones be bygones as he endorsed his successor, Andrew Cuomo, to become New York City mayor after years of simmering tensions between the two men.
Paterson, who, along with Manhattan Democratic Party boss Keith Wright, endorsed Cuomo at a morning news conference in Harlem, acknowledged he was initially a bit reluctant to throw his political weight behind his fellow ex-governor.
“When Andrew asked me for my support, I didn’t do it right away,” he told reporters at Amy Ruth’s, a soul food restaurant in Harlem. “But as the campaigns developed, I see him as the best person to lead the city.”
Paterson stepped down as governor in 2010 after Cuomo, then New York’s attorney general, launched an investigation into allegations that he helped cover up domestic violence accusations against a staffer. Cuomo — who succeeded Paterson as governor after winning the November 2010 election — also investigated Paterson over allegations he lied about his office’s solicitation of Yankees World Series tickets.
Cuomo was widely faulted at the time for contributing to the political downfall of Paterson, the state’s first Black governor, who ultimately never faced charges for the alleged wrongdoing. As recently as 2021, Paterson said he “was always pretty leery” of Cuomo.
Asked at Wednesday’s news conference whether there are still sour grapes with Cuomo over the 2010 tumult, Paterson said: “He claims he didn’t do it, but you know that was a difficult time but one of the things that I’ve tried to do with people that I’ve worked with even when they could have been a little kinder is to recognize that: How long do they have to carry the cross?”
Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2021 amid accusations he sexually harassed nearly a dozen women and mismanaged nursing home policies during the COVID-19 pandemic, said it was “heartwarming” to get endorsed by Paterson and Wright, noting they cut their teeth in the same political era.
“For them to step up and support me — forget the political impact — it just means a lot to me personally,” he said.
Cuomo continues to poll as the favorite to win the June 24 Democratic mayoral primary.
When asked whether it’s vexing him that Cuomo has reemerged as a serious political contender despite resigning himself amid a scandal, Paterson replied, “I’m just glad you all acknowledge how absurd it was to bother me about the Yankee tickets.”
Originally Published: June 11, 2025 at 1:15 PM EDT
