Basil A. Paterson

Basil A. Paterson
Basil Paterson as a New York State Senator in 1966.
59th Secretary of State of New York
In office January 1, 1979 – December 31, 1982
Governor	Hugh Carey
Preceded by	Mario Cuomo
Succeeded by	Gail S. Shaffer
Member of the New York Senate from the 31st, later the 27th district
In office January 1, 1966 – December 31, 1970
Preceded by	Bernard G. Gordon
Succeeded by	Sidney A. von Luther
Personal details
Born	Basil Alexander Paterson (1926-04-27)April 27, 1926 Manhattan, New York City, United States
Died	New York, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Portia Hairston
Children	David Daniel
Alma mater	St. John's University (B.S., J.D.)

Basil Alexander Paterson (April 27, 1926 – April 16, 2014), a labor lawyer, was a longtime political leader in New York and Harlem and the father of the 55th Governor of New York, David Paterson. His mother was Jamaican, and his father was Carriacouan.

Early life

Paterson was born in Harlem on April 27, 1926, the son of Leonard James and Evangeline Alicia (Rondon) Paterson. His father was born on the island of Carriacou in the Grenadines and arrived in the United States aboard the S.S. Vestris on May 16, 1917 in New York City. His mother was born in Kingston, Jamaica and arrived in the United States on September 9, 1919 aboard the S.S. Vestnorge in Philadelphia with a final destination of New York City. A stenographer by profession, the former Miss Rondon once served as a secretary for Marcus Garvey.

Teenage years and education

In 1942, at the age of 16, Paterson graduated from De Witt Clinton High School in the Bronx. He was shaped by his experiences with racism early on. "I got out of high school when I was 16," Paterson told New York Times columnist Bob Herbert, "and the first real job I had was with a wholesale house in the old Port Authority building, down on 18th Street. We'd pack and load these trucks that went up and down in huge elevators. Every year there would be a Christmas party for the employees at some local hotel. Those of us who worked in the shipping department were black. We got paid not to go to the party." He attended college at St. John's University, but his studies were interrupted by a two-year stint in the U.S. Army during World War II. After serving honorably, he returned to St. John's to complete his undergraduate studies. While there he was very active in social and community service organizations, including among others the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity, where he joined the ranks of the Omicron chapter of New York (now at Columbia University) in 1947. Paterson graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in biology in 1948. He was later admitted to St. John's Law School, where he received a Juris Doctor degree in 1951.

Political career

Paterson became involved in Democratic politics in Harlem in the 1950s and 1960s. A member of the "Gang of Four"; along with, former New York Mayor David Dinkins, the late Manhattan Borough President Percy Sutton, and Congressman Charles Rangel, Paterson was a leader of the "Harlem Clubhouse", which has dominated Harlem politics since the 1960s.

Paterson was a member of the New York State Senate, representing the Upper West Side of New York City and Harlem, from 1966 to 1970, sitting in the 176th, 177th and 178th New York State Legislatures. He gave up his Senate seat in 1970 to run for Lieutenant Governor of New York, as the running mate of former U.S. Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg. The Goldberg/Paterson ticket lost to the Republican incumbents Gov. Nelson Rockefeller and Lt. Gov. Malcolm Wilson.

In 1978, Paterson was appointed as a Deputy Mayor of New York City by then Mayor Ed Koch. He stepped down as deputy mayor in 1979 to become Secretary of State of New York, the first African American person to have held the post, and served until the end of the Hugh Carey administration in 1982. Despite having briefly served in the Koch Administration, Paterson made moves to run for Mayor against Koch as the latter sought a third term, but ultimately chose not to run.

Paterson was a member of the law firm of Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C., where he was co-chair of the firm's labor law practice.

Paterson was the father of former New York Governor David Paterson, who was elected Lieutenant Governor in 2006 on a ticket with Gov. Eliot Spitzer. David Paterson succeeded to the governor's office upon Spitzer's resignation on March 17, 2008. When his son became lieutenant governor, Basil Paterson said that fact may actually "get in the way" of his livelihood as a negotiator and lawyer for the Hospital Workers and Teamsters unions.

Paterson died on April 16, 2014, in Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan.

External links

• Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C. - Biography Official Site
• Meyer, Suozzi, English & Klein, P.C. - Labor Law Practice

New York State Senate
Preceded by Bernard G. Gordon	New York State Senate 31st District 1966	Succeeded by Ivan Warner
Preceded by Paul P. E. Bookson	New York State Senate 27th District 1967–1970	Succeeded by Sidney A. von Luther
Party political offices
Preceded by Howard J. Samuels 1966	Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of New York 1970	Succeeded by Mary Anne Krupsak 1974
Political offices
Preceded by Mario Cuomo	Secretary of State of New York 1979–1983	Succeeded by Gail Shaffer