Letter: Governor Paterson’s Legacy in New York (New York Times)

David A. Paterson’s tenure as governor of New York is described as a time of tumult and scandal. Far more significant is what this characterization doesn’t include: his record on civil rights and civil liberties.

In 2009, Governor Paterson signed legislation that reformed the notorious Rockefeller drug laws, eliminating harsh mandatory sentences and empowering judges to authorize treatment as an alternative to prison.

The next year, he approved bills mandating that schools develop training and educational programs to protect students from bullying and bias-based harassment, and prohibiting the New York Police Department from maintaining a databank of personal information obtained from law-abiding persons stopped and frisked.

Also, he approved a bill empowering family members and close friends to make medical decisions for an incapacitated loved one who has no medical directive, and another extending to domestic workers the protections afforded under the state’s labor laws, including the right to a minimum wage and overtime pay.

To be sure, legislators were partners in creating this record. But the point here is about the Paterson legacy. Governor Paterson’s record on civil rights and civil liberties is extraordinary, and it is missing from the first draft of history.

Robert Perry
Legislative Director
New York Civil Liberties Union