Welcome, David Paterson, 55th Governor Of New York

We welcome David Paterson as the 55th governor of the state of New York.

In his years in the state senate and the 14 months he has served as lieutenant governor, Paterson has demonstrated himself to be very skilled at handling the team that constitutes the legislative branch of the state government. His manner is conciliatory and he is known to seek compromise in order to go about the people's business. He has been praised for his ability to work with legislators of both parties. He is knowledgeable and determined: born legally blind, he retains enough sight in one eye to walk down streets and through buildings without guidance, can recognize faces at a conversational distance and read large print. Given this amount of visual acuity he never learned Braille, and so earned a law degree at Hofstra University by taping lectures and class discussions. Many of the volunteers who read class material to him have spoken with awe and respect of his intellectual abilities. "He knew more about it than I did," a classmate who read some law school texts to him recalled.

Paterson stands out as the first black governor of New York and the first blind person to become governor of any state in all the years of America's existence as a sovereign nation. Either circumstance alone would make his situation remarkable; together, they make him unique. Not only has he found himself assuming the state's highest office, he also has opened the door for other individuals to regard themselves as truly without limitations.

We wish the new governor all success as he takes the helm of the state.