Morgan McKay (00:00:03.28)
Welcome to politics Unusual. I’m Morgan McKai. We have a packed show, so let’s jump right in. Up first, we’re going to be joined by former New York governor, David Patterson, who’s going to give us his take on the New York City mayor’s race. Joining us now is former New York governor, David Patterson. Thank you so much for joining us today. I really appreciate it. I hope you are doing well. How is your… We were just chatting earlier. You are a talented musician. How are things going for you?
Gov. David Paterson (00:00:32.04)
If you take out the word talented, then I could actually believe it. But I really didn’t play any instruments, although I wanted to until about during the pandemic is really when it started. And so we have a little band. We go around playing, and it’s a lot of fun.
Morgan McKay (00:00:48.29)
That’s amazing. Well, I so value your insight. So thank you again so much for being here. So what are your thoughts so far on the mayor’s race overall?
Gov. David Paterson (00:00:59.15)
I hope Why do you have more guests and more time to discuss things because I’m going to make it real simple. Andrew Cuomo. Andrew Cuomo will be the next mayor of New York City. Andrew Cuomo has raised the money. Andrew Cuomo has an organization behind him that left over for when he was governor. Andrew Cuomo has experience behind him since he was governor for 10 years. And Andrew Cuomo has raised $4 million, and the Campaign Finance Board is not challenging the money. Well, they did actually take some money away from him, but it will be nominal. Eric Adams, I think, is a victim of what I call piling on. When someone’s been in a lot of trouble, it’s easier to call them out. It’s easy to deny funds from them. It’s unfortunate, and I don’t think it’s really fair, but it’s not going to affect the outcome of the primary. In ’50, and I know that John Lindsay did it. I was 15 then in 1969. But John Lindsay was a Republican mayor who governed like a Democrat. And John Markey, who I would later serve in the New York State Senate, beat him in the primary in 1969.
Gov. David Paterson (00:02:07.01)
But Lindsay brought all the rest of the people in the city together. New York had become far more progressive in those days, and that’s how he won. I don’t see that happening for Mayor Adams, because if anything, he’s gone the other way. He’s been actually cooperating with the White House. And all these things I’m saying, I don’t disagree with, but they’re not the kinds of activities that are going to get you reelected.
Morgan McKay (00:02:31.04)
Yeah, former governor Andrew Cuomo is by far leading the race right now. What are your thoughts on State Assemblyman Zora Mamdani? Do you think he is doing well, considering?
Gov. David Paterson (00:02:42.29)
I think that whatever you think of his point of view, he states his case very well. He’s going all around the city. He’s gotten himself into debates. I wouldn’t say I agree with everything he has to say, but he’s challenging the system. That’s what America is all about. And I think he’s doing it effectively. And I think he’s pulled ahead of the other more activist candidates who are in the race with him.
Morgan McKay (00:03:13.05)
Yes, he’s definitely tried to make this a two-person race, at least. And he’s a democratic socialist. He does have some polarizing views. But we had him on the show the other day, and he had a few things to say about Cuomo. So I’m going to play this sound bite here and then get your take right after. This is a governor who not Medicaid. This is a governor who stole hundreds of millions of dollars from the MTA. This is a governor who’s been credibly accused of sexual harassment by more than 10 women. What do you think about his accusations there?
Gov. David Paterson (00:03:42.29)
Well, I think on Until there’s some investigation, and there was an investigation run by the attorney general’s office that found him at fault on the issue with the harassment of the women, but there hasn’t been No one has brought charges against him, has sustained it. The lawsuits against him have mostly been dropped. I’m not saying that these people are wrong, but I’m saying when you We’ve been in a situation, we’ve been investigated, and it had to be very embarrassing for the governor. He had to resign on August 10th of 2021. What I’m saying is, how long do you have to carry the cross? This is four years later now, and he’s come back. And clearly, the polls show that the public is forgiving him or looking the other way, but whichever way it is, it benefits him.
Morgan McKay (00:04:42.10)
Do you feel like Cuomo has done enough to maybe apologize or own up to some of the alleged mistakes that people have accused him of committing?
Gov. David Paterson (00:04:53.19)
Sometimes when people are accused of things, just the tension and the anxiety that that produces, it’s very difficult for some people to answer. And I find that when Governor Cuomo asked about these things, that there probably would be a better way to answer the questions than the way he’s been able to do it. And I think that’s why the New York Post got so mad at him and where he doesn’t address the issue. Sometimes you have to get out there and take responsibility for something and say, this or that is my It’s their fault. Now, I did it so much that they asked me to stop taking the blame for things. On David Letterman’s show, he said, this guy admits to everything. But the reality is what I wanted to be, and the only way to be it is to tell the truth as authentic as possible and where it’s possible, maybe let the public know how you might have done things a little differently than before. But even with all of that discussion, Andrew Cromo was still high up in the polls, and I think the polls are accurate, and he’ll be the next mayor.
Morgan McKay (00:06:08.18)
As you know, the Justice Department asked the judge overseeing Mayor Eric Adams criminal case to drop the charges against him without prejudice, meaning those charges could be brought back at any point. But the Justice Department, excuse me, the judge decided instead to drop the charges with prejudice, meaning that the case is over. But even the judge said there seemed like there some perception that there was a collusion between Adams and the Trump administration to get those charges dropped. Those are allegations that Adams has denied. But what’s your take on this? Do you feel like you’re satisfied with how this case was resolved?
Gov. David Paterson (00:06:44.28)
Yes, I’m satisfied with how the case was resolved. I don’t know why it took them so long. And also, I think what happened was right at the point that the new President coming in and asking for more more of a crackdown on criminal immigrants or criminals who don’t live here and need to be deported, Mayor Adams stepped forward and met them halfway. He and the Homeland Security Director, Tom Holman, get along very well, and they’ve done a very good job there. But at the same time, the administration has done some things to people that are absolutely outrageous. Anyone that has an opinion that isn’t the same as theirs, is subject to some reprisal. If you look through history from Oliver Cromwell to Frederick the first, and then Frederick the Great of Germany, and Napoleon, and Khrushchev, and Castro, of all of these dictators, it always started with taking away rights from citizens. I think that that’s an issue that we’re going to have to think about as we move forward, because now you start hearing about some of the major companies talking about, are they going to have to raise prices? And I don’t think the American public was expecting that when President Trump introduced the terrace.
Morgan McKay (00:08:17.07)
Well, I have a whole list of questions I didn’t get to because I have so many other things to ask you as well, but we’re out of time right now. I’m going to have to have you back on the show.
Gov. David Paterson (00:08:26.16)
Well, thank you so much. It was good talking with you.
Morgan McKay (00:08:28.25)
Thank you so much, governor. I appreciate.