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May 13, 2008 7:17 pm US/Eastern
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Paterson's Link To Female 'Life Coach' Questioned
Paid To Unstress The Stressed, Sandra Tate Was Given $4,500 By Senate Campaign Back In 2006
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
More questions have surfaced about Gov. David Paterson's past. What is his connection to a mysterious woman who got thousands of dollars in campaign funds and bills herself as a "life coach."
She is sometimes known as "Reclaimurlife Diva," the beautiful life coach, and she worked for Paterson when he was both a state senator and running for lieutenant governor with Eliot Spitzer.
So what is her relationship to the governor?
Nobody knows for sure. What we do know is her name is Sandra Tate, and she gets paid to unstress the stressed. She worked for Paterson in the Senate as a "special assistant." She then got paid $4,500 in wages from his campaign, the bulk on Valentine's Day 2006.
The governor's office says Tate became a life coach after she worked for him. However, Tate's bio makes it seem like she did help Paterson.
It states: "She has worked with Legacy Corp, including project manager roles for Sen. David Paterson, now lieutenant governor of New York."
A spokesman for Paterson vehemently insisted the campaign dough was for Tate's services in updating the campaign database. But records say only that the checks were for "wages."
"Clearly it gives people who are inclined to look for evidence of involvement with women who are not his wife reason to think about another case, but there's no smoking gun here," said political expert David Birdsell of Baruch College.
Government watchdogs say flaws in the campaign finance laws allow politicians to keep vague records.
"There is lax oversight and weak enforcement by the State Board of Elections in looking over the campaign records of elected officials and because there's this lax oversight elected officials spend money in ways that may not be appropriate," said Dick Dadey of the Citizens' Union.
There are also questions about why Tate got a small check from the Paterson campaign while she was actually on his Senate staff.
Tate did not return calls seeking comment.
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