Mar 12, 2008 7:23 pm US/Eastern
Harlem Embraces One Of Its Own In Paterson
Reporting
Jay Dow
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
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David Paterson will become New York's 55th governor on March 17.
Zack Seckler/Getty Images
Governor-to-be David Paterson calls Harlem home, and while his move into the state's top office isn't happening the way he would have wanted it to, residents there are still feeling a sense of pride for the incredible accomplishments of one of their own.
After all, Harlem is a community that sent Paterson to Albany as a state senator for more than 20 years. So one can imagine how Harlemites are reacting to the next chapter in Paterson's career as the first African-American governor in the history of New York.
"I think it's fantastic. I really think he's the person who could do it," says Harlem resident Lorraine Thomas.
But Thomas says Paterson's first task is to clean up an image of Albany, tarnished in the wake of Eliot Spitzer's sex scandal and resignation.
"He's taking out a lot of garbage that was being left behind," said Thomas.
But resident Clay Treadwell thinks Paterson's more difficult task will be using his diplomatic skills to meeting New York's fastly approaching budget deadline.
"If he pulls this off, then he's the right man for the job," said Treadwell.
If anyone knows Paterson's capabilities, it's the Rev. Dr. Calvin Butts III, pastor of Harlem's Abyssian Baptist Church. Butts said people have been known to take Paterson for granted because he is legally blind. But he's confinced that when the new governor takes power on Monday, it will mark a dramatic shift in the way business is done across the Empire State.
"His whole demeanor is going to bring about a welcome change, and everybody in the state of New York will breathe much more easily because they will say at least maybe we can move forward now," he said.
Paterson's era begins officially Monday, Mar. 17 at noon. If anything is certain about his term in office, it will be that Harlem residents will be there for him every step of the way.
(© MMIX, CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved.)
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