MIDTOWN — Gov. David Paterson ended his bid for governor on Friday while vowing not to resign from office amid a domestic violence scandal involving a high-level member of his staff.
"I am ending my campaign for Governor of the State of New York," Paterson said at a 3 p.m. press conference held at his Midtown office. "There are times in politics when you have to know not to strive for service, but to step back. And that moment has come for me."
The governor raised his right hand and swore that he had never abused his office, "not now, not ever," in an apparent denial of any wrongdoing related to a top aide's domestic violence case.
Paterson ran through a list of accomplishments during his less than two years in office before outlining state faces growing deficits that must be addressed by Albany.
"I cannot run for office and try to manage the state's business at the same time," Paterson said.
This week, the New York Times reported that the governor had intervened in a domestic violence case involving driver-turned-advisor David Johnson. The report prompted front page editorials on Friday from the New York Post and the Daily News calling for him to step down.
But Paterson remained defiant in the face of calls for his resignation, saying that he would serve out the remaining 308 days in office. He said he was "looking forward to a full investigation" of the incident by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office.
State Democratic Chairman Jay Jacobs said Paterson reached the decision to abandon his campaign — less than a week after he officially launched it — at roughly 5:30 Thursday afternoon.
"The governor came to this decision, I believe, pretty much on his own," Jacobs said. "I admire him for looking at it realistically."
The party chairman said he believed their would be rapid movement among the party's country chairs to support Cuomo, even though he has not yet announced.
"I think Andrew Cuomo is going to be our nominee," Jacobs said. He said he had spoken to the attorney general earlier, but when asked whether or not Cuomo would be running, only said "I'm going to let him tell you."
Meanwhile, the drumbeat from Democratic and Republican officials calling for Paterson to step down from office continued on Friday.
"New York should move forward under Governor Ravitch," City Comptroller John Liu said, according to Politco.
Harold Ford Jr., a potential primary challenger to Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, said in a statement that Paterson should "consider stepping down."
The Paterson scandal heated up this week after an article in the New York Times said the governor spoke on the phone to a woman who was seeking an order of protection against a high-ranking member of his staff, David Johnson. The woman didn't appear in court the next day, creating the appearance the governor tampered with the case.
An official from the New York State Troopers also visited the woman, even though the case falls into the jurisdiction of the New York Police Department.
Cuomo, Paterson's putative rival in the Democratic primary, has been asked by the governor to investigate the incident.
The appearance of the governor trying to influence a potential domestic violence victim caused another high-ranking member of the Paterson administration, Public Safety Deputy Secretary Denise O'Donnell, to resign in protest.
"These actions are unacceptable regardless of their intent," O'Donnell said in a statement.
"It's very sad," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said of Paterson's situation at a press conference about the snowstorm. "It’s not good for the state to have a government not function the way we need it to in these tough economic times."
