A lot. Governor Paterson is apparently “outraged” that no women were nominated for the Chief Justice position of the New York Court of Appeals:
New York Gov. David Paterson said on Wednesday he was “outraged” that no women were nominated to lead the state’s Court of Appeals, its highest court, forcing him to choose from seven men recommended by a panel.
Paterson said he believes the state constitution obliges him to pick one of the men nominated by a 12-member panel. But he directed state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo to explore options for picking a new chief judge for the appeals court that is considered one of the most influential state courts in the country.
“Because we’re citizens of a state in addition to being public servants, we’re outraged,” Paterson said, adding that the panel’s rejection of more than half the population could discourage women.
“What we really wanted to do is just publicly acknowledge … the disappointing fact that they spanned the globe and couldn’t find a woman in New York state that was qualified to serve as the chief judge,” he said. Still, he called the seven male nominees highly qualified.
Four women served on the nominating panel, which was created in the late 1970s to reform the highly politicized way judges were chosen.
The current chief judge of Court of Appeals, Judith Kaye, resigns at the end of the year. Three other women serve on the seven-member court, and Paterson, joined by the Democratic attorney general, questioned why none of them was nominated.
Here’s hoping he earns even more feminist cred by appointing Carolyn Maloney to fill Hillary Clinton’s seat.
He’s outraged because he needs to appoint a woman or Latino person to the Senate if he doesn’t appoint a female or Latino judge. I know that’s a cynical statement, but this press release is purely political.
Moreover, while the governor is supportive of women’s rights and the rights of lgbt people, he just made a deal with the gang of three that likely put the gay marriage vote on hold for at least two years. He just sold us out.
I’m sorry but it wasn’t Spitzer who signed an executive order ratifying official recognition of same-sex married couples in the state. Nope, that was David Paterson. I’m angry about the gang of three too but Paterson is not a sell out.
The governor is a sell-out for not making any public statement at all that he’s disappointed same-sex marriage rights were used as a bargaining chip. This deal is disgusting, and Paterson has said he was in the room without any trace of apology for the discrimination perpetrated there. That’s not okay. Civil rights shouldn’t be something they’re willing to trade away, and Paterson doesn’t get a cookie and a pass on judgment because he’s done some good things in the past. SOMEONE in the NY Democratic leadership has to actually uphold the promises that were made, or at least gesture toward the fact that my goddamn rights are worth more than making sure they still get bigger fucking offices. Give the LGBT community SOMETHING to hold on to while we watch ourselves be totally ignored by the Democratic Senate we worked to elect.
I’d love to see Maloney in the senate (my family in the City, who live in her district, are very fond of her). But it will be hard not to put in another Irish-American woman with a nearly-identical first and the most famous last name in politics. Either way, it’s a win.
And Paterson’s words about women and judges were magnificent.
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