ALBANY – Eliot Spitzer was forced yesterday to shelve plans for a formal announcement that he had chosen David Paterson for his lieutenant-governor running mate after a rival candidate fought efforts to get her out of the race.
State Attorney General Spitzer had planned a press conference as early as today to officially introduce Senate Democratic Minority Leader Paterson, of Harlem, as his running mate.
But rival Leecia Eve told friends and supporters, including Harlem Rep. Charles Rangel, that she wasn’t ready to surrender. “She’s staying in as long as she can,” Rangel told The Post.
While the congressman said he was aware of widespread speculation in Democratic circles that Eve would drop out as early as today, he insisted, “That’s not so.
“It’s not going to be a day or so,” Rangel continued, saying he didn’t expect an announcement from Eve until next week at the earliest.
While Eve’s resistance forced Spitzer to put off his announcement plans, the attorney general and Paterson were expected to make several public appearances together beginning this weekend, said a source close to both men.
Under consideration is a whirlwind statewide swing by Spitzer and Paterson, with a formal announcement around the middle of next week, said the source.
Aides to Spitzer stunned state Democrats Monday when they revealed the attorney general had picked Paterson, the highest ranking African-American in the Legislature and the son of well-known Harlem lawyer and Democratic activist Basil Paterson, as his running mate.
The move infuriated Rangel and shocked some other prominent Harlem Democrats, including former Mayor David Dinkins and former Deputy Mayor Percy Sutton, because they had already endorsed Eve, the daughter of prominent Buffalo African-American Democrat Arthur Eve.
Rangel was so angry that he sarcastically blasted Spitzer as “the world’s smartest man” and suggested the attorney general should be more concerned about a possible Democratic primary challenge from Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi than in ending Eve’s candidacy.
Other black Democrats, however, including state party Chairman Herman “Denny” Farrell, have praised the selection of Paterson.