By BRENDAN SCOTT, Post Correspondent
May 31, 2008
ALBANY - A message from the desk of Michelle Paige-Paterson: Oops!
New York's first lady committed a political faux pas, using her official state letterhead to raise campaign funds for a Democratic state Senate candidate.
Paige-Paterson signed her name this month on the invite bearing the state seal. The note solicited funds for Don Barber, the town supervisor of Caroline, near Ithaca, who is challenging longtime Sen. James Seward (R-Oneonta) in November.
"I know you agree with me that our 'blue' state should be led by a Democratic Senate," her letter says. "Don's campaign will help us achieve that goal."
It's illegal to use a public office or taxpayer-funded resources to raise campaign cash.
The governor's office responded yesterday by canceling Barber's planned June 24 bash at a private home on Central Park West.
The shindig was slated to feature state Democratic Party Chairwoman June O'Neill, Senate Minority Leader Malcolm Smith (D-Queens) and several other lawmakers.
"It never should have been sent," Paterson spokeswoman Erin Duggan said. "It was a totally honest mistake. We take this incredibly seriously."
Paterson aides blamed the flap on an unnamed "junior staffer."
Paige-Paterson had met Barber when her daughter, Ashley, began attending Ithaca College.
Duggan said Paterson, a hospital executive, was still adjusting to a political life.
"She's not an elected official," Duggan said. "She, up until now, has been a private citizen, who hasn't been involved with these kinds of things."
Duggan said state money spent on the fund-raiser were negligible, since only one sheet of letterhead was sent to the Barber campaign, which then made the copies and mailed the invitation.
Paige-Paterson's embarrassment also puts an unflattering spotlight on the first family's efforts to win Democratic control of the Senate this year.
Paterson has cultivated a friendly relationship with Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno (R-Rensselaer) and avoided campaigning against him.
