Paterson Wants to Smash New York's Glass Ceiling

Since everyone is talking about the presidential primary today, it seemed like an opportunity to pull out one more thing David Paterson said at a Times forum this past weekend.

In discussing the presidential race, Paterson said, “The thought of electing an African-American president, it has to break the glass ceiling in a lot of other places on the lower frequencies of our society. But what I am hoping when one of these candidates wins [is] that we all recognize that it is still a great moment for our society that either of them can be elected and realize that the election is a prelude to the opportunity for others. We have never elected a woman governor in the state of New York. We have never elected an openly gay person to a statewide office. We have never elected a Hispanic to citywide office.”

In case you were wondering, there are two Hispanics who have declared they are running for citywide office: Adolfo Carrion (comptroller) and Adam Clayton Powell IV (public advocate).