Democrat culture of corruption

DAVE'S LATEST STAFF SCANDAL

Is Gov. Paterson capable of hiring any aides who aren't tarnished by ethical doubts or unanswered questions?
Paterson's first chief of staff, Charles O'Byrne, had to quit after it was disclosed he hadn't paid $293,000 in taxes.
Another chief of staff, William Cunningham (a former law partner of the governor's dad), was fired as "weak" -- only to be rehired 24 hours later as a $170,000-a-year "deputy secretary."
Just last month, it transpired that Paterson -- despite a "hard" hiring freeze -- had hired a longtime friend as a legislative assistant in the city's DC office. News of her hiring came when she was photographed on the governor's arm as they partied at a Chelsea nightspot.
Now there are questions about one of Paterson's closest friends and advisers.
Clemmie Harris -- who's paid $82,400 as a "special assistant to the governor" -- is registered to vote in Pennsylvania, according to an upstate newspaper.
In fact, it isn't even certain that Harris lives in the Empire State, as required under the Public Officers Law. He lists a Philadelphia address on his college alumni Web site, and his own father said he isn't certain where his son lives.
Harris, in fact, often spends his nights at the Executive Mansion in Albany, when Paterson is in residence. When the governor is staying downstate, Harris commutes to the city from a suburban Tarrytown hotel.
Over the last 14 months, that's cost taxpayers $15,500 in hotel bills and another $13,500 in travel expenses.
Harris also collects $29,500 a year on top of his official salary in the form of a state disability pension, based on an unspecified medical problem that forced him to quit the State Police.
Not surprisingly, Paterson's office has an explanation for all these questions: Harris really does live in Albany, aides say, but maintained a Philadelphia apartment on a long-term lease while studying at the University of Pennsylvania.
And they say he stays in Westchester because it's cheaper than Manhattan.
As ethical issues go, Clemmie Harris' situation pales beside some of the earlier problems.
But it's yet another reminder that, where David Paterson is concerned, nothing is ever totally as it seems.