Jewish leaders had warm words for the successor to disgraced New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
Lt.-Gov. David Paterson will assume the governorship on Monday. Spitzer announced his resignation Wednesday.
“He’s great,” said New York state Assemblyman Dov Hikind, a Democrat. “You know what I would call him? The ultimate mensch. And I don’t use that phrase very often.”
Paterson has a long record of involvement with the Jewish community, serving on the Black-Jewish Alliance, a coalition of elected officials created by Hikind earlier this year to combat racism and anti-Semitism.
Paterson also traveled to Israel for the first time in October on a trip sponsored by the American Jewish Committee.
