Paterson Police Aide Resigns

New York Governor David Paterson may be soldiering on, but he’ll be without one of his top aides. Denise E. O’Donnell, the cabinet official in charge of the state police, resigned on Thursday after The New York Times revealed that the state police had initiated contact with a woman who alleges that one of Paterson’s closest advisers attacked her. “The fact that the governor and members of the State Police have acknowledged direct contact with a woman who had filed for an order of protection against a senior member of the governor’s staff is a very serious matter,” she wrote in a statement. “These actions are unacceptable regardless of their intent.” Long Island Rep. Steve Israel, meanwhile, called on Paterson to not run for reelection.