Former Democratic New York Gov. David Paterson condemned actress Cynthia Nixon for launching an ambitious gubernatorial bid, saying the former “Sex and the City” star should have started her political career seeking a lower public office.
“You really see a difference in the way [people from Hollywood] run for office,” Paterson told John Catsimatidis on New York radio station AM 970.
“Some just sign up. And I won’t say that Cynthia Nixon has been inactive because she lives on the Upper West Side and I know things that she did do. But I’m saying, so now that you’ve converted to Catholicism, why do you have to be the pope?” he continued.
Nixon is working to obtain enough petition signatures to be placed on the ballot, so she can challenge Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the Sept. 18 Democratic primary. Cuomo, however, leads Nixon with 50 percent to 28 percent of the vote, according to a May 2 Quinnipiac University poll.
Paterson insisted he wasn’t “against anybody in a democracy running for office,” but stressed experience is more important than fame and resources.
“In other words, why can’t she run for a legislative position or congressional seat where she could really learn what goes on?” Paterson said.
“Because of the fact that she lacks that experience, I do not think she will get as many votes in 2018 as Zephyr Teachout, who was the governor’s primary opponent in 2014, received,” he added.
Teachout only secured 34 percent of the vote in her 2014 race against Cuomo. She stepped down as Nixon’s campaign treasurer in May to contest the Democratic nomination for New York attorney general.
