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It’s interesting to consider the decision Leecia Eve made a dozen years ago.
In 2006, Eve—a highly educated lawyer who’d served as an aide to Joe Biden and Hillary Clinton, was the daughter of a legendary Assemblyman and the sister of a rising political operative and was hailed as a potential New York version of Barack Obama—ran for lieutenant governor of New York State.
Key figures in the state Democratic establishment supported State Sen. David Paterson instead. Eve could have contested a primary, but didn’t. So, Paterson gets elected, meaning that when Eliot Spitzer resigns in 2008, Paterson becomes governor. His weak performance in the office opens the door to Andrew Cuomo, who is now on the verge of a third term and is possibly in position to seek national office.
It’s impossible to say whether the world would have been different if Eve had decided to fight for the number 2 slot four election cycles ago. What one can say is that she now brings arguably the longest resume of public service and probably the least name recognition to the crowded and truncated race for the Democratic nomination for attorney general, where she trails in fundraising and the polls but the field remains very unsettled.
Eve joined Max & Murphy this week to talk about her background, the direction of the Democratic party, her time as Clinton’s adviser for homeland security, the role the AG plays in policing corruption and whether her current gig for Verizon is a plus or a minus in voters’ minds. Give a listen:
