Charles J. O'Byrne

Charles J. O'Byrne
Secretary to the Governor of New York
In office
March 17, 2008 – October 24, 2008
Preceded byRich Baum
Succeeded byWilliam J. Cunningham III
Personal details
Born1959
Manhattan, New York
Political partyDemocratic
Residence(s)Manhattan, New York
Alma materColumbia University (B.A. '81)
Columbia Law School (J.D. '84)
Weston School of Theology (M.Div. '96, S.T.L. '96)
OccupationLawyer

Charles J. O'Byrne (born 1959) is an American lawyer, former Jesuit priest, and former political staffer to Governor of New York David Paterson.[1] O'Byrne served as Secretary to the Governor—the highest unelected position in New York government[2]—during the Paterson administration.[3] He stepped down from that position in October 2008 after admitting to having failed to pay five years' worth of taxes.[4]

O'Byrne previously served as Chief of Staff to Paterson when Paterson served as a member of the New York State Senate and as Lieutenant Governor of New York.[5] He also worked as a speechwriter for Howard Dean's 2004 presidential campaign. Prior to entering politics, O'Byrne practiced law and was a member of the Society of Jesus for 12 years[6] before departing his order and authoring a controversial 2002 article about Catholic priests and seminarians.

  1. ^ Peters, Jeremy W. (2008-03-20). "The Tough Guy and Political Newcomer Who Counsels New York's Governor". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  2. ^ Ramaswamy, Swapna Venugopal. "Cuomo's right hand Melissa DeRosa is 'unapologetically fierce'". The Poughkeepsie Journal.
  3. ^ Confessore, Nicholas; Hakim, Danny (October 24, 2008). "Paterson Aide Quits in Furor Over His Taxes". The New York Times.
  4. ^ Lovett, Kenneth. "Gov. Paterson's top aide Charles O'Byrne resigns after admitting to failing to pay taxes". nydailynews.com.
  5. ^ Horowitz, Jason (2008-03-15). "Gov. Paterson's Main Man: Former Jesuit, 'Natural' Politician Charles O'Byrne". Observer. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  6. ^ Goldiner, Dave. "Chief of staff for incoming Gov. David Paterson a former Jesuit priest". Daily News. March 13, 2008.

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