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The Dad Also Rises

To the Editor:

Through two difficult contract negotiations, Basil Paterson, labor paladin and father of our new Governor, armored Transport Workers Union Local 100's cause against powerful opponents, and steadied the hand of inexperienced leadership through perilous times. There were winners and losers in the wake of Spitzer's fall. TWU Local 100 can count itself in the former column.

With the elder Paterson still in the lists for the local, and the son astride the machinery of the New York State government, the situation augurs well for a decent contract this time around. For those who prefer it put more succinctly, "Does the fruit fall far from the tree?"

TWU Local 100 caught a decent break with the election of Spitzer. The latest turn of events puts icing on the cake.

RUSSELL SMITH