ALBANY &#8212 Gov. David A. Paterson&#8217s campaign is on life support, with Democrats

calling on him to abandon his effort to win election to a full term and the head of the

state&#8217s criminal-justice agencies resigning in protest amid the latest scandal to rock

the administration.

Some Democrats suggested Thursday that Paterson may even have to resign.

Investigators for State Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo, who is eyeing a run for governor

and was asked by Paterson to investigate the new scandal, Thursday began lining up interviews

with administration officials, including from the State Police, following allegations that

members of the governor&#8217s security detail pressured a woman not to pursue a

domestic-violence case against a top Paterson aide.

Audio: Gov. David A. Paterson

The question throughout the party is now: When, not if, will Paterson drop out of the race?

But a defiant Paterson stood firm Thursday night in Manhattan, telling reporters that he is

not suspending his campaign, though he is talking with elected officials about the matter.

&#8220I am obviously listening to them. I&#8217ve got an open mind about this thing. I want

the Democrats to win in November,&#8221 he said when asked whether he would quit the race if

key Democrats asked him to.

The governor suggested that he knew nothing of any State Police contacts with a woman who

was seeking an order of protection against one of his closest aides, David W. Johnson, until

sometime Wednesday. &#8220The best thing for me is for the facts to come out,&#8221 Paterson

told a Manhattan radio station, saying he is prepared to &#8220let the chips fall where they

may.&#8221

But things began crumbling for Paterson beginning Thursday morning. Long Island Democratic

Rep. Steve Israel came out first saying he should not run.

Hours later, Denise E. O&#8217Donnell, deputy secretary of public safety and commissioner

of the Division of Criminal Justice Services, which includes the State Police, resigned in

protest. She suggested she had been lied to by State Police Superintendent Harry J. Corbitt

last month when he told her about the incident involving Johnson last Halloween and that the

State Police had no involvement in the case.

O&#8217Donnell, a former U.S. attorney for Western New York, in a terse letter to Paterson,

said she could no longer &#8220in good conscience&#8221 work for him. O&#8217Donnell, a

possible candidate for attorney general, criticized the &#8220direct contact&#8221 the

governor and the State Police acknowledged making with Johnson&#8217s alleged victim.

Corbitt, a Buffalo native, denied misleading O&#8217Donnell.

A Democratic congresswoman from Westchester County, Nita M. Lowey, said Paterson must

resign if the allegations prove true, adding that the &#8220political reality is the governor

cannot be an effective candidate or official for New York.&#8221

Democratic House members from Western New York, Brian Higgins of Buffalo and Louise M.

Slaughter of Fairport, remained silent on the matter.

&#8220His campaign was crippled to begin with, and this latest episode is a fatal

blow,&#8221 said State Sen. Bill Perkins, a Harlem Democrat. He said that there is &#8220no

value&#8221 for Paterson to continue his campaign.

&#8220He&#8217s at the point where he can&#8217t even do the governance because of so much

controversy,&#8221 Perkins said.

The New York Times reported Thursday that Paterson talked with the woman on Super Bowl

Sunday. The next day, she did not appear in court when the Johnson case was dismissed. There

is a dispute over who instigated that call, but the woman&#8217s lawyer made no indication

that Paterson intimidated her.

The Times reported that the woman, Sherr-una Booker, a longtime girlfriend of Johnson, was

pressured by someone from Paterson&#8217s security detail to drop the case.

&#8220Given the cloud that&#8217s been over him and now this recent stuff, ... I think

it&#8217s very, very difficult for him to lead the ticket in November,&#8221 said Assemblyman

Sam Hoyt, D-Buffalo.

Erie County Democratic Chairman Leonard R. Lenihan did not join other county chairmen from

across the state who called on Paterson to end his campaign; Lenihan praised Paterson for

suspending Johnson and for asking Cuomo to investigate. Asked about the governor&#8217s future

as a candidate, he said, &#8220At this point, I don&#8217t have a comment on that.&#8221

The few public Paterson supporters were not upbeat. &#8220That&#8217s up to him,&#8221

Assemblyman Keith L.T. Wright, a Harlem Democrat, said when asked whether Paterson should

still run. He said Paterson was right to involve Cuomo. &#8220For the governor to welcome or

invite an investigation by the attorney general shows that he really has nothing to

hide,&#8221 Wright said.

But another prominent African-American Democratic leader said Paterson has three major

items on his plate: dealing with a budget crisis, the new allegations of misconduct and the

the election campaign.

&#8220Clearly, he can&#8217t do all three. So the question is, what does he continue and

what does he suspend?&#8221 said former State Comptroller H. Carl McCall.

Can Paterson recover politically? &#8220I don&#8217t know. Obviously, that&#8217s something

he has to consider,&#8221 McCall said. The key test, McCall said, will be Paterson&#8217s

planned Harlem campaign kickoff announcement Sunday, which some Democrats were ready to

boycott.

Democratic Sens. Charles E. Schumer and Kirsten E. Gillibrand raised concerns over the

episode but did not directly criticize Paterson. But lawmaker after lawmaker lined up to

condemn contacts between state officials and the former girlfriend of Johnson, a longtime

Paterson confidant.

While most Democrats say Paterson&#8217s campaign has begun to crumble rapidly just five

days after he formally announced his 2010 bid, some say the governor has proved unpredictable.

Hank Sheinkopf, a Democratic consultant from Manhattan, said Paterson is &#8220a

fighter&#8221 and will resist calls to end his campaign anytime soon. &#8220The problem is

where is he going to get his money to run a campaign?&#8221 Sheinkopf said of the cash-poor

governor.

Democrats say officeholders worried about their own re-elections with a weak Paterson at

the top of the ticket now have a new and urgent reason to call for him to step aside.

But Sheinkopf said Paterson&#8217s referral of the investigation to Cuomo was the

&#8220smart political move.&#8221 Besides delaying any formal announcement by Cuomo of a

candidacy for governor, Paterson&#8217s asking for the attorney general to investigate

&#8220puts Cuomo on the spot and shows insiders Paterson is not afraid of anything,&#8221

Sheinkopf said.

&#8220And if it appears there&#8217s politics involved in the investigation, Andrew Cuomo

will also be hurt,&#8221 Sheinkopf added.

Cuomo has subpoena power in the case because Paterson on Thursday formally asked for the

probe. A quick investigation is planned, sources said, and some Democrats were calling on

Cuomo to provide at least preliminary findings by next week. Cuomo&#8217s office would only

confirm that the probe is under way.

The governor may have not done anything wrong by speaking with the alleged victim, critics

say, but the mere conversation with a woman he has known for several years could have had a

chilling effect on her proceeding with the case against Johnson.

Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Lazio, a former congressman from Long Island, said

the public has to know from Cuomo that he can &#8220honestly and objectively&#8221 run the

probe of Paterson &#8212 since Cuomo has been jockeying with the governor behind the scenes

for party support for months.

Lazio called on Cuomo to state that he and associates were not behind any damaging leaks to

the media about Paterson. If there are any Cuomo fingerprints on leaks about the governor,

Lazio said, &#8220common decency&#8221 would demand that Cuomo recuse himself from the probe.