Gov. David Paterson has declined to join other top Democrats calling for state Sen. Hiram Monserrate to resign over his misdemeanor conviction for assaulting his girlfriend.
In his first public comments on last week's conviction, Paterson said today that domestic violence remains a major concern, with a million women statewide calling 911 annually. But he'll wait for a special Senate committee's investigation into Monserrate's case.
The Queens Democrat was acquitted of a felony assault charge. A conviction on that charge would have automatically cost him his seat.
Monserrate has refused to resign. U.S. Sens. Charles Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and several other Democrats say he should.
The senator's girlfriend, Karla Giraldo, testified in court that the incident that left her with a gash around her left eye that required 20 stitches to close was an accident. On Sunday, she told the Daily News she loved Monserrate and still wanted to be with him.
