Papa's Promoter
The Syracuse Post-Herald
By Michelle Breidenbach

"The man that you call Gov. Pataki is the man that I call Dad."

It's a line Emily Pataki used when she nominated her father at the state party convention last week. And it's a line she repeated Tuesday in DeWitt over lunch with about 200 members of the Republican Women of CNY.

Emily Pataki, 23, is touring the state as director of the group People for Pataki. It is an effort to bring Pataki's re-election campaign to the grass roots. Through her talks, she said, she hopes to give New Yorkers an image of her father they generally don't read about in the newspaper.

Emily Pataki, a self-proclaimed ''daddy's little girl,'' told family anecdotes about growing up on a fourth-generation family farm in Peekskill, where people value the land and grandma's cooking.

She shared stories about her father balancing work and family. He took time out, for example, to escort Emily to see the musical ''Tommy'' on Broadway. She said he nearly fell asleep, but she appreciated the effort.

"I know he'll always be there for me," she said.

Emily told the group about her siblings, Ted, 20; Allison, 17; and Owen, 15.

Ted, a sophomore at Yale, is the military historian/philosopher of the family. Allison has followed in her father's footsteps as captain of the high school cross country team and Owen and the elder Pataki have engaged the whole family in reading ''The Lord of the Rings'' series.

Emily Pataki put in a good word for her father's record on education, fighting crime, improving health care and protecting the environment. She invited people to join her group.

"There's a newfound drive and energy and passion to re-elect my dad," she said.

Emily Pataki graduated from Yale University in May 2001 with a degree in American history and literature. She has worked in the investment banking department at JP Morgan in Manhattan, and has worked summers for the finance department of the Metropolitan District Commission in Boston and the Chelsea Piers Sports Center. She has also been a writer and producer for Bloomberg Television.

In April, Pataki joined her father's campaign staff as the director of People for Pataki. A journal on the People for Pataki Web site describes her trips across the state. There is a link to the Web site from www.georgepataki.com.

Hitting the road this spring gave Emily Pataki a new appreciation for her father's work.

"I had no idea how taxing his job actually was," she said.


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