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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.

Early life, education, and early career

O'Byrne was born into an Irish Catholic family in New York City.[7] His father was a teacher and then a principal in New York public schools, and his mother was a psychologist.[8] O'Byrne graduated from Red Bank Catholic High School in New Jersey in 1977.[8]

O'Byrne attended Columbia University and graduated summa cum laude in 1981, majoring in history with a concentration in the Medieval and Renaissance periods.[9] During college, he took a summer job in the New Jersey Attorney General's office, and at 22, became acting superintendent of elections and acting commissioner of registration in Monmouth County.[8] He went on to Columbia Law School, graduating with a J.D. in 1984.[9] At Columbia, O'Byrne became close friends with Stephen Smith Jr., a member of the Kennedy family.[9] After law school, he worked as a corporate litigator at the Manhattan office of Rosenman & Colin LLP.[7]

Priesthood

O'Byrne left corporate law for a vocation to the priesthood in 1989 and attended Saint John Neumann Residence and Hall, a preparatory school for seminarians under the Archdiocese of New York.[8] O'Byrne was later admitted into Saint Andrew Hall, the Jesuit Novitiate in Syracuse for his primary formation as a Jesuit. He professed his vows as a Jesuit at the LeMoyne College Chapel in Syracuse, New York in 1991[6] and completed his philosophy studies at Loyola University Chicago.[8] O'Byrne went on to seminary at Weston Jesuit School of Theology in Cambridge, Massachusetts in 1994[8] and received two master's degrees.[9] During his studies in Cambridge, he acted as Harvard Law School's chaplain and worked as a teaching fellow at Harvard University with Robert Coles, the Pulitzer-prize winning author.[8] In 1996, O'Byrne was ordained as a priest.[8] He received a voluntary Decree of Dismissal from the Society of Jesus in 2002 when his superiors determined that he no longer wished to remain in the Order.[6]

A friend of the Kennedy family, O'Byrne acted as a spiritual adviser during the 1991 rape trial of Stephen Smith's brother, William Kennedy Smith,[9] and officiated at the marriage of John F. Kennedy Jr. and Carolyn Bessette in 1996.[7][10] In 1999, he presided over the funeral of Kennedy and Bessette in New York City after they died in a plane crash.[11] As of 2008, he was a trustee of the Jean K. Smith Trust, the Kennedy Smith Foundation and the Smith Family Trust. In a 2006 financial disclosure, he listed gifts in excess of $1,000 and trustee commissions from members of the Smith family.[9]

Aftermath

See also: Criticism of the Catholic Church, Homosexuality in the Roman Catholic priesthood, Homosexuality and Roman Catholicism, and 2005 Vatican instruction on homosexuals in the priesthood

O'Byrne authored "Sex & Sexuality: One Man's Story About Religious Life and What Seminaries Really Teach About Sex", a controversial September 2002 article in Playboy magazine that alleged hypocrisy and sexual dysfunction in the Catholic Church.[9][12] The article caused some controversy, portraying O'Byrne's fellow seminarians as men who entered the religious life with "little or no sexual experience"[13] who made up for lost time. O'Byrne asserted that there was "sex all around me, including relationships between Jesuits."[12] He also asserted that there was a prevalence of priests who held an unnatural interest in young male parishioners.[9]

O'Byrne, who is openly gay,[9][6] later left the Catholic Church and became a practicing Episcopalian.[9]

Political career

In 2003, O'Byrne joined Howard Dean's presidential campaign as Policy Director for New York, and was then hired as a speechwriter.[9] After Dean dropped out of the race, O'Byrne went to work for State Senate Minority Leader David Paterson as a speechwriter and policy analyst.[8] In 2006, O'Byrne became Paterson's Chief of Staff.[9]

O'Byrne maintained his position as Chief of Staff when Paterson was elected Lieutenant Governor of New York, and was elevated to Secretary to the Governor (the functional equivalent of a Chief of Staff) when Paterson was sworn in as Governor in March 2008 following the resignation of Eliot Spitzer.[14] O'Byrne was variously described as Paterson's "quarterback", "gatekeeper", "alter ego", "confidant", and "enforcer", and as "the glue that held the administration together".[3] O'Byrne was responsible for hiring Christopher O. Ward as Executive Director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.[15]

On October 24, 2008, O'Byrne resigned from his post[4] following the revelation that he owed nearly $300,000 in back taxes.[3] O'Byrne admitted to having failed to pay taxes for five years.[4] After O'Byrne's unpaid taxes became public knowledge, he contended that his failure to pay was caused by depression.[16] In an interview, O'Byrne's psychiatrist, Dr. Howard Kremen, said he had treated O'Byrne for depression from 2001 through 2006 and said he attributed Mr. O'Byrne's tax problems to his condition.[17][18]

Later career

Since 2012, O'Byrne has served as Executive Vice President for Policy at Related Cos, where he focuses on government relations with Washington DC, Albany, and City Hall.[19]

In 2022, New York City Mayor Eric Adams mentioned O'Byrne as a member of his kitchen cabinet.[20][21][22]

O'Byrne is also known as an advocate for LGBTQ+ advancement in New York. In 2021, he was ranked #11 on the City&State of NY’s "Pride Power 50,"[23] and was listed among Politics NY’s "LGBTQ+ Power Players of 2023."[24]

Further reading

References

  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. ^ a b c Confessore, Nicholas; Hakim, Danny (October 24, 2008). "Paterson Aide Quits in Furor Over His Taxes". The New York Times.
  4. ^ a b c 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. ^ a b c d Goldiner, Dave. "Chief of staff for incoming Gov. David Paterson a former Jesuit priest". Daily News. March 13, 2008.
  7. ^ a b c Memmott, A. James. "Ex-priest is valued adviser to NY governor Archived 2008-03-25 at the Wayback Machine". The New York Observer. March 19, 2008.
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i Horowitz, Jason. "Gov. Paterson's Main Man: Former Jesuit, 'Natural' Politician Charles O'Byrne Archived 2008-03-18 at the Wayback Machine". The New York Observer. March 15, 2008.
  9. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Peters, Jeremy W. "The Tough Guy and Political Newcomer Who Counsels New York's Governor". The New York Times. March 20, 2008.
  10. ^ Gonzalez, Juan. "As the state shook, David Paterson called former deputy mayor dad". Daily News. March 12, 2008.
  11. ^ Duke, Lynne. "Family Memorializes Another JFK". The Washington Post. July 24, 1999. Page A1.
  12. ^ a b O'Byrne, Charles J. "SEX & SEXUALITY: One Man's Story About Religious Life And What Seminaries Really Teach About Sex Archived July 25, 2008, at the Wayback Machine". Playboy. September 2002.
  13. ^ Montanaro, David. "New York State of Mind ". MSNBC. March 14, 2008.
  14. ^ Smith, Ben. "Friday reading: Charles O'Byrne". Politico. March 14, 2008.
  15. ^ "Chris Ward Gets the Call". The New York Observer. 6 May 2008.
  16. ^ "Paterson Aide Claims "Late Filing Syndrome" for Tax Problems". Gothamist. October 23, 2008. Archived from the original on September 1, 2019. Retrieved September 1, 2019.
  17. ^ Confessore, Nicholas; Hakim, Danny (2008-10-25). "Paterson Aide Quits in Furor Over His Taxes". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  18. ^ Confessore, Nicholas; Peters, Jeremy W. (2008-10-23). "Governor's Aide Had 'Late-Filing Syndrome,' Lawyer Says". The New York Times. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  19. ^ "The 2019 Pride Power 100; 36 - 65". CSNY. June 23, 2019.
  20. ^ "Adams keeps big business close". Politico.
  21. ^ "Adams' chief of staff to launch global consulting firm". Politico.
  22. ^ "New York City Mayor-elect Eric Adams Mayoral Transition Committees". Empire Report New York. 2021-12-04. Retrieved 2023-05-30.
  23. ^ "The 2021 Pride Power 100: 11-50". City & State NY. 2021-06-20. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
  24. ^ "2023 LGBTQ+ Power Players". Politics NY. 2023-06-01. Retrieved 2023-07-26.
Preceded by New York State Secretary to the Governor
2008 		Succeeded by
William J. Cunningham III
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