George Elmer Pataki (born June 24, 1945) is an American politician who served as the 53rd Governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. He previously served in the State Legislature from 1985 to 1994, and as the Mayor of Peekskill from 1981 to 1984. Pataki was the third Republican since 1923 to win New York's governorship, after Thomas E. Dewey and Nelson Rockefeller. Pataki's most notable achievements as governor included the creation of a number of new health care programs, presiding over recovery ...