Charles J. O'Byrne

Charles J. O'Byrne (born 1959) is an American lawyer, former Jesuit priest, and former political staffer to Governor of New York David Paterson. O'Byrne served as Secretary to the Governor—the highest unelected position in New York government —during the Paterson administration. He stepped down from that position in October 2008 after admitting to having failed to pay five years' worth of taxes.

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. 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 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. His father was a teacher and then a principal in New York public schools, and his mother was a psychologist. O'Byrne graduated from Red Bank Catholic High School in New Jersey in 1977. 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. In 1999, he presided over the funeral of Kennedy and Bessette in New York City after they died in a plane crash. 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. The article caused some controversy, portraying O'Byrne's fellow seminarians as men who entered the religious life with "little or no sexual experience" who made up for lost time. O'Byrne asserted that there was "sex all around me, including relationships between Jesuits." O'Byrne was variously described as Paterson's "quarterback", "gatekeeper", "alter ego", "confidant", and "enforcer", and as "the glue that held the administration together".

On October 24, 2008, O'Byrne resigned from his post 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.

Later career O'Byrne serves as Executive Vice President for Policy at Related Cos, where he focuses on government relations with Washington DC, Albany, and City Hall.

O'Byrne is also known as an advocate for LGBTQ+ advancement in New York. In 2021, he was ranked #39 on the City&State of NY’s "Pride Power 50," and was listed among Politics NY’s "LGBTQ+ Power Players of 2023."