New York's 55th governor sworn in
ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - March 17, 2008 Paterson became the state's first black chief executive and
nation's second legally blind governor almost exactly a week after
allegations first surfaced that Gov. Eliot Spitzer was "Client 9"
of a high-priced call girl service.
"We move forward. Today is Monday. There is work to be done,"
Paterson said. "There was an oath to be taken. There's trust that
needs to be restored. There are issues that need to be addressed."
Spitzer, according to ex-aides, was at his Columbia County
farmhouse 48 miles south at the time of Paterson's swearing-in.
Where Spitzer's 14-month tenure was marked by partisan sniping,
Paterson, a fellow Democrat, reached across the aisle in his
remarks from the ornate Assembly chamber. The crowd gave the new
governor a two-minute standing ovation and chanted "David! David!
David!"
"What we are going to do from now on is what we always should
have done all along," the former state senator said. "We're going
to work together."
Legislators gave Paterson hearty applause when he called for
cooperation, and laughs when he made playful jabs at Republican
leaders.
He said Senate Republican leader Joseph Bruno, probably
Spitzer's most bitter rival, had invited him to dinner at his
ranch: "I'll go. I'm going to take my taster with me."
He teased Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, whom Spitzer
famously and profanely said he would steamroll, that he would teach
him how to play basketball. Tedisco, an upstate Republican, was a
basketball star at Union College.
Paterson, 53, rose from the lieutenant governor's office after
Spitzer resigned last week amid allegations that he hired a call
girl from a high-priced escort service. It was a dramatic fall for
Spitzer, who was elected with an overwhelming share of the vote and
who had vowed to root out corruption at the Capitol.
"This transition today is a historic message to the world: That
we live by the same values that we profess, and we are a government
of laws, not individuals," Paterson said.
Paterson took the oath of office from Chief Judge Judith Kaye,
who ascended to the pinnacle of the state's highest court in 1993
after former Chief Judge Sol Wachtler was caught threatening and
harassing an ex-lover.
Paterson, who becomes New York's 55th governor, has said he will
get right to work. The Legislature faces an April 1 deadline to
pass an estimated $124 billion budget, and Paterson also said that
health care, education, jobs and problems facing "the single
mother with two jobs" need immediate attention.
Paterson spoke for 26 minutes - about half of it engaged in the
banter and humor that helped define him as a lawmaker and
lieutenant governor - without notes or teleprompter.
He joked about his limited vision - he can see things close to
him out of one eye.
At Spitzer's last State of the State address, he said, Assembly
Speaker Sheldon Silver stopped him from accidentally breaking a
glass with his gavel, then told him, "I will not allow you to turn
the State of the State into a Jewish wedding."
Before reluctantly accepting Spitzer's offer to run with him as
lieutenant governor, Paterson was a Democratic state senator for
more than two decades, representing parts of Harlem and Manhattan's
Upper West Side.
His wife, Michelle Paige Paterson, had tears in her eyes for
most of the ceremony.
"Every time I hear David speak, I want to cry," she said
afterward. "I'm just very happy I was able to live to see this
day."
Politicians past and present, including presidential candidate
Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg
and governors from three neighboring states, attended the ceremony.
U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer said New Yorkers are ready to put the
scandal behind them.
"I think most of us are optimistic that this could be a really
terrific time for New York state and Albany with Gov. Paterson,"
said Schumer, a Democrat.
Federal prosecutors must still decide whether to pursue charges
against Spitzer. The married father of three teenage girls was
accused of spending tens of thousands of dollars on prostitutes -
including a call girl "Kristen" in Washington the night before
Valentine's Day.
Silver, talking to reporters on his way to the swearing-in, said
adopting a budget will be the priority even with the recent
turmoil. With an expected debt of more than $4.6 billion, the job
won't be easy.
"It's a daunting task, but I think with all the good will
that's created, with the leadership of David Paterson, we're going
to have a logical conclusion to a budget process," Silver said.
Bruno said the Democrat-led Assembly and his Republican majority
in the Senate remain billions apart in budget negotiations, and
"David is going to be right in the middle."
"I think he can be one of the best governors the state has ever
had," Bruno said.
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Associated Press writer Michael Gormley, Michael Hill and
Michael Virtanen contributed to this report from Albany.