New Governor for New York, Pledging Unity
Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson being sworn in on Monday as the 55th governor of New York by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye in Albany. More Photos >
ALBANY — Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson ascended to New York’s highest office on Monday, pledging civility and unity in government to an enthusiastic and palpably relieved gathering of state lawmakers and officials.
Mr. Paterson was sworn in as the state’s 55th governor shortly after 1 p.m., almost exactly a week after reports that his predecessor, Gov. Eliot Spitzer, had been a customer of a prostitution ring and faced federal investigation.
In a speech lasting about half an hour, Mr. Paterson offered fond wisecracks and soothing oratory to an audience that clearly ached to move beyond what has been an unusually sordid ordeal even for Albany, a capital well acquainted with political scandal.
Speaking to a joint session of the State Assembly and the Senate, Mr. Paterson alluded briefly to Mr. Spitzer’s difficulties over the past year in working with the Democratic-controlled Assembly and Republican-controlled Senate.
“What we are going to do from now on is what we always should have done: We are going to work together,” said Mr. Paterson, a 53-year-old Democrat from Harlem.
“With conviction in our brains and compassion in our hearts and the love for New York on our sleeves, we will dedicate ourselves to principle but always maintain the ability to listen.”
But Mr. Paterson’s remarks were most striking for what was absent from them.
There was no indication that Mr. Paterson intended to adopt as his own Mr. Spitzer’s high-profile crusade to change the culture of Albany. Despite hints last week that continuity would be a key theme of the transition, there were few signs on Monday of what agenda Mr. Paterson might pursue as the state’s chief executive, and aides said Mr. Paterson would begin to lay out his plans in the coming days and weeks.
Unlike Mr. Spitzer, who fired shot after shot across the bow of Albany’s political establishment in his inaugural address less than 15 months ago, Mr. Paterson warmly embraced the capital’s two other major powers: the Assembly speaker, Sheldon Silver, and the Senate majority leader, Joseph L. Bruno.
“Let us grab the unusual opportunities that circumstance has handed us today and put personal politics, party advantage and power struggles aside, in favor of service, in the interests of the people,” said Mr. Paterson, who served in the State Senate for more than 20 years.
Moreover, in a speech with so many nods to other elected officials that even a former lieutenant governor made the cut, Mr. Paterson made no mention of Mr. Spitzer, who chose him to join the ticket for statewide office in 2006, and whose powerful and at times overbearing personality were the central fact of political life here for nearly a year and a half.
Mr. Paterson alluded only vaguely to Mr. Spitzer’s resignation, noting that New York had experienced “a very difficult week.” He hewed closely to the theme of partnership, describing himself as Brooklyn-born, Long-Island-educated, and Harlem-residing, to rousing cheers from elected officials who hail from each of those areas.
Indeed, so constant were the cheers throughout the new governor’s time in the chamber that the audience even interrupted him with thunderous applause in the middle of his oath of office.
Only when his speech turned to the worsening economic downturn and its likely effect on the state budget gap did Mr. Paterson signal a challenge to the Legislature or to Albany’s ranks of lobbyists and interest groups.
“We are looking at an economy that is reeling, and I must say to all of you in government and all of you in business that you must meet with me in the next couple of weeks and adjust our budget accordingly,” Mr. Paterson said, suggesting that budget austerity may be needed.
Mr. Paterson, New York’s first blind governor as well as its first black one, also nodded to the historic nature of his swearing-in.
“I have confronted the prejudice of race, and challenged the issues of my own disability,” he said. “I have served in government for over two decades. I stand willing and able to lead this state to a brighter future and a better tomorrow.”
In a news conference following the address, Mr. Bruno seemed open to a political do-over.
“I think it’s great relief,” said Mr. Bruno, the state’s top Republican. “It’s like a new day. The sun is shining.”
At times, the event felt more like something of a coronation for Mr. Paterson, the scion of a Harlem political fraternity that remains powerful and well connected in New York politics. His father, Basil A. Paterson, a former state senator and secretary of state, stood behind Mr. Paterson when he first ascended the dais, as did his mother, his wife and his two children. They remained there as Mr. Paterson, a well-liked veteran of Albany, was greeted by exultant cheers and whistles, and a lengthy standing ovation.
“It’s a great day for New York, and for those of us from Harlem, it’s an even greater day,” said Senator Bill Perkins, a Democrat from Manhattan, who replaced Mr. Paterson when he was elected lieutenant governor.
New York’s two United States senators, Charles E. Schumer and Hillary Rodham Clinton, were in attendance, along with Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the former governors Hugh L. Carey and George E. Pataki, and the current governors of New Jersey, Connecticut and Massachusetts.
An initial draft of Mr. Paterson’s speech was prepared by aides, his advisers said, and he spent considerable time editing, memorizing and practicing the final address.
Whereas Mr. Spitzer favored a Sermon-on-the-Mount style of oratory, Mr. Paterson at times sounded more like the announcer at a Las Vegas boxing match. At least a third of his speech was devoted to saluting the legislative leaders and other officials in attendance, each of whom was introduced with a flourish and a backslapping joke.
Praising Mr. Bruno, for example, Mr. Paterson recalled that the leader of the Senate Republicans had once invited him to his upstate horse farm for dinner.
“I’ll go,” Mr. Paterson recalled replying. “But I’m going to take my taster with me.”
Other Senate Republicans, following Mr. Bruno’s lead, appeared receptive to Mr. Paterson’s overtures, at least for now. Asked whether Senate Republicans would give Mr. Paterson any breathing room on contentious matters like the state budget, one of them, John J. Bonacic, smiled broadly.
“For a day,” he promised.
In tone and affect, Mr. Paterson’s speech did not seem to be aimed at the broader public. Rather, it seemed addressed principally to the lawmakers gathered before him, whom he has known for years as a colleague and peer, but must now lead.
“Let me reintroduce myself,” he said toward the end of the speech, hinting at the transformation in progress. “I am David Paterson, and I am the governor of New York State.”
What kind of governor he will be remains to be seen. Some Democrats who support the procedural reform that Mr. Spitzer advocated — greater government transparency; lower limits on campaign contributions — appeared hopeful on Monday that the cause would escape the fate of its most visible champion.
“This was not a scandal about the politics and ideology of the Spitzer administration. It’s a personal scandal,” said Senator Liz Krueger, a Manhattan Democrat. “We have a new governor, not a new government.”
Privately, some Democrats were already looking beyond the budget, to this fall’s elections, in which control of the State Senate — the surviving statewide bastion of Republican power in New York — will be at stake.
Entering office last year with overwhelming popularity, Mr. Spitzer was expected to lead his party’s efforts to retake the Senate. Over the last year and a half, his fund-raising and political support helped the Democratic minority win two more Senate seats in special elections.
Mr. Paterson is not untested in such matters. Despite his friendship with Mr. Bruno, Mr. Paterson whittled four seats from the Republican majority during his years as Senate minority leader from 2003 to 2006. But his fund-raising ability and skills as a statewide political leader are not well tested, as senior Democratic officials acknowledged on Monday.
Referring to Mr. Spitzer, Representative Joseph Crowley said, “There’s no question he had resources available both personally and in his ability to tap.” The congressman, who is also the leader of the Queens County Democratic Party, continued: “But there will be others to fill those voids, I think. David, being one of them, will have to step up in that regard, to ensure that the money that is needed will be raised and emphasis is put where it is needed.”
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