Mar 13, 2008 3:00 pm US/Eastern
N.Y. Governor-To-Be: Government Is Stable
Paterson Makes First Comments About Scandal Following Spitzer's Resignation
ALBANY, N.Y. (CBS) ―
New York Lt. Gov. David Paterson says it's time for the state to get back on track after Gov. Eliot Spitzer's stunning resignation because of a prostitution scandal.
The Harlem Democrat takes over Monday, becoming the state's first black chief executive and the first legally blind governor in the country.
He told reporters and others in Albany Thursday that he didn't become governor like most politicians do, but he plans to honor the promise he made when he became Spitzer's running mate in 2006.
One of his first challenges will be the state budget. The Legislature faces an April 1 deadline to pass a plan to close a $4.7 billion deficit.
After 72 jarring hours that shook New York's political establishment to its very core, Paterson knows his first mission as governor is to calmly right the ship of the state.
"The message to the people of New York is that New York state government is still thriving, and we are still serving the people," Paterson said in his first public comments since Eliot Spitzer's resignation.
As he raced around Albany from meeting to meeting, Paterson talked abou the stunning revelation that Spitzer was involved in a high-priced prostitution ring that forced him to step down.
"I'm getting over it, but I was in a state of shock," Paterson admitted, saying his mindset now is "positive."
"I have spoken with him," Paterson said of Spitzer. "I just told him how sorry I was this happened and how much he still inspires me."
For Paterson, who will became New York's first black governor and the nation's first legally blind chief executive on Monday, the burden of taking over for Spitzer lies heavy on him right now.
"I just want to be reassuring to the people," he said.
Because of the Spitzer scandal, Paterson said he knows people want to know that government will go on.
"The last couple of days have been very sad, but now we have to do the business of the people of New York," he said.
Paterson has a lot of people rooting for him, including Republican Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno, who was Spitzer's biggest political rival.
"We are going to partner with the lieutenant governor when he becomes governor to govern. David has always been very open with me, very forthright ... and I look forward to a positive, productive relationship as soon as possible," Bruno said Wednesday.
In the meantime, with federal prosecutors saying that Spitzer was not given a plea deal, the soon-to-be former governor still could face an assortment of charges that could land him behind bars.
Among the possible charges that law enforcement authorities said could be brought against the former governor: soliciting and paying for sex; violating the Mann Act, the 1910 federal law that makes it a crime to take someone across state lines for immoral purposes; and illegally arranging cash transactions to conceal their purpose.
Spitzer could also be disbarred. In New York, an attorney can lose his license to practice law for failing to "conduct himself both professionally and personally, in conformity with the standards of conduct imposed upon members of the bar."
It was a spectacular collapse for a man who cultivated an image as a hard-nosed politician hell-bent on cleansing the state of corruption. He served two terms as New York attorney general, earning the nickname "Sheriff of Wall Street," and was elected governor with a record share of the vote in 2006. The tall, athletic, square-jawed Spitzer was sometimes mentioned as a potential candidate for president.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
