Spitzer takes over as New York's 54th
governor
Democrat sworn in at executive
mansion
 |
| With his family at his side,
Gov. Eliot Spitzer is officially sworn
in at the New York Governor's Mansion. (Photo: WNYT) |
ALBANY, Jan. 1
By MARC HUMBERT Associated Press
Writer
Democrat Eliot Spitzer, vowing to "replace
delay and diversion with energy and purpose," was sworn in
as New York's 54th governor during a private ceremony early
Monday at the governor's mansion.
"Day one has begun," Spitzer said to a resounding
cheer after being sworn in shortly after midnight Sunday.
"It is a joy to be here. It will be exciting. I will do my
best as the public has asked me to do."
U.S. District Judge Robert W. Sweet issued
the oath of office to Spitzer, who was once
a law clerk for Sweet.
Spitzer, New York's two-term state attorney
general who gained an international status by taking on major
Wall Street institutions, won the governorship on Nov. 7 with
a landslide victory over former state Assembly Republican
Minority Leader John Faso.
Taking over for three-term Gov. George Pataki,
who did not seek re-election and is eyeing a run for the 2008
Republican presidential nomination, Spitzer
inherits a state government facing significant future budget
deficits and recent scandals that have caused the resignation
of the state Comptroller.
After a 6 a.m. run Monday with about 150 supporters, Spitzer
got to work.
Stating in a series of executive orders that "government
employment is a privilege rather than a right," Spitzer
enacted measures to limit political consideration and mandate
ethical behavior by employees of the executive branch.
The orders will be used to pressure the Legislature to enact
similar statewide reforms, said Spitzer,
who forged an international reputation as state attorney general
by reforming conflicts of interest on Wall Street.
The measures are anathema to Albany, for which New Yorkers
have long shown contempt. They ban gifts from lobbyists; end
personal use of state cars, computers and equipment; prohibit
nepotism and ban ex-employees hired by the Spitzer
administration from lobbing the executive branch for two years.
Other executive orders ban statewide officials - including
Spitzer - from appearing in state-paid commercials,
stopping a practice expanded greatly under Pataki.
A public inauguration ceremony was to be held in a park
outside the state Capitol later Monday.
"In order to return to policies of opportunity and prosperity,
we must change the ethics of Albany and end the politics of
cynicism and division in our state," Spitzer
was to say in his inaugural, according to a transcript provided
by his office. "It will require a new brand of politics -
a break from the days when progress was measured by the partisan
points scored or the opponents defeated."
Also being sworn in was Democrat Andrew Cuomo,
the elder son of former Gov. Mario Cuomo
who was elected to replace Spitzer as attorney
general. The younger Cuomo, who had served as federal housing
secretary under President Clinton, had unsuccessfully
sought the Democratic nomination for governor in 2002.
(Copyright 2007 by The Associated Press. All Rights
Reserved.) | 
