N.Y. governor admits to adultery, report says

ALBANY, N.Y. — Just hours after he received a standing ovation from lawmakers chanting his name, New York's newly sworn governor was answering questions about straying from his own marriage.

David Paterson became the state's first black chief executive and the nation's second legally blind governor almost exactly a week after allegations first surfaced that now-former Gov. Eliot Spitzer was "Client 9" of a high-priced call girl service.

Paterson told the Daily News of New York City that he maintained a relationship with another woman from 1999 until 2001 during a rough patch in his marriage. He and his wife eventually sought counseling and repaired their relationship.

The couple agreed to speak publicly about their marriage in response to rumors about Paterson's personal life that have been swirling in Albany since Spitzer resigned, the Daily News reported Monday on its Web site.

Paterson and his wife, Michelle, acknowledged to the newspaper that they each had affairs but did not go into details.

"This was a marriage that appeared to be going sour at one point," Paterson told the Daily News. "But I went to counseling, and we decided we wanted to make it work. Michelle is well aware of what went on."

A spokesman for the governor, Errol Cockfield, did not immediately reply late Monday to an e-mail or telephone calls seeking comment about Paterson's interview with the News.

Hours earlier, Paterson outlined a message of unity in a state eager to move past his predecessor's sordid and speedy political collapse.

"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 former 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 him 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 an escort service.

"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 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.

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.

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.

Silver said adopting a budget will be the priority. 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 goodwill 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."