He’s got his work cut out for him but I see relief in Albany since Spitzer is gone and an atmosphere of working together. I hope so, because this is exactly what needs to be done.

Best of luck to Paterson and we will be watching.

Gov.-to-be David Paterson vows to get the state ‘back on track’

Deploying both wit and wisdom, Gov.-to-be David Paterson vowed Thursday to get the state “back on track” in his first public appearance since the disgraced Eliot Spitzer announced his resignation.

“I am prepared,” Paterson told reporters a day after Spitzer announced he’d step down on Monday amid charges he hired a high-priced call girl. “At this point, it is time to get back to the business of the state.”

Paterson, who will be the state’s first black and the nation’s first legally blind governor, revealed his biting humor when asked whether he had ever employed the services of a prostitute.

“Only the lobbyists,” Paterson, 53, quipped after a pause of five seconds or so. “That’s why we want campaign finance [reform].”

It was one of several moments when Paterson - widely acknowledged to be as low-key and humorous as Spitzer was abrasive and stern - added a note of levity to an otherwise serious, somber day.

With the state’s $124 billion budget due in three weeks and no agreed-upon plan to close a $4 billion shortfall, Democrat Paterson has his work cut out for him.

But unlike the acrimonious Spitzer - who boasted of being “a f—— steamroller” to one GOP lawmaker last year - Paterson repeatedly signaled his desire to reach across the aisle in dealing with issues large and small.

“We will all commit ourselves in a bipartisan way to building a relationship that will restore the public trust,” Paterson said, noting he’d already met with Democratic Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and had a sit-down planned with GOP Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno.

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