>> Coming up, a week at the Albany has never seen before.
Eliot Spitzer resigned in disgrace.
We'll talk about the scandal and his successor, David Paterson.
We'll ask what it all might mean to Young New York voters.
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>> The news magazine since 1997.
This is "need to know."
>> Thank you for joining us.
Julie PHILIPP is off.
On a day for 35 of the Eliot Spitzer administration everything did change.
Monday's elevation of his ties -- Monday's relegation of his ties to a prostitution ring brought his career to a halt.
He then announced his resignation.
>> In the past few days, I have begun to atone for my private feelings with my wife, my children, and my entire family.
The remarks I feel will always be with me.
-- The remorse I feel will always be with me.
I'm grateful for that love and compassion that they had shown me.
From those to whom much is given, much as expected.
I have been given much.
The love of my family, the faith and trust of the people of New York, and the chance to lead this state.
I am deeply sorry that I did not live up to what was expected of me.
To every New Yorker and to all those who believed in what I tried to stand for, I sincerely apologize.
I look at my time as governor with a sense of what might have been.
But I also know that as a public servant, I, and the remarkable people with whom I worked, have accomplished a great deal.
There is much more to be done and I cannot allow my private failings to disrupt the people's work.
Over the course of my public life, I have insisted, I believe correctly, that people, regardless of their position or power, take responsibility for their conduct.
I can and will ask no less of myself.
For this reason, I am resigning from the office of governor.
Lt. Gov. Paterson requested that the resignation be effective Monday, March 17, did that he believes will permit an orderly transition.
>> Albany is getting ready to welcome a new governor.
This is in the midst of a pressing budget deadline.
We're joined by Susan Arbetter, post of "New York now."
And Karen DeWitt.
Thank you for being with us.
>> Hello.
>> Hello.
>> What is the mood in Albany?
>> I have to say it has just been such a crazy week.
The capital was paralyzed.
By the end of the week, I think there is a sense of relief that this kind of a nightmare, even though it was only three days long and it seemed longer, has kind of ended and people are saying, okay, we will have a new governor.
Let us try to pick up the pieces and move on.
>> I have a little bit of a different sense from the people I spoke with at the capitol.
Some of AIDS, Spenser's aid, their true believers.
They thought that they were going to change the world when they started working with a lead sponsor, the great white knight.
They were very emotional.
Some tears, I saw.
On the other side of the corn, also saw some very jubilant people.
People just delighted that this had happened.
I know it is hard to believe, but this is a big opportunity for some people at the capitol.
>> But there were keeping under wraps, right?
There were not running around shouting for Detroit.
You can tell some people were happy.
>> What happened to Elliot Spitzer?
Was there sort of a bubble Boy syndrome going on?
Was he so insulated from what might have been the effects of what he was doing?
Is there a sense of that?
>> it is so interesting, Scott.
People wake up.
They talk about politicians, now, especially wealthy politicians.
Their pickup in the morning, somebody gets their breakfast.
It walked into an armored vehicle that takes into an office.
There escorted up the escalator of the steps with the detail of state troopers.
They rarely see any regular people.
>> Also came from a very privileged background.
His father was a self-made man who was very wealthy.
He went to private schools.
Ivy League schools.
It is hard to really make an excuse for him.
>> We're not psychologists.
>> As to why someone would destroy their career.
It is just a surprising.
I do not think anybody saw this coming.
>> The late Spencer came into office with such a big promises on day number one.
Everything would change.
He set himself up as Mr. Clean.
Was that part of what made this particular downfall so dramatic?
>> Absolutely.
I mean, here was a guy who was totally squeaky clean.
He was going to reform everything.
It was kind of the public schools.
He was very moral.
He was always getting down on everyone else for every little transition that they made.
>> He threw the book at Wall Street CEOs.
He would not allow any sort of issue to come between him and his success as a prosecutor.
>> Andy had a 70 percent of voter mandate.
-- and he had a 70 percent of voter mandate.
He raised expectations.
He seemed to believe in himself that he would get all these things done.
This was a year that he really did not do all that well in Albany.
It was very tumultuous.
You had troopergate.
It was rocky and it was not going well for him anyway.
When this came, it was obviously the nail on the coffin.
>> Yes.
Blood in the water.
Those cliches.
Things were not going well for Eliot's but separate right out of the starting gate, he fumbled a bit with the whole scandal.
He wanted to handpick his own new state comptroller.
There was a scandal using state funded chauffeurs to bring his wife around.
>> This is minor now.
He was using state money.
>> It was a big deal at the time.
>> It was a major.
Would another politician have been able to survive this?
Would it have been Bill Clinton or something?
>> If it had not been a situation where he allegedly transported the woman across state lines, making it a federal crime, maybe.
But these are felonies.
If you're convicted.
So, I think that nobody can survive that.
You're not allowed to be governor if you're convicted of a felony.
>> You're also not allowed to -- You did lose your law license.
There are rarely granted another chance if they do this.
>> Nobody could survive this.
But it is more shocking considering who it was.
The public persona.
>> Spitzer was walking pretty tall there.
He was the Sheriff of Wall street.
>> Which raises the question, also, there were rumors that there might have been campaign money involved.
Where do things stand with that?
>> That has been the rumor all week.
The New York Times has reported that the feds are looking into that.
$80,000 over the past eight years.
Was it his money?
He is a wealthy man.
But there have been questions raised.
Also, using state aircraft and other transportation to get to these interests or whatever you want to call them.
>> He could have gone to the hooker date.
>> Changing the focus, to our incoming governor, David Paterson.
He is on his way in on Monday.
How high are the expectations for David Paterson coming in all of a sudden unexpectedly filling this role that he apparently really never wanted to fill?
>> Well, it is going to be a tough job.
But nobody expects him to fix everything.
As long as he can keep everybody from being at everyone else's throat, he will accomplish something.
So it is not like -- is not the Sheriff of Wall street.
He did not promise all kinds of things that he would fix a less you can say by extension.
He was only the running mate.
He said he wanted to carry out Spitzer's policy but you can tell he is much more of a compromiser.
He is going to have a mind of his own.
>> It is like the beat syndrome after Jane Pauley left.
Now we have the replacement.
In a matter what he does, it will probably be OK.
But the expectations are pretty low.
Some people have suggested that he was a weak minority leader.
He was minority leader of the state Senate since 2002.
>> You're already week when your Minority Leader awaited them legislature is set up.
He has not been tested but he did bring a little bit more respect to the Senate Democrats.
He won without alienating the majority.
Joe Bruno, which Gov. Spitzer greatly alienated.
He is definitely well-respected.
There is potential there.
>> Let us talk about their relationship with Joe Bruno.
There was a quote from Bruno where he said that he just spoke to Spitzer last week.
The last time he spoke before then was last July.
That has not been cordial.
Is it reasonable to expect that David Paterson, who has worked with the Senate, might have better luck than Eliot Spitzer did in terms of getting things through the Senate?
>> Yes, definitely.
It is amazing.
Things are not going well in Albany before this scandal broke.
You cannot have the governor and the most powerful Republican in the legislature and not speaking.
They did not speak from July until February.
That is it just -- it has been a grid lock.
Nothing has gotten past in this legislation.
>> We have to remember why it has happened.
Gov. Spitzer came in, guns blazing, he wanted to flip the Senate from being GOP to being a Democrat.
Didn't you interview Gov. Spitzer?
He was very focused on Bruno.
>> That is all he wanted to talk about a matter what I asked him.
It was all about him.
All but Joe Bruno.
What he had done wrong, no matter what you ask him.
He was model maniacal in his focus.
>> So you're starting off with a bad relationship right there.
Joe Bruno was fighting for his life and Spitzer was trying to take his political career from him.
>> And Bruno had got along with the Spitzer while he was attorney general.
For Bruno, it seems like this came out of the blue.
But they would work together.
But that did not happen.
It shows you really do need the legislature in their, and the governor seems powerful but the legislature is very powerful.
>> He said he did not need the legislature at the beginning of his term.
And then he changed.
>> Yes.
You have to get along with them no matter how much you want to be a reformer and change things.
>> That is the way all the works.
>> The have a lot of power and that has been proven in the last year.
>> David Paterson will probably have an easier time of it all because he really does represent the status quo.
Is not coming in trying to change everything the way Spitzer was.
>> The biggest question is whether he will be a pushover.
That is what people wonder.
He is known for getting along with everyone, but you cannot always get along with everyone.
And will he be able to do that?
That will be the greatest test.
Especially with the budget being due in two weeks.
>> That is the April 1 deadline breathing down our necks.
>> Yes.
Or is he just going to let them do what they want.
>> Let us add money here and add money there and everyone will be happy.
We have done that in the past.
It is an election year.
>> And a time when so many local mayors are looking for money.
They're looking to make sure that the money stays.
Will there be a lot of pressure to satisfy everybody, get a bigger budget through, and worry about it next year?
Or is there actually to be a more disciplined budget process?
>> Well, I think it would be hard to be disciplined at this point.
But there is a $5 billion budget deficit.
There will have to come up with one-shot revenue raisers to fill it in.
I just did not think that Governor Paterson will be in a position to hold things up and say that we're not going to do a budget unless we cut this or cut back.
I do not see that scenario taking place.
But we do not really know.
It is a mystery as to what is going to happen next week and how he is going to tackle this.
>> Do you think that Governor Paterson is up to speed on all of the issues that he is going to be on?
>> Well, he is very smart.
And I think he will be pretty much by Monday.
That is why he said he wanted to spend the weekend going over this stuff.
He admits that he has not been part of the budget process.
But he has some pretty good people around him that he is not getting rid of.
I think that will help.
>> You definitely need that kind of said well.
>> And he is a quick study.
That helps a lot.
>> A quick political question.
Two weeks ago the Democrats were celebrating turning over that seat up in the 48th District in North country to put them within one seat and then Patterson is a tie-breaker of having control of the senate.
What does that do to those hopes now?
>> You know, it is hard to say.
I think the demographics are against the Republicans.
And the Democrats will eventually take over the senate.
But there is less chance that they will do it this year.
Everybody thought it would be certain in November that the Democrats would take over.
Maybe this puts a break on that a little bit.
Because what they have lost in Spitzer was he was a gigantic fund raiser for them.
He was raising all kinds of money for the campaigns.
I do not delete C Patterson plane that same kind of role.
He does not want to antagonize the Senate majority leader by playing too active a role.
>> It is more important for him to get along.
>> And not to speculate?
[LAUGHTER]
>> That is a fun game, that is.
>> Michael Bloomberg, who knows?
It depends on how Patteson does.
He has a long term previous three years to solidify his position.
He is running as an incumbent.
If he turns out to do well, you'll be there for a long time.
>> WXXI Capitol Bureau correspondent, Karen DeWitt, and Susan Arbetter, thank you.
>> Thank you.
Thank you.
>> We'll bring you a special edition.
That is coming up this weekend on Sunday morning at 11:00.
You can also go online to listen to this interview and other "need to know" segments.
Just type in www.wxxi.org/ntk.
Click on the link for podcasts.
>> For a few days, the elite Spitzer's collapse eclipse even the presidential race that captured the attention.
Will the governor's fall from grace rekindle cynical attitudes?
With us now are Shonda Ranson, president of the Junior Chamber and Dennis O'Brien of the Young Democrats of Monroe county.
Thank you for being with us.
>> Thank you.
>> Let us talk about where we were with younger voters before this.
We had a presidential race this year that has brought in record numbers of voters in just about every primary around the country.
We have congressional races that are coming up this fall.
How excited were voters?
How excited are they this year in your demographics?
>> Young voters are very excited.
I think there is a rise in activism.
I think people are realizing that grass-roots can be successful and help influence and change policy.
I think the primaries help in high-profile races in general.
I think Spitzer tapped into a rekindling, I think, of the Progressive movement.
Not necessarily young people.
And I tend to worry, say, if Barack Obama got caught doing something like this, who was one who has eight very strong young following, that would be more detrimental than somebody like Spitzer.
>> It would be a campaign-and there for him.
One of the other things that the Spitzer administration had been promoting, and Shonda, was the whole idea of getting people to do business in upstate New York and see it as a destination.
What does this do to the whole project?
>> Well, this is something that we are really worried about because the New York State Junior Chamber has been working on unshackle upstate.
We are also struggling because while we were in Albany, for the lobby day last Tuesday, were the Tuesday before last, pushing for the $1.6 billion economic push that Eliot Spitzer had wanted for the budget, the state budget, and now we're wondering what is going to get cut and what is not going to get cut.
At the same time, locally here in Rochester, we were doing -- coping with the coalition and the young professionals.
We were supposed to have representation from the government to talk about how ROCHESTER was going to benefit from the Spitzer administration.
And he has been a wonderful person about the movement of young professionals.
And how the fight against the brain drain is happening.
I would hate to see all that go away.
>> Is at a given that we have seen the last of her?
Is it possible that she can stay involved?
>> I would love to see it and I would highly encourage it.
She is a sharp lady.
The things that she did on her own have been laudable.
I know that she would definitely get a lot of support from young professionals and she would continue.
>> Let us talk about David Paterson, who certainly is another rising figure in the Democratic party.
Is it possible that he could prove to be even more inspirational to younger voters down the road then someone who is more established and older like Eliot Spitzer?
>> I think so.
I think David Paterson brings a myriad of changes.
He will be our first black governor, are first blind governor, I think those are changes in the demographics that people are excited to reach out to.
I think as Democrats, we tended to be more inclusive than Republicans but certainly politics in general has been exclusive for many years in New York.
You can see that.
Bringing someone in like David Paterson who is very intelligent, well liked, and well respected, and was a rising star when it was first elected in was the youngest senator when he was elected, and I think that helps bring promise and hope to young people that they can do these things.
They can run for office.
They can be the future of this state.
>> I asked the same question in our Albany interview earlier.
What is the potential affected downstream on the Democrats' hopes to take control of the Senate this fall?
>> I think it will prove to be more difficult.
I think it is inevitable.
I think there are seats out there that will be taken, and think that New York is becoming more Democrat.
I think Democrats have really tapped into what New Yorkers need.
I think still the big issue will be the economy.
I think if candidates, regardless of party, can convince their constituents of that taken up the economy and especially upstate, that will be the primary thing.
I do not think many candidates will think about this sinking or swimming given their relationship to Spitzer.
>> If you're looking at a positive side to this whole thing, I think it is the young professional group or young people that are now more aware of the state government.
The average person did not really know a lot about the David Paterson unless you already involved in politics.
Suddenly, they're going on line, they're looking up what are his key issues.
What are his hot buttons.
I do not think most people understood that the succession and how it worked in politics.
I think that is really, really great.
The up side is that a wonderful medium scandal means that more people are paying attention to state government.
>> Is this something that Republicans will seize on as a campaign issue both in and York state and national lead heading into the fall?
Or is it very specific to this one politician in this one position?
>> To be seen the news lately [LAUGHTER]
] sorry.
It was all over the Calbert report.
Last night, that is.
They will mention it as much as possible.
>> In terms of long-term impact on the image of upstate New York, would have any lasting effect?
>> I mean, one of the first things that I noticed was when there were talking about Eliot Spitzer touring through Geneseo and he was talking about it being a rising star for suny colleges.
But it turned out that the last governor to tour Geneseo was the last Governor to be impeached.
He probably thought no one would visit there again.
But we finally got somebody in office who was thinking about upstate economics.
And this is something --
>> We are out of time, unfortunately.
That is it for this edition of "need to know."
Thank you for joining us.
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