By Chris Levister

New York Lt. Governor David Paterson, who is legally blind, took the oath office, Monday, just a week after the world learned of former Gov. Eliot Spitzer's involvement in a prostitution ring. Paterson will become the state's first Black governor and the nation's first legally blind chief executive.

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.

"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.

Paterson, 53, rose from the lieutenant governor's office after Spitzer resigned last week amid allegations that he hired a call girl from a high-priced escort service. It was a dramatic fall for Spitzer, who was elected with an overwhelming share of the vote and who had vowed to root out corruption at the Capitol.

New York Gov. David Paterson, left, gets a standing ovation after being sworn in during a ceremony in the state Capitol in Albany, N.Y. Monday. At right is Paterson's wife Michelle Paige.

"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, 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 immediate attention.

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."

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.