Gov. Eliot Spitzer, whose rise to political power as a fierce enforcer of ethics in public life was undone by revelations of his own involvement with prostitutes, resigned on Wednesday, becoming the first New York governor to leave office amid scandal in nearly a century.
Today’s articles look at Eliot L. Spitzer's resignation, the woman at the center of the downfall, and the preparations being made as Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson prepares to succeed Mr. Spitzer, with reaction from Harlem, the neighborhood that Mr. Paterson represented in the State Senate.
Additional coverage includes a reconstruction of events, and a look at how a money trail led to the governor.
The resignation of the governor also affected those outside government, including parents who endured tricky conversations to explain the news to curious children, Spitzer supporters who grappled with the issue, and the news media, which scrambled to set up for Mr. Spitzer's short resignation speech.
Gov. Eliot Spitzer, with his wife, Silda, announcing his resignation at his Manhattan office on Wednesday.
The resignation will be effective on Monday at noon. Lt. Gov. David A. Paterson, a state legislator for 22 years and the heir to a Harlem political dynasty, will be sworn in as New York’s 55th governor, making him the state’s first black chief executive.
Mr. Spitzer announced he was stepping down at a grim appearance at his Midtown Manhattan office, less than 48 hours after it emerged that he had been intercepted on a federal wiretap confirming plans to meet a call girl from a high-priced prostitution service in Washington, leaving the public stunned and angered and bringing business in the State Capitol to a halt.
With his wife, Silda Wall Spitzer, at his side, Mr. Spitzer, a Democrat, said he would leave political life to concentrate on healing himself and his family.
“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,” he said. “I can and will ask no less of myself. For this reason, I am resigning from the office of governor.”
Mr. Spitzer, 48, spoke in a somber but steady voice, softening his usual barking tone. He took no questions. His wife, in a dark suit and a brightly colored scarf, looked off to the side, occasionally glancing up to reveal deep circles beneath her eyes.
Though he came into office last January with a sweeping electoral mandate for change, Mr. Spitzer’s time as governor was marked by fierce combat and costly stumbles. He faced a scandal last year after members of his staff used the State Police to disseminate damaging information about his chief Republican rival, Joseph L. Bruno, the leader of the State Senate.
Since Monday, Mr. Spitzer has been consumed with crisis, trying to salvage his marriage and his career and avoid federal charges stemming from the case.
A man defined by ambition and relentlessness, Mr. Spitzer appeared to struggle with the decision to relinquish power. On Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Spitzer instructed his staff to contact the office of Sheldon Silver, the speaker of the Assembly and a fellow Democrat, to see if an impeachment vote could be avoided.
But it was clear during the discussions that it was hopeless, with many Democrats prepared to abandon him.
During his remarks, which lasted less than three minutes, Mr. Spitzer did not address the pending criminal investigation, and it remained unclear what legal issues, if any, Mr. Spitzer will face.
The United States attorney investigating the case issued a statement shortly after the resignation saying that his office does not have any arrangement with the governor.
In Albany, some of Mr. Spitzer’s staff members were clearing out their desks as Mr. Paterson and his top aides prepared to move into the executive offices. Charles O’Byrne, a longtime assistant to Mr. Paterson, is replacing Richard Baum as the governor’s top aide. Most other top Spitzer loyalists were expected to depart.
Mr. Spitzer’s resignation was accompanied by relief, shock and a sense of the surreal. Legislative leaders from both parties voiced condolences to Mr. Spitzer’s wife and three daughters and welcomed Mr. Paterson.
Mr. Bruno, who had once called Mr. Spitzer “a spoiled brat,” shunned fiery language on Wednesday.
He said he hoped Mr. Spitzer’s ignominious fall would force lawmakers to focus more intently on addressing the state’s financial crisis, and he declined to say how Mr. Spitzer’s departure might affect the fight for control of the State Senate this year.
“I’m going to leave it to the governor and his family to sort out how they deal with present circumstances and the future,” Mr. Bruno said at a morning news conference. “And frankly, I have them in my prayers.”
Many Democrats on the floor of the Assembly seemed almost jovial in the hours after Mr. Spitzer resigned. Some admitted privately that they were happy that the contentious and sometimes scolding governor was being replaced by Mr. Paterson, a likable lawmaker comfortable with the customs of Albany. Mr. Paterson will have to adjust quickly: The deadline for passing next year’s budget is March 31.
Mr. Spitzer had never seemed completely at ease in the hallways of the Capitol, and as this week’s crisis engulfed him, few in the state’s political establishment came forward to offer support. And since Monday, the governor had disappeared from public view, retreating to his Fifth Avenue apartment for what associates described as agonizing deliberations with his wife, lawyers and a handful of close friends.
The son of a wealthy real estate investor, Mr. Spitzer was educated at Princeton University and Harvard Law School and worked as a prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney’s office before being elected New York’s attorney general in 1998.
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