The Democrat David Paterson was sworn in yesterday after Eliot Spitzer stepped down over the allegations that he had links with a prostitution ring.

According to Paterson’s spokesman Armen Meyer, his first day as a governor will be spent “meeting with senior staff, lawmakers and others, focused on the budget and state spending during this difficult economy,” and he will focus over ways to close the budget gap.

 Paterson took the oath of office just after 1 p.m. and among the people gathered at the ceremony were the governors of New Jersey, Massachusetts and Connecticut, former New York Governors George Pataki and Hugh Carey, U.S. Senators Charles Schumer and Hillary Clinton, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg and former Mayors David Dinkins and Ed Koch.

 The new governor, who has been a state senator for 21 years before running as Spitzer’s lieutenant governor in 2006, marked the ceremony with his humor and he was acclaimed by both Democrats and Republicans. He ensured them that he will make efforts to make the budget deal possible.

 “He has a talent for conciliation, but at some point, he's going to have to take a stand somebody isn't going to like,” said E.J. McMahon, an Albany-based budget analyst, Bloomberg reports.

 Just a few hours after the ovations, Paterson had to answer questions about his marriage. According to the New York Daily News, he admitted an affair with another woman from 1999 until 2001. He claimed he and his wife had both relationships with other people, but he did not give many details. After a rough period of their marriage they managed to repair their issues.

 “I think most of us are optimistic that this could be a really terrific time for New York state and Albany with Gov. Paterson,” one of the Democrats said according to the Daily News.