New Gov. Spitzer urges cooperation

Democrat Eliot Spitzer, who built an international reputation fighting corruption on Wall Street, took office as governor, calling for an end to “the politics of cynicism and division.”

Spitzer said frequent deadlocks between Republican Gov. George E. Pataki and the Legislature thwarted school improvements, ethics reform and efforts to cut the highest taxes in the nation.

“New York has slept through much of the past decade while the rest of the world has passed us by,” Spitzer said in his inaugural address in Albany. “Today is the day when all of that changes -- when we stop standing still and start moving forward once more.”