Governor Eliot Spitzer’s resignation brings to an end an administration that will always be remembered for its unfulfilled promise. The Governor not only betrayed the trust of his wife and children, he shattered the already fragile hopes of those New Yorkers who, little more than a year ago, had given him an overwhelming mandate to govern. Today, Governor Spitzer took the only course that his reckless and personally destructive behavior left him. The hearts of all New Yorkers go out to the Governor’s wife and children. While an orderly transition to a new administration will soon heal the wounds of the body politic, their own personal suffering will, regrettably, far outlast whatever political and governmental fallout flows from Governor Spitzer’s departure from state government. It is critically important that we quickly put this sad chapter in our state’s history behind us. Recriminations and fulminations on the truly dark side of our former Governor will serve little positive purpose as our state faces the critical choices of these challenging times. On Monday, our state will have a new governor, and with it we will have a chance to begin anew and usher in a positive era of bi-partisan cooperation that does not seek to steamroll over those with legitimate differences of opinion, but rather strives to bring people together in order to build a better future for all the people of New York.

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