Stage set for New York's first African American governor

NEW YORK: The stage is now set for the first African American to become the governor of New York after incumbent Eliot Spitzer announced his resignation after he was embroiled in a sex-scandal which provoked statewide outrage.

When David A Paterson, a State legislator for 22 years, takes oath on Monday, he will become the first legally blind person to take over such a job in the United States.

Spitzer, a 48-year old Democrat and father of three, announced his resignation with his wife Silda Wall standing by his side, saying he would leave political life and 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."

He did respond to questions from reporters and in his 3-minute statement did not refer to the criminal charges he might face especially about moving money around his accounts in a way that could have violated the law.

The scandal which brought down Spitzer and ended his promising political career broke out on Friday after wire taps by law enforcement agencies showed that he had spent time with a 1000-dollar an hour call girl during his visit to Washington on February 13.

Media reports say he had been patronizing prostitutes for years and by some estimates he had paid USD 80,000 for sex.

After giving an ambiguous statement on Tuesday, he announced his resignation yesterday as it became clear that the Republicans are determined to begin impeachment proceedings against him.