The Anti-Steamroller

Albany has always been immune to altering its rhythms. That's why Spitzer's drive, impatience, sometimes even his obnoxiousness, excited many people.

Alexander B. Grannis, who came to the Assembly in 1975 and left last year to become Spitzer's environmental commissioner, captured the dejection felt by so many Spitzer partisans.

"He was a bright, combative man, and that's what the public expected of him," Grannis said. "Here was a guy willing to go into battle, take the gloves off and fight for what he believes in. You don't run into that very often." And then the fighter joined the Emperors Club.

Many who had bitter tangles with Spitzer, particularly Joe Bruno, the Republican state Senate leader, are overjoyed to have a friendlier governor, which makes reformers nervous.

But state Sen. Eric Schneiderman, a Democrat who worked closely with Paterson when the latter was the Democratic Senate leader, argues that a toughness lies below Paterson's graciousness.

He notes that Paterson viewed the previous Democratic Senate leader as too willing to play ball with Republicans and organized a rebellion against him. "In Albany, you know how rare a successful coup is," Schneiderman said. Paterson, he added, "has a record of taking progressive positions, but doing it in a smart way and picking his fights."

Spitzer turned Albany upside down. Paterson will try to change it from the inside out. New Yorkers may welcome a governor who is less adventurous, at least in certain respects.

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