Politics on the Hudson

How’s this for change on Day One: A midnight swearing in, a 6 a.m. jog, an outdoor inaugural ceremony and a free, James Taylor concert will mark Eliot Spitzer’s first day as New York governor.

Spitzer, who campaigned on a promise of “Change Begins on Day One, will start his new job on Jan. 1 with a breath of fresh air. Lots of them, in fact.

The Democrat, a habitual runner, will go for a pre-dawn run in downtown Albany and will stage his ceremonial inaugural at noon on the lawn behind the State Capitol, an area known as West Capitol Park.

The open-air event will be “the first test of people’s heartiness and willingness to participate in the rigors of government as we envision it in New York,� Spitzer said with a grin, while joking that the Old Farmers’ Almanac predicts temperatures of 15-below zero that day.

Assemblyman John McEneny, D-Albany, a local history expert, said an outdoor inaugural was “unprecedented in my memory’’ but could not say with certainty if this would be the first.

There will be no black-tie gala, a notable difference from Gov. George Pataki’s 1994 inauguration. In another departure from Pataki, a Republican who is stepping down Dec. 31, Spitzer will pay for the event from the $5.5 million remaining in his campaign account. Pataki set up special fund-raising committee for his inaugural, with some of the money coming from people who wanted to do business with the state, and did not release the names of donors until Democrats successfully sued him.

And while Lt.Gov.-elect David Paterson and Attorney General-elect Andrew Cuomo will join the Spitzer inauguration ceremony, embattled Comptroller Alan Hevesi, a fellow Dem, won’t. There have been no conversations between the Spitzer and Hevesi camps about the inauguration, a Spitzer aide said.

James Taylor, who is married to an Albany native, and Natalie Merchant, who grew up in Western New York, will headline a free concert at 5 p.m. at an arena just four blocks from the Capitol. Also, Spitzer and his wife, Silda, will host a reception for the public at the Capitol from 1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. Those who want to attend are encouraged to sign up through the inauguration Web site—which will not be up and running before Dec. 11—www.inaugurationny.org.

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