Paterson, 53, son of longtime Harlem political leader Basil Paterson and a former minority leader of the state Senate, spent most of Monday in his office getting briefed by aides to Spitzer, who has been linked with a high-price prostitution ring as a client.

Former New York Mayor David Dinkins said Paterson is capable to take over the governor's mansion, the New York Daily News reported Tuesday.

"I do not call for the governor's resignation," Dinkins, the city's first black mayor, said. "(But) were he to resign, I think David Paterson would make a superb governor."

U.S. Rep. Pete King, R-N.Y., called Paterson "a class act."

Spitzer, seeking to broaden his appeal among minorities, asked Paterson to be his running mate in 2006. Tensions between Spitzer and Paterson were tense during the campaign and spilled into the first 14 months of administration, a source told the Daily News.