Democratic mayoral hopeful William Thompson picked up the backing of Governor David Paterson Friday.

Paterson announced his endorsement during a morning campaign event at Madison Square Park.

"I'm proud to support Bill Thompson as the Democratic candidate for mayor of New York City," said Paterson. "He is a deeply capable leader who is ready to tackle the city's challenges. In my own continued work for New York's economic recovery, I would welcome Bill as an effective advocate and partner with our work in Albany. I admire him as a Democrat and as a friend. He possesses a tremendous commitment to the city's future, a history of reform, and a readiness to do the job now."

However, the governor went out of his way to praise Mayor Michael Bloomberg for his work at City Hall, saying the mayor "had done a good job in his two terms."

Paterson suggested that the mayor's support for the term limits extension was the main rationale for getting behind Thompson, a fellow Democrat.

"It is in no way a put-down on Michael Bloomberg's two terms of service to this city by insisting that there be new blood in City Hall," said Paterson. "Respecting the demonstrated desire of the people of the City of New York, of the voters of the City of New York, to restrict the service of their leaders, both citywide and countywide, to two terms, is not a small matter."

Yet last fall, when the idea of repealing term limits was gaining steam at City Hall, the governor said he was "delighted" the mayor would be seeking a third term.

"If an elected official has been effective in government and they want to seek a third term, they should go right ahead and do that," said Paterson last October.

Paterson's endorsement came a day after Thompson released his first TV ads. Although largely biographical, they also indirectly slam Bloomberg by saying the rich and powerful have been favored over the last eight years.

The cash-strapped Thompson campaign is spending $200,000 to run the ad.

Bloomberg picked up endorsements Friday from Planned Parenthood and Democratic Westchester Congresswoman Nita Lowey.

Lowey, the former chair of the Congressional Caucus for Women's Issues, praised the mayor's stance on women's issues and for being pro-choice.

The mayor was asked about Thompson's main line of attack against him, in which the mayor is accused of caring only for the city's rich and powerful.

"I am about pulling people together, not dividing them. We don't need two separate New Yorks," said Bloomberg. "We need everyone to pull together and I want to make sure that everybody pays their fair share and that everybody benefits to the extent that they can, equally. That's why New York is New York, because we don't have the class distinctions they do elsewhere."

The mayor's "two New Yorks" comment refers to a theme used in 2001 by Fernando Ferrer, who lost the Democratic mayoral candidacy that year to Mark Green. Ferrer said there were two New Yorks, one for the haves and the other for the have-nots.

Bloomberg picked up Thursday the endorsement of the Buildings Trade Council, which represents unionized construction workers.