The state’s present and future governors sat down for a private meeting Tuesday for the first time since Andrew Cuomo was elected to the high office last week.

At a press conference following their first formal meeting, Governor David Paterson applauded Cuomo's honesty and pragmatism in dealing with the many problems haunting Albany for years.

Cuomo said he will focus on control of the state deficit and to cut spending in education, health care and government operations. He also reiterated his promise for no new taxes.

"No new taxes, no new taxes, no new taxes. I think that that would be counterproductive for the state," said Cuomo. "I think you will force an increase in the number of New Yorkers who are fleeing the state for different jurisdictions because they don't want to pay their tax rate. You have economic future if New York is the tax capital of the nation."

Paterson, who said he is friends with Cuomo, vowed to help his successor in any way possible. The outgoing governor also said he made the right decision when he chose not to run for election, amid ethics charges against his administration.

"I feel very assured being replaced by something who I think is going to do an excellent job. If he'd walked in with a baseball bat, I might have thought a little differently," said Paterson, making a joke at the expense at Republican candidate for governor Carl Paladino that made Cuomo burst out laughing. "So I'm really good with all of this and really what I'm thinking about is the privilege it was to serve this state. And even through the difficulty of having to address what is the worst recession that we have undergone since the Great Depression, the fact is that my conscience is clear."

They said they discussed the transition process involving personnel and they are setting up a transition committee to find the most talented people available to fill the many jobs in state government.

Over the next few weeks, Cuomo said he will be touring state facilities to learn how they operate and to begin to see if they could receive further budget cuts.