Andrew Cuomo won't officially become governor of New York until January, but he's already getting ready to make the transition. Our Erin Billups reports.

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NEW YORK CITY, N.Y. -- "He's not replacing me, he was elected. I was the replacement," said Governor David Paterson.

And with that, Governor David Paterson and Governor Elect Andrew Cuomo had their first formal transition meeting Tuesday. And with elections out of the way, the focus is again on solving New York's fiscal problems. Cuomo says the answer is cutting spending in education, health care and government operations, not raising taxes.

"You have no economic future if New York is the tax capitol of the Nation. It's that simple. Raise taxes, raise revenues, that's not the answer," Cuomo said.

Governor Paterson was criticized heavily for his cuts to the state's biggest cash cows as well as his proposed state worker layoffs, but Cuomo seemed appreciative of Paterson's actions and made it clear he plans to continue down the same road.

"If Governor Paterson were to compound next year, that would not be responsible. The alternative is Governor Paterson has to stand up and make tough choices. Welcome to the job of being Governor," Cuomo said.

The new Governor also plans to tour state facilities to learn how they operate and to see where things can be streamlined.

"Let's redesign the system, let's reinvent the system. Let's eliminate the waste, let's eliminate the fraud," said Cuomo.

Cuomo says for now his first priority is recruiting talent for his administration. He'll be setting up a transition committee for that and looking to Paterson for recommendations.