For those who have worked in and around state government, the reputation of Gov. Andrew Cuomo's office proceeds itself. 

"Tough" are the words Cuomo has preferred to use to describe his approach and the culture he's inculcated with his staff. Those who have dealt with him and his senior aides have used other words, like "toxic" and "bullying." 

That was all laid bare in a report released last week by Attorney General Letitia James, revealing a workplace environment in which reprisals are feared and bullying has been commonplace. 

With Cuomo stepping down in two weeks, officials in Albany are hopeful the page can be turned on Cuomo and that style of management. 

"There are times, fortunately more in the past than in the present, we had a very cool relationship to put it diplomatically," state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli said in an interview on Capital Tonight. "I guess what surprised me so much was that so much of that heavy handedness was happening internally with their own staff. Those of us, whether your colleagues in the press or our colleagues in the government, we were exposed to that or got used to that over a period of time."

And what was so unususal was how long Cuomo's office could be run like that, DiNapoli said. 

"I guess that it was surprising to think that model of internal management was sustainable," he said.  

DiNapoli himself has been the target of Cuomo administration bullying, including a demeaning nickname that was circulated in the press. But DiNapoli expects Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul, who takes office in two weeks, will be different. DiNapoli, a Democrat, campaigned for Hochul during the hotly contested special election for a western New York House seat she ran for and ultimately won. 

"It's important for us to come together," he said, "and move the state forward."  

DiNapoli, the longest-serving statewide elected official in New York, did not fully rule out running for governor in 2022 as Cuomo is set to resign in two weeks. 

"I love being state comptroller, it's my plan to run for re-election," he said. "That being said, this is a major reshuffling of the political chairs in New York."

DiNapoli is among multiple Democrats in New York who are considered potential candidates to run for governor next. But he insisted that with the ink still drying on Cuomo's resignation speech, the focus should be on governing the state moving forward. 

"Now is the time to put away the political calculator. Let's focus on the government side," he said, adding, "I think everyone should put ambitions away for the moment."

But politics will soon take over the conversation again as Democrats begin to jockey for the nomination, a process that could even begin in the coming weeks. 

"Ask me a couple of months what the political calendar looks like," he said. "But the plan has always been for me to run for re-election."