On taking office as governor, Sulzer in an initial move announced the renaming of the Executive Mansion "The People's House". The populist rhetoric of this move was followed by a campaign to "let the people rule", through a series of reforms, including a move to promote open primaries for party nominations, and investigations into corruption in the legislature and executive branches of state government. At the same time Sulzer refused to follow Tammany decisions for state appointments. These moves would damage the power of Tammany and other machines, Democratic and Republican throughout the state, and empower Sulzer. The campaign for direct primaries would win him the support of Theodore Roosevelt and his Progressives, but also moved Tammany to stand firmly against him.