NEW YORK, July 8: Eliot Spitzer is re-entering politics to run for New York City comptroller, five years after resigning as New York governor in a prostitution scandal, the New York Times reported.
‘I’m hopeful there will be forgiveness. I’m asking for it,’ Spitzer, 54, told the newspaper in an interview carried on its website.
Spitzer, a Democrat, told the newspaper he saw a more activist role for the comptroller, the city’s chief financial officer. ‘It is ripe for greater and more exciting use of the office’s jurisdiction,’ he said.
Spitzer rose to national prominence when he became New York state’s attorney general in the late 1990s. His aggressive prosecution of financial crimes earned him the nickname the ‘Sheriff of Wall Street.’ He rode that reputation to a landslide victory in the 2006 race for governor.
Just over a year after taking office, the Times reported that Spitzer had been a client of a high-end prostitution agency. Spitzer resigned within days, with his wife standing at his side.
The deadline for filing a petition to be on the Sept. 10 primary ballot is Thursday.
Current Comptroller John Liu is running for mayor. Candidates hoping to succeed him include: Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer; Republican John Burnett, a Wall Street executive; Green Party candidate Julia Willebrand, a former teacher; and former madam Kristin Davis.
Spitzer’s announcement comes as former US Representative
Anthony Weiner, another scandal-tarnished New York Democratic politician, attempts a political comeback. Two years after admitting he had sent lewd photographs of himself to women, Weiner is a frontrunner in the New York mayor’s race.
(AGENCIES)
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