Scott Stringer and his wife, Elyse Buxbaum, with their two sons, Maxwell and Miles. Facebook
In what turned out to be a nail-bitingly close race for City Comptroller, Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer beat embattled ex-Gov. Eliot Spitzer in the Democratic primary Tuesday night.
Stringer, a political veteran with more than 20-years’ experience as borough president and a state assemblyman, edged out Spitzer, a former state attorney general, with about 52 percent of the vote. Stringer will next face Republican John Burnett in the Nov. 5 general election.
Spitzer, who resigned as governor in 2008 amid a lurid prostitution scandal that involved use of public funds, was seeking an improbable political comeback which he tied to his vast experience rooting out corruption on Wall Street and tackling organized crime.
“For me, politics was never a profession. It was a cause,” Spitzer told supporters at a Manhattan restaurant, as he conceded the election to Stringer. “It was a calling to serve and to try to fight for those issues that we believed in, to see them sometimes before others and sometimes to take the slings and arrows of taking on those who were powerful.”
Spitzer’s campaign had tried to paint Stringer as part of the political establishment, lacking the skill and tenacity to pursue financial improprieties within the city’s more than $140 billion budget.
The office of comptroller is charged with auditing city agencies, scrutinizing budgets and handling city workers’ pension funds, among other responsibilities. Incumbent John Liu concluded his bid for mayor on Tuesday with a fourth-place finish in the Democratic primary.
For his part, Stringer, speaking to supporters from a Chelsea restaurant, promised to bring “integrity, leadership and leadership” to the office. In countering Spitzer’s frequent last-minute attack ads, Stringer underscored his solid—and untarnished—reputation in office.
Through his campaign, Stringer implored voters to not return someone to office who had been forced to resign amid disgraceful, if not criminal activity.
Speaking about the campaign, Stringer spokesperson Audrey Gelman said the focus was “integrity.”
“We ran a methodical campaign, we stuck to the plan …Integrity and high ethical standards, maybe it is out of fashion, but it is how he rolls,” Gelman said.
Further, Stringer appeared before his supporters with his wife by his side. By contrast, Spitzer’s wife, Silda, was noticeably absent from the campaign trail. Numerous reports say Spitzer and his wife are now separated.
Looking to the future, Spitzer implied that he will be back. “Service is something I believe in and I think we all believe in, and we will continue, in many and varied capacities,” he said.
By Alan Krawitz
