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| Eliot Spitzer |
Spitzer resigned as governor of New York in 2008 amid a prostitution scandal.
"I want them to know I'm asking their foregiveness," Spitzer said Sunday night when asked why voters should look beyond his past indiscretions.
Spitzer was the state attorney general prior to becoming governor and was known for prosecuting cases involving financial fraud. In an interview with the New York Times he said would like to do something similar with city spending if elected comptroller.
“The metaphor is what I did with the attorney general’s office,” he said. “It is ripe for greater and more exciting use of the office’s jurisdiction.”
Spitzer, who will be running as a Democrat in the primary, needs to collect at least 3,750 signatures from registered voters by Thursday.
In he said he would "be on the street corners" starting Monday looking to garner support for his bid for the Democratic nomination and would have around 100 people gathering signatures for his campaign.
Current Comptroller John Liu is expected to run for mayor.
Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer has been the most prominent among the contenders to become New York City's next fiscal chief. He's raised more than $3.5 million and spent about $566,000, city campaign finance records show, while his opponents have yet to report any fund-raising or spending.
Spitzer says he would pay for a campaign out of his own pocket and not take part in the city's financing system.
A statement released Sunday night from Stringer's campaign manager, Sascha Owen, took a jab at the former governor.
"Spitzer will spurn campaign finance program to buy personal redemption with his family fortune," the statement said in part.
Others in the race for comptroller include Republican John Burnett, who has worked on Wall Street in various finance capacities and just recently declared his candidacy; Green Party candidate Juila Willebrand, a former teacher; and former madam Kristin Davis.
Spitzer is not the only politician who's looking for a second chance.
Former Rep. Anthony Weiner is running for mayor. The former Democratic congressman left office two years ago amid a scandal over his tweets.