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In a few short weeks, New Yorkers will choose between two candidates for city comptroller in the Democratic primary. One is Scott Stringer, a conventional Manhattan liberal. The other is a completely unhinged Manhattan liberal.
His name is Eliot Spitzer, and for a man who styles himself the “Sheriff of Wall Street,” his real expertise is operating outside the law. As attorney general, he acted like some hick-town bully with a badge and a speed trap. But where it counted — in the courtroom — this sheriff seldom got his man.
Then again, Spitzer’s goals in office have always been less about serving the people’s interest and more about feeding his insatiable ego, his giant ambitions and his basest appetites. This fundamental character flaw, and the dysfunction it bred, brought down his governorship. And these failures, notably his meltdown in office, started long before the public learned of Ashley Dupre or the Emperors Club escort agency.
Spitzer came to office with an approval rating in the 70s — only to see the numbers completely flip in scarcely a year. It was entirely self-inflicted. His governorship read like a script for FX’s “Anger Management,” with Spitzer unable to get along with anyone: not Republicans, not Democrats, not even members of his own staff.
Now he’s seeking to be put in charge of city contracts and $140 billion in pension funds. It is a job that requires a working relationship with the mayor, the City Council and many stakeholders — not to mention the 58 trustees, who are unlikely to react well to a “steamroller.”
But once again, he’s made clear the normal work of that office — say, negotiating better management fees — is beneath him.
“Office is ripe for greater and more exciting use,” he tweets. Translation: Putting me in charge is like going away for the weekend and leaving your teenage son an open liquor cabinet and the keys to a Ferrari.
We would not trust Eliot Spitzer to manage our 401(k), much less take our teenage daughter to the movies — so why should the city trust him with its entire pension fund? If he uses the funds to target Wall Street and punish companies he doesn’t like, the likelihood is that the funds’ returns will suffer. And guess who is on the hook to make up the shortfall? You, Mr. and Mrs. Taxpayer.
In an election year where Carlos Danger is competing for mayor, Client 9 felt empowered to jump back in and turn New York into the laughingstock of America — thanks for that, Anthony!
But Anthony Weiner’s weird psychosexual thrill from public humiliation seems honest in comparison to Spitzer, whose version of “contrition” gives off a distinctly Charlie Sheen vibe.
Officially, the candidate has been hitting the city’s churches on Sundays asking for a shot at redemption. But anyone who watches a Spitzer campaign ad gets his real message: I’m tired of pretending like I’m not special. I have tiger blood running in my veins.
We saw a flash of that in the debate this week. When Stringer brought up Spitzer’s call-girl scandal, Spitzer accused him of a “personal” attack. Really? A governor hires prostitutes to travel across state lines, demands his bank disguise the wire transfers to his escort agency, and visits Washington on “official” business just so he can get laid. And then he accuses the other guy of being a sleaze for suggesting that maybe a pol who made such an end run around the law isn’t the kind of guy who should be the city’s chief oversight officer?
The bottom line is this: Whether it’s asking us to put him in charge of the city’s books when he won’t let us see his, insisting on full transparency from businesses while refusing to release e-mails a judge says should be made public, or running an Occupy Wall Street-themed campaign possible only because of daddy’s millions, the double standards never stop with Spitzer.
Remember when he called for higher ethical standards in Albany and said everything in our fetid capital would change on Day One? He got there and ordered the State Police to spy on his rivals.
It’s because Eliot Spitzer genuinely believes only one thing deep in his soul — the rules don’t apply to him.
We urge New Yorkers to put an end to this awful reality show by voting for Scott Stringer in the Democratic primary. Yes, we know: Ordinarily, the New York Post would not be thumping for a candidate whose other endorsements range from the teachers union and the Working Families Party to Gloria Steinem. And we still reserve the right to offer a different endorsement in the general election.
But Stringer is a sober, honest man who understands how the city works and how important the job of comptroller is. He is not hellbent on crusading against Wall Street, settling personal political vendettas or ripping up the rule book — instead, he aims to do what the office requires, and do it well.
These are not ordinary times, and this is no ordinary election. The Post endorses Scott Stringer because in a race between an Upper West Side liberal and a hotheaded, hooker-chasing, office-abusing, self-promoting, lawbreaking, ego-obsessed “steamroller” who still has trouble admitting he ever did anything wrong, it should be no contest.