(
)
Last Wednesday night, a fashionable hipster-filled crowd flitted about the rooftop of the chic Maritime Hotel in the Meatpacking District. There was “Girls” star Lena Dunham, not to mention scenesters from the worlds of nightlife, fashion and film — including Beatrice Inn founder Matt Abramcyk, fashion designer Stacey Bendet Eisner, Mickey Sumner (Sting’s actress daughter) and photographer Terry Richardson.
But the party wasn’t celebrating the release of the latest indie flick or feting an up-and-coming designer. The starlets who paid at least $50 to attend the cash-bar event were all supporters of Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer — who’s in a heated race for the seat of City Comptroller.
For a nebbishy guy from Washington Heights running for an office that more or less amounts to a glorified accountant — conducting audits, overseeing the city’s pension fund — Stringer is getting a lot of attention.
Last month, Dunham tweeted her endorsement of Stringer, and at the fund-raiser she gave a speech in praise of his “middle-class” values. Box-office bombshell Scarlett Johansson has previously hosted fund-raisers for Stringer at The Plaza and Jane Ballroom.
So why are New York’s glitterati flexing their political muscle for an oft-forgotten office?
EXCLUSIVE: NO, YOU’RE ‘STUPID!’ SPITZER BLASTS ‘RIDICULOUS’ SUIT FROM FORMER WALL STREET FOE HANK GREENBERG
Well, Stringer’s buzzy press secretary, for starters. Not only is she Dunham’s bestie who has also appeared on “Girls,” Audrey Gelman is a 26-year-old ingenue who mounts star-studded fund-raisers in glitzy venues, not VFW halls, with her power Rolodex at the ready.
A former intern for then-Sen. Hillary Clinton and eventually an aide for Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign, Gelman joined Stringer’s office in 2010 and has guided him ever since, save for a brief stint at a communications firm.
But when Eliot Spitzer tossed his black socks into the ring last month, Gelman was back at the pol’s side. Suddenly, Stringer’s one-time cakewalk run for comptroller had morphed into a popcorn-worthy nail-biter.
“The main reason for the fund-raiser is that Spitzer’s spending his family fortune,” Gelman tells The Post. The former “Luv Gov” is expected to spend $12 million drawn from his personal funds in his campaign bid.
Since Spitzer joined the race, “we raised $410,000 in the last 28 days and $770,000 in matching funds,” she crows.
The contest has gotten so heated, a Twitter war has erupted between Gelman and Spitzer’s press secretary Hari Sevugan (see below).
“Gelman is the only reason that this event really happened,” says Ben Max, founder of Decidenyc.com, a guide to the 2013 elections. “There would never be this fashion world connection to Stringer if not for her connections. But there are a lot of women who don’t want to see Spitzer back in the limelight.”
Fashion designer Bendet Eisner, dressed in a Grecian gown at Wednesday’s bash, is one of those female Spitzer-phobes: “He’s repulsive to every female on the planet,” she told The Post. “Running for office now is so disrespectful to his family.”
SPITZER PULLED IN $2M FOR CNN TALK-SHOW FLOPS
Unlike Spitzer’s wife, who’s nowhere to be found on the campaign trail, Stringer’s wife, Elyse Buxbaum, regularly attends campaign events. A director of resource development at Creative Arts Team, City University of New York, she’s a fixture in the New York arts scene — and surrounds herself with a stylish crowd.
And while Stringer’s relationship with Scar-Jo dates back to his days working as a tenant organizer with the actress’s grandmother, his newfound celebrity seems to be the direct result of a Spitzer backlash.
“Everybody else came out of the woodwork in the last three weeks — not so much for Stringer, but in defiance of Eliot,” says a former staffer in Spitzer’s governor’s office.
Still, some of Stringer’s supporters at Wednesday’s party seemed far more interested in the eye candy than Stringer’s number-crunching prowess — including 23-year-old former trader Miranda Guo, who left the event early for dinner at the Dutch. “I’ve never voted in an election,” says Guo. “But I feel like everyone should vote.”
BATTLE OF THE FLACKS
The race for city comptroller has become so heated that a Twitter war has erupted between Spitzer spokesman Hari Sevugan and Stringer press secretary Audrey Gelman.
July 19
HariSevugan
Congrats to @audreygelman for making Politico’s 50 to Watch List. She gets way better press than I do… Or her boss does, for that matter. [Later that day, Sevugan sent a personal apology to Gelman, which was obtained by Politico. But the truce didn’t last long.]
Aug. 4
HariSevugan
Excited to announce that Eliot’s FB has earned more “Likes” w/in 72 hrs of launch than his opponent’s after a year & half. Just another sign that while the establishment wants the other guy, the people want an independent voice that fights for them.
Aug. 4
AudreyGelman
@HariSevugan no, its because you are sponsoring Facebook posts. #newyorkerscantbebought
Aug. 5
HariSevugan
@audreygelman would think y’all would be excited that stringer made it on tv twice! in the same day!
Aug. 5
AudreyGelman
@HariSevugan Fair game: Eliot violated a law he signed himself as governor. Hypocrisy is, was & always will be part of the Spitzer record.
dlewak@nypost.com