Can it really come as a surprise that a governor who secretly purchased the services of hookers at $450 an hour is willing to sing the praises of a serial sexual harasser?
Ever since Vito Lopez was forced out of the Assembly for groping women, most pols don’t want to have anything to do with him. But not our Eliot. Speaking to Politico, Spitzer talked about the “great things” the two did together on housing before each was brought down by his own sex scandal. Pointedly, he declined to endorse Lopez’s rival for office, as most Democratic Party leaders have done.
Then again, maybe Eliot’s talking nice about Vito Lopez because he’s finding that he’s in no position to turn down support, no matter what the source. From the massive lead he enjoyed only a few weeks ago, the latest Quinnipiac poll shows Spitzer now trailing Scott Stringer, 47 to 45 percent.
As The Post’s Carl Campanile reported this week, Spitzer’s backers include state Sen. Martin Dilan and his city councilman son, Erik Dilan; both are longtime Lopez allies. Like Spitzer, they too have declined to endorse Lopez’s rival in the primary.
That’s not all. Spitzer is also reported to be getting help from former Brooklyn Democratic Chairman Clarence Norman, who actually did something Spitzer hasn’t: serve time in prison, in his case for political corruption. In addition, former Assemblywoman Naomi Rivera, who’s under investigation for steering state grants to her boyfriends, is a paid consultant.
If we are known by the company we keep, the Spitzer campaign is highly revealing. There doesn’t seem to be much to unite Team Spitzer except for its apparent belief there’s nothing a politician can do to make himself or herself unfit for public office in New York. No wonder Eliot is eager for their support.