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Leading black Democrats, worried by polls showing that African-American voters strongly favor disgraced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer in the primary for city comptroller, are mobilizing to turn those votes to Manhattan Borough President Scott Stringer.
The stepped-up effort comes in the wake of two polls showing Spitzer with massive leads over Stringer, largely on the strength of the black vote.
The effort is being led by state Democratic Party co-chair and close Gov. Cuomo ally Keith Wright, an assemblyman and Manhattan Democratic chairman who is being aided by some of the state’s most prominent black political figures.
Stringer himself, described by insiders as “in near panic” over his poor showing with black voters, belatedly responded last week by hiring two well-regarded African-American political operatives: Patrick Jenkins, a longtime confidant of US Rep. Gregory Meeks of Queens; and Kevin Wardally, an associate of the late Bill Lynch and an official at the Cuomo-controlled state Department of Labor.
Jenkins and Wardally are expected to develop a well-funded grass-roots and media-outreach effort aimed at convincing black voters that electing Stringer, not Spitzer, is in their long-term interest.
“Scott has got to put money into an operation to appeal to the black vote, and he’s now begun to do that,” said one of the state’s best-known African-American officials, a Stringer backer who acknowledged that he’s worried Spitzer will win the Sept. 10 primary.
Strong black voter support for Spitzer — who resigned as governor amid a federal probe of money laundering and prostitution and who once used the State Police to smear a political foe — has mystified many New York Democrats, although Wright said he wasn’t surprised.
“Black folks remember that Eliot had David Paterson as his running mate and. but for Eliot, we would not have had a Gov. Paterson, the state’s first black governor,” Wright explained, referring to Spitzer’s resignation, which made Paterson governor.
After saying he was torn about his allegiance, Paterson decided to stick with his original endorsement of Stringer, a long-time friend, over his ex- boss.
Paterson had originally endorsed Stringer but had also privately told Spitzer that he would help him if he ever wanted to get back into public office, putting him in a tight spot.
At one point after announcing his candidacy for comptroller, Spitzer appeared to court Paterson by publicly apologizing to him for leaving him in a lurch by resigning during the worst economic meltdown in 50 years.
Paterson later said in an interview with The Post, “Eliot brings a lot to the table.’’
But now, Paterson is ready to campaign for Stringer in his time of need.
Paterson recorded a robocall that went out last night. encouraging voters in Harlem to meet the pair this morning at 135th Street and Lenox Avenue.
“Scott Stringer has fought for affordable housing, to keep drugs off of our streets and to give more opportunity to minority-backed and women-owned businesses,” Paterson says in the call.
Virtually all other prominent black political figures — including former Mayor David Dinkins, US Rep. Charles Rangel and former state Comptroller Carl McCall — have joined the city’s Democratic leadership in endorsing Stringer.
Spitzer, by contrast, has received no significant black endorsements, although he was briefly backed late last month by the Rev. Floyd Flake, a former Queens congressman, until Flake, under pressure from Democratic leaders, changed his mind a few days later.
Democratic insiders say Spitzer is being aided by disgraced former Brooklyn Democratic boss and one-time Assemblyman Clarence Norman Jr., who went to jail for political corruption and who is the son of a prominent Brooklyn minister, and by former state Sen. Carl Andrews, a controversial lobbyist and longtime Norman ally.
Asked how difficult it will be to win over black voters for the little-known Stringer, Wright responded, “We’re going to have to work.”
Additional reporting by Beth DeFalco