A Republican activist has filed an official challenge to Eliot Spitzer’s petitions in a bid to knock him off the ballot in the race for city comptroller, The Post has learned.
“Eliot Spitzer doesn’t deserve a free pass after what he put New York through,” O’B Murray told The Post.
Murray, a former top state GOP official who helped elect Bob Turner to Congress and Democrat Simcha Felder to the state Senate, filed a general objection to Democratic voter signatures collected by Spitzer’s campaign.
He has until next Monday to file specific objections.
Spitzer collected some 27,000 signatures in a crammed four days after announcing his 11th hour candidacy a week ago.
But Murray, who reviewed the petitions, claimed many were riddled with errors.
“Eliot Spitzer has returned to politics the way he left it – with lies, deceit and who knows, possibility illegal and fraudulent activity” Murray said, referring to Spitzer’s resignation from governor five years in a hooker scandal.
Spitzer maintained that his petition drive was done lawfully, with more than enough signatures to withstand a legal challenge. He also said any attempt to knock him off the ballot is anti-Democratic – and will backfire.
Spitzer attorney Martin Connor panned the attempt.
“Anyone can file General Objections without showing a scintilla of substance for the challenge,” Connor said tonight, “The Spitzer campaign took great care in the petitioning process and filed far more than the number of valid signatures required by law. There are no worries in the frontrunners’ camp about making the ballot. That was last week’s concern.”