Eliot Spitzer

Eliot Spitzer
Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer
58th Governor of New York
Incumbent
Assumed office  January 1 2007
Lieutenant(s)	David Paterson
Preceded by	George Pataki
72nd New York State Attorney General
In office January 1 1999 – December 31 2006
Governor	George Pataki
Preceded by	Dennis Vacco
Succeeded by	Andrew Cuomo
Born	June 10 1959 (1959--) (age 48) Bronx, New York
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Silda Wall Spitzer
Children	3
Residence	New York State Executive Mansion
Alma mater	Princeton University Tufts University
Profession	Attorney
Religion	Judaism[1][2]

Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10 1959) is an American lawyer and politician of the Democratic Party. He served as New York State Attorney General before becoming Governor of New York in 2007.

Spitzer was born and raised in the Bronx borough of New York City. He attended Princeton University for his undergraduate studies and Harvard University for law school. It was there that he met his future wife, Silda Wall Spitzer, who later founded Children for Children, a non-profit organization. After earning his Juris Doctor degree, he joined the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. Two years later, he joined the Manhattan district attorney's office, headed by Robert M. Morgenthau, to pursue organized crime. In 1992, he launched a successful investigation that brought down the Gambino family's control over Manhattan's garment and trucking industry. In the next six years, he worked at the law firms of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom and Constantine and Partners. In 1998, he defeated incumbent Republican Dennis Vacco by a slim margin to become elected as the New York State Attorney General.

As attorney general, Spitzer took cases relating to corporate white collar crime, securities fraud, internet fraud and environmental protection. He most notably pursued cases against companies involved in computer chip price fixing, investment bank stock price inflation, the 2003 mutual fund scandal. He also sued Richard Grasso, the then-chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, who he claimed had violated his position after receiving an upwards of $140 million as a deferred compensation pay package.

In 2006, Spitzer was elected governor of New York after defeating Republican John Faso in the November election. During his time in office, he has proposed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in New York and issued an executive order allowing illegal aliens to be issued driver's licenses, which have both attracted controversy. In July 2007, he was admonished for his administration's involvement in ordering the State Police to record the whereabouts of State Senate majority leader Joseph L. Bruno.

Early life and family

Spitzer was born to Austrian Jewish parents, and raised in the affluent Riverdale section of The Bronx in New York City. His family was not particularly religious and Spitzer did not have a bar mitzvah.^[3] He is a graduate of Horace Mann School. With a score of 1590 on the SAT exam,^[3] Spitzer attended Princeton University and majored in the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. At Princeton, he was elected chairman of the undergraduate student government, and graduated in 1981. He scored a perfect score on the LSAT,^[4] and went on to Harvard Law School, where he met and married Silda Wall. They married on October 17 1987 and together they have three daughters: Elyssa (b. December 12, 1989), Sarabeth (b. July 23, 1992), and Jenna (b. May 23, 1994).^[5] Spitzer was an editor of the Harvard Law Review. One of Spitzer's classmates at Harvard Law School was Jim Cramer, host of CNBC's Mad Money, on which Spitzer has appeared or called in on three occasions.

Upon receiving his Juris Doctor (J.D.) degree, Spitzer clerked for Judge Robert W. Sweet in Manhattan, then joined the law firm of Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. He stayed there for less than two years before leaving to join the Manhattan district attorney's office.

Manhattan district attorney's office

Spitzer joined the staff of Manhattan District Attorney Robert M. Morgenthau, where he became chief of the labor-racketeering unit, spending six years pursuing organized crime. His biggest case came in 1992, when Spitzer led the investigation that ended the Gambino organized crime family's control of Manhattan's trucking and garment industries.

Spitzer devised a plan to set up his own sweatshop in the city's garment district, turning out shirts, pants and sweaters, and hiring 30 laborers. The shop manager eventually got close to the Gambinos, and officials were able to plant a bug in their office. The Gambinos, rather than being charged with extortion, which was hard to prove, were charged with antitrust violations. Thomas and Joseph Gambino and two other defendants took the deal and avoided jail by pleading guilty, paying $12 million in fines and agreeing to stay out of the business.^[6]

Spitzer left the District Attorney's office in 1992 to work at the law firm of Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, where he stayed until 1994. From 1994 to 1998 he worked at the law firm Constantine and Partners on a number of consumer rights and antitrust cases.

Political career

In 1994, Spitzer put aside his private practice to concentrate on attaining the elected office of New York State Attorney General. He lost in the 1994 election but was successfully elected in the next election in 1998. He has since become one of New York's most recognizable Democratic politicians. On November 7, 2006 he was elected Governor of New York.

Campaigns for Attorney General

In 1994, long-serving Democratic New York State Attorney General Robert Abrams decided to leave office after having unsuccessfully challenged Al D'Amato for the seat of U.S. Senator from New York in 1992. Several Democrats saw weakness in Abrams's replacement as Attorney General, G. Oliver Koppel, and ran for the party's nomination, Spitzer among them. At the time, he was young and unknown, and, despite heavy funding from his own family, his campaign ended when he placed last among four candidates for the nomination. Judge Karen Burstein won. Burstein subsequently lost to Republican Dennis Vacco in the general election, part of a Republican sweep that included the election of Governor George Pataki.

That election of a Republican in 1994 allowed Spitzer to run again in 1998. Now more experienced in party politics, he won the Democratic primary, defeating Koppell, State Senator Catherine Abbate, local representative Jeff Orlick, and former Governor's Counsel Charles Davis. He went on to defeat the incumbent Vacco by 48.2% of the vote to Vacco's 47.6%. He ran for re-election in 2002, facing only token opposition from Republican Judge Dora Irizarry. Spitzer won this time with 66% of the vote.

Work as Attorney General

As Attorney General, Spitzer stepped up the profile of the office, taking on cases of types that Attorneys General had avoided. Traditionally, state attorneys general have pursued consumer rights cases, concentrating on local fraud while deferring national issues to the federal government. Breaking with this traditional deference, Spitzer took up civil actions and criminal prosecutions relating to corporate white-collar crime, securities fraud, internet fraud, and environmental protection.

A number of experts, including economists, lawyers, and political analysts have commented on Spitzer's active role in public policy debates. The New York Attorney General's office has Wall Street (and thus many leading corporate and financial institutions) within its jurisdiction. Also, the New York Attorney General wields greater than usual powers of investigation and prosecution as to corporations under New York State's General Business Law. In particular, under Article 23-A, � 352 (more commonly known as the Martin Act of 1921) the New York Attorney General has the power to subpoena witnesses and company documents pertaining to investigations of fraud or illegal activity by a corporation.

Spitzer used this authority in his civil actions against corporations and criminal prosecutions against their officers. It proved its usefulness in the wake of several U.S. corporate scandals that began with the collapse of Enron in 2001. Several of these corporations, as well as the brokerage houses that sold their stock, were accused of having inflated stock values by unethical means throughout the 1990s. When inquiries into the allegations by the SEC and the Congress failed to gain traction, Spitzer's office used its subpoena power to obtain corporate documents, building cases against the firms both in courtrooms and in public opinion.

Spitzer used a New York statute to allow his office to prosecute cases which have been described as within federal jurisdiction.^[7][8] In January 2005, the president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce described Spitzer's approach as "the most egregious and unacceptable form of intimidation we've seen in this country in modern times".^[9]

Notable cases

In addition to prosecutions and civil actions in the financial sector, Spitzer has pursued cases in both state and federal courts involving pollution, entertainment, technology, occupational safety and health and other fields in which New York plays a part in setting and maintaining national standards of conduct.

Computer manufacturing

• Price fixing (2006): A long running investigation of five computer chip manufacturers resulted in $730 million in fines and a guilty plea from Samsung Electronics Co., Elpida Memory Inc., Infineon Technologies AG and Hynix Semiconductor Inc. The fifth manufacturer, Micron Technology Inc., was granted immunity in exchange for cooperating with authorities in the case. This case is notable as one of the longest collusions between the largest number of companies to fix prices (1998 - 2002).

Securities

• Global Settlement (2002): Spitzer sued several investment banks for inflating stock prices, using affiliated brokerage firms to give biased investment advice and "spin" initial public offerings of stock by offering them to CEOs and other influential members of the business community. In 2002, a settlement of these lawsuits was negotiated by Spitzer, federal regulatory bodies, stock exchanges, and the investment banks and brokerage houses in question. The result was $1.4 billion in compensation and fines paid by the brokerages and investment banks, new rules and enforcement bodies created to govern stock analysts and IPOs, and the insulation of brokerage firms from pressures by investment banks. Ten firms paid fines to settle the case: Bear Stearns, Credit Suisse First Boston, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan Chase, Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Salomon Smith Barney, UBS Warburg.

• Late Trading & Market Timing Investigations (2003): Investigations by the office of Eliot Spitzer beginning in 2003 uncovered mutual fund brokers allowing select clients privileges deprived to ordinary customers. Spitzer targeted two practices in particular: "late trading" which allows hedge fund investors to file trades at the previous day's price after the market close, something ordinary customers cannot do; and "market timing" which allows privileged investors to buy and sell shares in funds more frequently than allowed under the fund's rules. The implications of these practices are that the brokerages and a small number of investors profit at the expense of other fund shareholders. In essence, by placing winning trades the privileged investors diluted the profit pool available to all fund shareholders while they sidestepped their share of the pool's losses. Their trading also increased administrative fees borne by ordinary customers and caused fund managers to increase the cash they held to meet liquidity needs. Through a number of prosecutions and lawsuits, Spitzer secured more than one billion dollars in fines and remuneration for investors as well as forcing reforms to eliminate the practice.

• Dick Grasso (Chairman of the NYSE): Eliot Spitzer charged that Dick Grasso, when chairman of the New York Stock Exchange violated his position as chairman of a non-profit organization (the NYSE was at that time a mutually owned not-for-profit exchange) by receiving excessive compensation. Dick Grasso argued that his compensation was openly declared at board meetings and was fully legal and that the lawsuit was an attack on him solely intended to raise Spitzer's image in the press as he went into his gubernatorial campaign; he vowed to fight the action in the courts and, despite losing the initial stages, appears to be turning the tide in his direction on appeal leading to several significant reversals against the D.A.'s office. On July 27, 2007, as the Police Surveillance Controversy issue (cited below) continued to unfold, Newsweek reporter Charles Gasparino alleged that a member of Spitzer's staff, Darren Dopp, had threatened him following Gasparino's reporting of Spitzer's uneven handling of those involved in the Grasso excesses.^[10] In particular, Gasparino's reporting had noted that Spitzer hadn't pursued H. Carl McCall (a Spitzer political supporter) - who, as the compensation-committee chief, guided the board when it had allegedly grossly overpaid Grasso.^[10]

Insurance

• Contingent commissions (2004): In the commercial insurance business "contingent commissions" or "overriders" are fees paid based on the volume and profitability of insurance business generated by brokers. They provide incentive for agents and brokers to underwrite carefully as contingent commissions often serve as rewards for good loss ratios. Without contingency commissions, there is little incentive for agents or brokers to be selective in the risks that they submit to companies. However, some argue that contingent commissions may provide an incentive for insurance brokers to recommend more costly insurance to their clients, presenting a conflict of interest. While many large brokerages such as Marsh & McLennan Companies (against whom Spitzer filed his original suit), Aon and Willis announced plans to stop the practice of contingent commissions, many argued that the practice was not to blame for the rigged bids uncovered by Spitzer. Indeed, the practice accounted for about only five to seven percent of total revenues for brokers and did address a traditional misalignment of interests in insurance between the carrier and the producer. Under a traditional flat commission structure the latter has less incentive to submit risks with an eye for long-term loss potential in mind. So-called finite insurance products, which may more closely resemble a loan than insurance, were also investigated, even if there was "transference of risk" involved.^{[citation needed]}

• American International Group (2005): On May 26, 2005, Spitzer filed a civil complaint against Maurice R. "Hank" Greenberg (Chairman and CEO) and Howard I. Smith (ex-CFO of AIG), alleging fraudulent business practice, securities fraud, common law fraud, and other violations of insurance and securities laws. Despite tough talk on a television news show, Spitzer declined to bring any criminal charges against Greenberg, and two of the civil charges were dropped in September 2006.^[11]

• On December 22, 2005, John C. Whitehead, chairman of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, alleged that Spitzer had threatened him during a telephone call that took place in April 2005. In a letter to the The Wall Street Journal, Whitehead alleged that Spitzer called him regarding a Wall Street Journal opinion piece that he wrote about Spitzer's public comments regarding Maurice R. Greenberg. According to the allegation, Spitzer threatened, "Mr. Whitehead, it's now a war between us and you've fired the first shot. I will be coming after you. You will pay the price. This is only the beginning and you will pay dearly for what you have done. You will wish you had never written that letter."^[12] Spitzer has denied the allegation.^[13]

• The insurance investigation started by Spitzer spread to other states. Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan announced a parallel investigation of insurance brokerages headquartered in Chicago, which led to substantial out-of-court settlements from AJ Gallagher and Willis. Although the practices of these insurance brokerages did not violate criminal law, they violated the code of professional ethics required by the state to obtain licenses. One of the practices alleged by Madigan was "steering" insurance clients to purchase insurance policies that would produce higher commissions for the brokerage.^{[citation needed]}

Entertainment

• Music Royalty Settlement (2004): Through an investigation of music industry practices, Spitzer's office uncovered $50 million in royalties owed to musicians whose record labels had failed to keep in contact with them. Under New York State's Abandoned Property Law, those royalties not being sent to their rightful owners would have to be surrendered to the state. Under a settlement, the labels were required to take measures to contact artists owed royalties.^[14]

• Payola Settlement: The office of Eliot Spitzer served subpoenas against record labels in an investigation into "payola," the illegal compensation of radio stations for playing certain songs. These subpoenas uncovered deals for disc jockeys to receive gifts from promoters in exchange for playing the songs a certain number of times during the day. On July 25, 2005, Spitzer announced an agreement with Sony BMG Music Entertainment to halt the practice. In November 2005, a similar settlement was announced with Warner Music Group.^[15]

Abortion

• In 2002, Spitzer's office issued subpoenas to 24 non-profit crisis pregnancy centers that sought to dissuade women from having abortions. Pro-life groups criticized Spitzer, charging that he was harassing the centers on behalf of a political ally, NARAL Pro-Choice America. Spitzer's office contended that the centers used deceptive advertising and were practicing medicine without a license.^[16] However, the subpoenas were subsequently withdrawn.^{[citation needed]}

Loan investigation

The New York State Senate Investigations committee is considering investigating a controversial multi-million dollar loan the governor�s father Bernard Spitzer gave him when he ran for attorney general in 1998, a loan Mr. Spitzer has acknowledged not being truthful about.^[17][18] Senate Investigations Committee Chairman George Winner told The New York Post that subpoenas should be used to find out about the loans.^[19] Winner wrote to Senate Elections Committee Chairman Senator Joseph Griffo that an article profiling Spitzer in New York Magazine "outlined what may have been a willful effort by Eliot Spitzer and his father to circumvent campaign-contribution limits in New York state law and then conceal their actions."^[18] In 1998, Spitzer claimed that he secured the $5 million loan by mortgaging apartments his developer had given him, but later revealed that his father was actually paying off the loans and, therefore, financing his campaign.^[17][18]

Gubernatorial campaign

Main article: New York gubernatorial election, 2006

Spitzer was elected Governor on November 7, 2006 with 69% of the vote. He faced Republican John Faso and John Clifton of the Libertarian Party of New York among others.

On December 8, 2004, Spitzer announced his intention to seek the Democratic nomination for Governor of New York in 2006. While long rumored, Spitzer's announcement was unusually early—nearly two years before the election. Some opined that Spitzer's early announcement was motivated by a desire to learn if Senator Charles Schumer, a more senior Democrat, would run. But Schumer, largely favored in opinion polls in a hypothetical matchup against Spitzer, had announced in November that he would not run for Governor, but would, rather, accept an offer to sit on the powerful Finance Committee and head the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee. After Schumer's announcement, Democrat Andrew Cuomo announced his plans to run for the Attorney General's seat vacated by Spitzer.

Spitzer won early endorsements, including, on January 22, the endorsement of the Working Families Party, which has purported to act as kingmaker of Democratic nominees. The party has been heavily backed by figures from community groups, e.g. ACORN and labor unions, particularly those that once broke from the AFL-CIO to form the Change to Win Federation. In the months after the WFP endorsement, several Change to Win unions announced that they were endorsing Spitzer under their own name, e.g. UNITE HERE, the Teamsters, and the United Food and Commercial Workers.

In the latter half of 2005, Spitzer sought to further solidify support for his campaign by touring the state, seeking and giving political endorsements. These included cross-endorsements with former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer in the 2005 New York City mayoral election, 2005; Matthew Driscoll in the Syracuse, New York, Mayoral election; and State Senator Byron Brown in the Buffalo, New York, Mayoral election. The benefits to Spitzer in these deals was the valuable media attention which accompanied his stumping for those candidates, as well as gaining local endorsements to help win the party primary.

As a result of Spitzer's relative speed in bringing state Democrats to his side, he gained the respect of Democratic leaders nationwide. Such a leader, Bill Richardson, dubbed Spitzer the "future of the Democratic Party" at a fundraiser held in June 2005 for Spitzer's gubernatorial campaign.^[20] A June 2006 Quinnipiac poll showed him leading Nassau county executive Thomas Suozzi 76-13 percent, indicating that he had all but secured the nomination.^[21]

Much of the attention of watchers of New York politics then turned to the state Republican Party, especially the future of three-term governor, George Pataki. Polling throughout 2004 and into 2005 consistently showed Spitzer defeating Pataki in theoretical match-ups. Such a scenario might have proved unappealing to Pataki. In July 2006, Pataki was rumored to be making overtures toward seeking the Republican nomination for the U.S. presidency in 2008. Whether or not these rumors were true, Pataki announced on July 27, 2005 that he would not seek reelection.

The open-seat nature of the election, along with Spitzer's positive poll numbers, and the advantage Democrats have in New York State fueled the Republican leadership's discussions of the active pursuit of candidates to run against Spitzer. By June 2006, two people had announced their intent to run for the nomination: former New York Assemblyman John Faso, who was officially endorsed at the 2006 New York State Republican Party Convention and former Masschusetts Governor William Weld, who is a native New Yorker. Shortly after the convention, Weld dropped out of the race for the Republican nomination.

An additional consideration for Spitzer was the status of billionaire businessman Tom Golisano, a three-time Independence Party candidate. It was rumored that Golisano might run again, and that Republican Party insiders would seek to nominate him as a Republican, thus fusing the Republican and Independence tickets for the first time in a gubernatorial election. Golisano recently switched his party affiliation to the GOP. However, on February 1, 2006, Golisano announced that he would not run for governor.^[22]

In January 2006, Spitzer selected New York State Senate minority leader David Paterson as his choice for Lieutenant Governor and running mate. In New York gubernatorial elections, the most important consideration in a gubernatorial candidate's choice of a lieutenant governor is often said to be the need to "balance the ticket", thereby widening the candidate's appeal by choosing someone from a different geographic area, ethnic background, or with a different political base. Such a practice is common in other states, as well as in Presidential elections.

After announcing his candidacy, Spitzer was endorsed by numerous New Yorkers including state Comptroller Alan Hevesi and two former New York City Mayors: David Dinkins and Ed Koch (who had endorsed President Bush in 2004). In February 2006, Spitzer got the endorsement of businessman Donald Trump, who had been courted by the Republicans to run against him.

On May 30 2006, Spitzer and Paterson won the endorsement of the New York State Democratic party.^[23] He still, however, had to face Suozzi in the Democratic primary.

On July 25, 2006, he faced Suozzi in a gubernatorial debate held at Pace University in Manhattan, discussing issues such as public authorities and Medicaid.^[24]

Spitzer surprised many New Yorkers when, upon being asked about marijuana, he stated that he disagrees with medical use of marijuana since other medicines are more effective.^[25]

During the week of August 24, he and Suozzi participated in a cable TV "town hall" forum at Pace University. Spitzer actually participated from Rochester, where he was visiting as part of a campaign tour across the state.

In the Democratic primary held on September 12, 2006, Spitzer handily defeated Suozzi, securing his party's nomination with 81% of the vote.

On October 5, Spitzer, addressing the Empire State Pride Agenda, declared that as governor he would work to legalize gay marriage in New York.^[26]

Spitzer won a landslide victory in the election with 69% of the vote. It was the largest margin of victory in a gubernatorial race in New York history, and the second-largest for any statewide race in New York history. The only larger victory was Chuck Schumer's 71% victory in his successful reelection bid for the U.S. Senate two years earlier. Spitzer carried all but three counties in the state.

Governorship

2007-

At the traditional midnight ceremony, Spitzer was sworn in as governor of New York on January 1, 2007. A public ceremony was held at 1 p.m. on the same day which featured brass and percussion players from the Empire State Youth Orchestra^[27] Bucking tradition, the ceremony was held outdoors—the first outdoor inauguration ceremony in New York for over a century.^[28] He publicly took the oath at 1:24 PM on that "grey but glorious January day." Afterwards he attended a concert at the Times Union Center in his honor, headlined by James Taylor and Natalie Merchant.

Roadblocks to reform

Spitzer's reform-based platform hit an early roadblock when his pledge "to change the ethics of Albany" was defeated in state legislature. According to the New York State Constitution, it is the duty of the state legislature to fill executive vacancies. The Governor was criticized as unreasonable for admonishing the legislature when it took constitutional actions. The appointment of state assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli to succeed disgraced Alan Hevesi was a serious blow to the new governor. Spitzer had backed an outside panel to draft a list of qualified candidates. The legislature revolted when the panel failed to select one of its own.^[29]

Spitzer's choice was New York City Finance Commissioner Martha Stark, who was selected by a panel that consisted of former State Comptroller Edward Regan, former State Comptroller Carl McCall and former New York City Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin. On February 7, 2007, when the Legislature voted, Stark was one of two names put into nomination, along with Assemblyman Thomas DiNapoli of Long Island, Assembly Leader Sheldon Silver's choice. The final vote was 150 for DiNapoli and 56 for Stark. Stark's main support came from Democrats in the Senate, along with Republicans in both chambers.

Spitzer has traveled to the home districts of various Democratic assembly members to publicly criticize them for their vote on DiNapoli. He visited the region of Syracuse Assemblyman William B. Magnarelli, and George S. Latimer of Westchester County and has plans to continue his pressure.^[30][31] Some Assembly Democrats were alienated over the incident, and have questioned Spitzer's refusal of extending special treatment to party members seeking local political appointments.^[32]

One of Spitzer's key campaign pledges was to reform the state budget process. While the state did pass a budget on schedule in 2007, the ultimate results fell short of what many reformers hoped Spitzer would achieve. Newscorp's The New York Post opined, "Spitzer promised reform, and delivered something completely different" and termed the budget itself "bitterly disappointing."^[33]

Spitzer's budget quickly turned into a deficit, as by the end of October it was projected the state would run a deficit exceeding $4 billion for the year. During Spitzer's first year the state payroll increased, aggravating budget problem.^[34] Despite increasing the public sector payroll, in late 2007 New York State started leading the nation in lost jobs

Spitzer has been criticized by members of the New York State Legislature for failing to compromise on issues during his first few months as governor. In a now infamous exchange, Spitzer told New York State Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco: "Listen, I'm a fucking steamroller and I'll roll over you and anybody else." According to The New York Post, Spitzer confirmed the exchange the following day.^[35] Spitzer's reputation as a "steamroller" was shared by a plurality of New Yorkers in a Quinnipiac University poll, but by a 3 to 1 margin they believed the tactic had been unsuccessful and had only added to political gridlock.^[36]

Tedisco later accused Spitzer of cutting $300,000 of state funding for health care and education grants in the Schenectady area as retaliation for Tedisco's opposition to the Spitzer plan to allow illegal immigrants New York State driver's licenses^[37] Tedisco accused the Governor of "dirty tricks" and "bullying".^[38]

In the wake of the controversy involving the "troopergate" scandal involving Senator Bruno, Spitzer has been accused of pandering to liberal special interest groups to solidify his base of support "The governor who took office vowing to clean up Albany has lost so much public support that he is reduced to feathering the nest of the unions and other liberals." said Michael Goodwin of the New York Daily News.^[39]

Gay marriage proposal

In April 2007, Spitzer proposed a bill that would legalize same-sex marriage in New York. State Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno announced his opposition to the proposal.^[40] This legislation passed in the State Assembly on June 19, 2007, but died in the State Senate and was returned to the Assembly.^[41]

Controversy over use of state police

On July 23, 2007, New York State Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's office admonished the Spitzer administration for ordering the State Police to keep special records of Senate majority leader Joseph L. Bruno's whereabouts when he traveled with police escorts in New York City.^[42] At the direction of top officials of the Spitzer administration, the New York State Police created documents meant to cause political damage to Bruno.^[43] The governor's staff had stated they were responding to a Freedom of Information request from the Albany Times-Union in late June.^[42][44] On May 23, Spitzer's Communications Director Darren Dopp wrote an e-mail to Rich Baum, a senior Spitzer adviser, stating that "records exist going way back"^[45] about Bruno's use of state aircraft, and that "Also, I think there is a new and different way to proceed re media. Will explain tomorrow."^[44] Dopp later wrote another e-mail to Baum after a story ran in the Albany Times-Union about a federal grand jury investigation of Bruno's investments in thoroughbred racing horses, and wrote: "Think travel story would fit nicely in the mix."^[45][44] The first Freedom of Information Act request about Bruno's travel was filed by the Times Union on June 27, nearly a month after.^[46]

A 57-page report issued by the Attorney General's office concluded that Spitzer engaged in creating media coverage concerning Senator Bruno's travel before any Freedom of Information Law request was made.^[47] The investigation looked into both Bruno's travel and the senate leader's allegation that Spitzer used State Police to spy on him.^[48] Cuomo concluded that "These e-mails show that persons in the governor's office did not merely produce records under a FOIL request, but were instead engaged in planning and producing media coverage concerning Senator Bruno's travel on state aircraft before any FOIL request was made."^[45][49] It noted that the Times-Union's initial FOIL request didn't even ask for the records involving Bruno that the paper was later given by aides to Spitzer.^[50] It also suggests that the governor's staff lied when they tried to explain what they had done and forced the State Police to go far beyond their normal procedures in documenting Mr. Bruno�s whereabouts.^[17]

The Times-Union's requests sought documents on use of state aircraft by seven officials, including Spitzer, Bruno and Lieutenant Governor David A. Paterson, yet Spitzer�s office released only Bruno�s itinerary.^[51] The Spitzer administration and the State Police provided far more details about Bruno than about other officials to the Times-Union, including records to reply to a request under the state�s Freedom of Information laws, though no such request had even been made.^[52] The report noted that the state acted outside the laws in what it released, such as documents that resembled official state travel records, "which they were not" according to Ellen Nachtigall Biben, a former prosecutor in the Manhattan district attorney�s office, who contributed to the report.^[51] The report stated that the Times-Union request came after the story about Bruno�s travels was published, and was "not consistent" with Spitzer administration claims that all it did was respond to a FOIL request.^[53] No other officials were subject to the same scrutiny as Bruno, and in some cases, the reports created by State Police were pieced together long after the trips, based on the sometimes on the memory of the police escorts involved.^[54]

The report cleared Bruno of any misuse of the state's air fleet, which had been alleged.^{[55][56][57][43]} Spitzer also used the state aircraft during the first six months of his term as governor for political purposes, including a stop in Rochester to attend an event for the Monroe County Democratic Committee on a day in which he had a number of stops related to public business.^[54] The report criticized Spitzer's office for using State Police resources to gather information about Bruno's travel and releasing the information to the media.^[56] New York Republican State Committee Chairman Joseph Mondello claimed that "Today�s explosive report by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo validates the frightening charges that Governor Spitzer�s administration abused the New York State Police and New York�s F.O.I.L. laws in an attempt to set up Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno"^[42] and that "This disturbing abuse of power by a Governor is unprecedented."^[42] The tactics involved have raised questions among some pundits about the tactics Spitzer used as Attorney General.^[58] The findings of the report were endorsed by Mr. Spitzer�s own Inspector General, Kristine Hamann.^{[42][56][57][48]}

Spitzer responded at a July 23rd press conference that "As governor, I am accountable for what goes on in the executive branch and I accept responsibility for the actions of my office"^[42] and that his administration had "grossly mishandled"^[42] the situation.^[57] The Governor issued an apology to Senator Bruno and stated that "I apologized to Senator Bruno and I did so personally this morning."^[42] He added "In addition, I apologized to the men and women of the State Police, and to acting Superintendent Preston Felton personally for allowing this esteemed institution to be drawn into this matter."^[42] Felton said he didn't realize he was part of a political scheme, and claimed in a written statement that "I have never, in my 26-year career with the state police, knowingly undertaken any such action and never would,"^[48] and that "To the extent that circumstances previously not known to me have now given rise to that appearance, I am particularly saddened."^[48]

Spitzer subsequently announced that he would indefinitely suspend his communications director, Darren Dopp, and reassign another top official.^[59] When questioned about his promise to bring a new dawn of ethical responsibility to state politics, Spitzer responded by saying "I will not tolerate this behavior,"^[42], "ethics and accountability must and will remain rigorous in my administration,"^[43] and that "I have always stated that I want ethics and integrity to be the hallmarks of my administration. That is why I requested that the State Inspector General review the allegations with respect to my office, and that is why we have fully cooperated with both inquiries."^[55] As of July 2007, Cuomo's office was considering recommending disciplinary action against the Governor's office.^[60] On July 27, 2007, the New York Post reported on Dopp's past interactions with the press on behalf of Spitzer.^[10] Reporter Charles Gasparino claimed that he was threatened by Dopp while covering then Attonery General Spitzer's investigation of the over-compensation of former New York Stock Exchange Chairman Richard Grasso.^[10] Gasparino feels he was targeted by Dopp after publishing a piece claiming that Attorney General's office did not also pursue Spitzer ally H. Carl McCall who, as the compensation-committee chief, guided the board when it approved Grasso's compensation package.^[10]

Republican State Senator Dean Skelos asked, "Did the governor know?" and stated that the report "leaves many questions open in terms of how far up the chain of command were the acts of � at least the acts of Dopp and Howard � known?".^[17] Mr. Skelos added that he believed it would be "totally appropriate" for the Senate Committee on Investigations and Government Operations, which has subpoena power and of which Skelos is a member, to review the matter.^[17] Skelos called the matter "the makings of a real conspiracy here", and was echoed by Assemblyman Keith Wright, a Harlem Democrat who said the findings of the report sound "very Nixonian."^[17] Douglas Muzzio, a Baruch College political scientist, commented that "The Watergate analogy is inescapable."^[61] Republican George Winner, Chairman of the Senate Investigations Committee, stated that the governor was "stonewalling"^[62] and remarked that it "Sounds like he didn�t learn too much from Nixon, that the cover-up is worse than the crime."^[62] Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, the Legislature�s top Democrat, called what was done to Mr. Bruno "horrendous"^[62], and added "The real question here is how much did the governor know and when did he know it."^[63]

Skelos notes Cuomo's investigators never questioned Spitzer or a top aide mentioned in the report, Secretary to the Governor Rich Baum, who received e-mails related to the plot.^[64] Cuomo spokesman Jeffrey Lerner said Spitzer's counsel provided the e-mails and that Baum and Dopp refused requests to be interviewed, opting instead to provide sworn written statements.^[65] He added that speaking to Spitzer would be unnecessary because there was little evidence of criminal or improper activity.^[66] Dopp and Baum are considered Mr. Spitzer�s closest advisers, and no action was taken against Mr. Baum.^[67] The Chairman of the State Senate Committee on Investigations stated he would contact Attorney General Cuomo to obtain any documents, e-mail messages, and testimony under oath collected by the Attorney General's investigators.^[68] Numerous prominent New York Democrats distanced themselves from Spitzer, refusing to come to his defense, including five members of New York's Democratic congressional delegation, Senators Hillary Clinton and Chuck Schumer, the chairman of the Queens Democratic Party, Rep. Joseph Crowley, Rep. Charles Rangel, and mayor candidate Representative Rep. Anthony Weiner.^[32] Democrat Amy Paulin, an Assemblywoman, acknowledged that "The general public wants to know who knew what when,"^[69] noting that "Until we put this behind us, there will be a credibility gap."^[70] Assemblyman William Parment, also a Democrat, added that "Coming clean would be the best thing to do."^[70]

Spitzer defended the decision not to provide testimony, saying that it wasn't necessary for Baum and Dopp to be questioned after Cuomo determined no crime was committed.^[71] The attorney general's office said investigators rejected the sworn statements of Dopp and Baum since both men refused to testify, and some observers have noted this has left several questions unanswered.^[72] These omissions have prompted speculation that the governor may have been involved in some way.^[73] Jeffrey Lerner, a spokesman for the Attorney General, stated that "We told the Governor's Counsel's office that we wanted to interview Darren Dopp and Richard Baum. The Governor's Counsel's office declined and instead sent sworn written statements. We had no power to compel testimony,"^[72] and that "Our investigators decided not (to) include the written statements as they did not have the chance to interview Dopp and Baum."^[72] The Governor said that that the written statements by Baum and Dopp were "sufficient for the attorney general to close its investigation,"^[71] and reiterated that he was not involved in the decision to not have Baum and Dopp testify before Cuomo.^[74] Still, their sworn statements were not accepted for use in the report.^[71]

Both the state Ethics Commission and the Senate investigations committee have announced they have requested all interview transcripts, notes, e-mail and other material from Attorney General Andrew Cuomo's investigation and would review the matter.^[75] The Governor said he would allow both senior aides to testify, and testify himself if subpoenaed by the State Ethics Commission.^[76] When asked about the possibility, Spitzer said "that might happen. I don't know what path to take,"^[72] and that "If there are investigations, we cooperate with investigations. I'm not sure where this will go."^[72] The State Assembly is not expected to conduct its own inquire or participate in any joint legislative investigation, after Speaker Silver stated that "I have no need to hold any hearings to go further,"^[77] and that "We heard from the top law enforcement officer in the state, Andrew Cuomo. A lot of misjudgments were made, but there was no criminality."^[77]

State Senate Majority Leader Bruno did not rule out using subpoena powers to get under oath Spitzer's statements on the matter, telling reporters that the facts will "speak for themselves as they unfold."^[78] While some have questioned the Senate's motives and constitutional authority to conduct an investigation, Assembly Democrat Richard L. Brodsky explained that the Governor's office may not be able to claim executive privilege to resist an investigation, stating "Assertions of executive privilege have usually not been upheld under New York law and in the most recent litigation, which I conducted, the governor�s office appeared asserting executive privilege and was unsuccessful,"^[62] in reference to a 2004 case in which a State Supreme Court judge rejected the Pataki administration�s claim of executive privilege, saying the governor�s staff could not withhold documents from a legislative committee seeking information about a controversial contract to develop property along the Erie Canal.^[62] Bruno concluded that "What I want is the truth, and there are others that are third parties who are going to be objective, pragmatic. All we want is the truth. And people will, once they know the truth, then we'll know what the guilt is on the part of whoever's been involved."^[78]

On August 1, 2007, Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares announced that his office would start investigations of possible wrongdoing by the Spitzer Administation. On November 12, 2007, a front page story in the New York Post alleged that various Spitzer aides had been directed to lie to investigators by their superiors ^[79] On December 17, 2007 Spitzer's office acknowledged it had received additional subpoenas from the Albany D.A.'s office ^{[80] [81]}

Controversy over driver's licenses for illegal immigrants

On September 21, 2007, Spitzer issued an executive order directing that state allow illegal aliens to be issued driver's licenses effective December 2007.^[82][83] Applicants for driver's licenses would not be required to prove legal immigration status and would be allowed to present a foreign passport as identification.^[83] At that point, eight other states did not require individuals to prove their legal immigration status when applying for a driver's licenses.^[84] Spitzer said that the new policy would help all New Yorkers by improving traffic safety, because unlicensed drivers are nearly five times as likely to be in fatal car crashes compared to licensed drivers.^[83] Spitzer also claimed that the policy would effectively allow illegal immigrants to buy auto insurance, which would reduce the number of uninsured drivers in the state and therefore decrease insurance premiums for all New Yorkers by an estimated $120 million.^[83]

After meeting with the Department of Homeland Security in October 2007, Spitzer agreed that licenses issued to illegal aliens would look different from other licenses and that the new licenses would not allow access to airplanes and federal buildings.^[85]

The Spitzer proposal was met with massive criticism from both political parties.^[86] Critics charged that the plan would open the door for illegal aliens to obtain official identification and compromise security improvements made since September 11, 2001. His critics included Democratic presidential candidate Senator Christopher Dodd, who denounced the proposal at a debate held on October 30.^[87] After a day of equivocation following the debate, Senator Hillary Clinton issued a prepared statement that endorsed the plan.^[88] New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg opposed the executive order, calling it "inappropriate."^[89] Minority leader of the State Assembly, James Tedisco, promised a lawsuit to block the proposal.^[90] County clerks across the state would have been required to issue driver's licenses to illegal aliens, but thirteen county clerks promised not to do so.^[91] One such clerk who denounced the proposal was Erie County Clerk Kathy Hochul, who was appointed to serve an interim term in her office by Spitzer. She was elected to serve the remaining three years of the term of her predecessor, state Motor Vehicles Commissioner David Swarts, after vocally breaking with Spitzer. ^[92] Others who opposed the proposal included Democratic Congresswoman Kirsten Gillibrand^[93], Democratic County Executive Steve Levy of Suffolk County, and Long Island Democratic State Senator Craig Johnson.^[94] While the issue initially was significant only in New York, cable TV and talk radio made this a national controversy, as one of Spitzer's strongest critics was CNN host Lou Dobbs, who labeled Spitzer an "idiot" for this policy.^[95] While opposition to the driver's license proposal emerged from both political parties, Spitzer claimed his opponents were aligned with the "rabid right."^[94][96]

On October 21, 2007, the State Senate voted to oppose the Spitzer plan by a 39-19 vote. ^[97][98] Eight Democrats from moderate districts broke with Spitzer on the vote.^[97][98] After the vote The New York Times called this issue "Mr. Spitzer�s single most unpopular decision since he took office"

Following the State Senate's vote, Spitzer revised his plan again, proposing the issuance of a third type of driver's license.^[99] This driver's license would be available to only United States citizens who are New York State residents, and would be valid for crossing the Canadian border.^[99] Spitzer also announced that the expiration dates of temporary visas would be printed on the driver's licenses of individuals on temporary visas.^[99]

A poll conducted by Survey USA on October 3 reported that 56% of New Yorkers opposed the Governor's plan.^[100] By November 13, a poll by Siena College reported that 70% of New Yorkers opposed his plan; furthermore, only 25% would vote to reelect Spitzer.^[101]

On November 14, the day following the release of the Siena College poll, Governor Spitzer announced he would withdraw the plan to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants, acknowledging that it would never be implemented.^{[102][103][104]} The decision drew derision from the press, as the Associated Press termed this reversal a "surrender."^[105] WCBS-TV labeled him "Governor Flip-Flop." ^[106] State Senator Ruben Diaz of the Bronx said he was "betrayed" by Spitzer's abandonment of the plan.^[107]

Approval as Governor

As of November 13, 2007, Governor Spitzer's approval rating as Governor was 33%,^[108] a further decline from Spitzer's 44% approval rating of October 24, 2007^[109]. A later poll showed that New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg would defeat Spitzer were he to seek re-election.^[110] Two polls in December 2007 showed further erosion in Spitzer's public standing.^[111]

Prostitution scandal

Wikinews has related news:

New York governor Eliot Spitzer tied to prostitution ring

This section documents a current event. Information may change rapidly as the event progresses.

[[Category:Current events as of {{#time:F Y|March 2008}}]]

On March 10, 2008, The New York Times reported that Spitzer had on the evening of February 13 patronized a $1,000-to-$5,500-an-hour prostitution service called Emperors Club VIP^[112] and met with a call girl in room 871 of the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, D.C. under the alias George Fox.^[113][114] Reportedly, the information came to light from a federal wiretap of his cell phone,^{[115][116][117]} over which the private model assigned to meet with Spitzer, himself using the alias "George Fox", referred to by the agency as Client #9, was described to the Governor as "Kristen", a "petite, very pretty woman."^[118] The investigation was initiated after his bank reported suspicious transactions, leading investigators to the prostitution ring.^[119] Spitzer—who, when New York Attorney General, had been named Time's "Crusader of the Year" and had been termed by New York City tabloids "Eliot Ness"^[120]—had once prosecuted two prostitution rings.^[121]

At a press conference, with his wife Silda at his side, Spitzer's brief statement reads as follows:^[122]

After the Spitzers' press conference, New York State Assembly Republican Minority Leader James Tedisco and Republican Long Island Congressman Peter King separately called for his resignation. Spitzer's office, the U.S. Attorney's office in New York, and New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg have all declined to comment.^{[123][124][125]}

Electoral history

• Faso also ran on the Conservative Party of New York ticket.

• Irizzary also ran on the Conservative Party of New York ticket.

• Vacco also ran on the Conservative Party of New York ticket.