Establishment Tries to Stop Spitzer

The surprise decision by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer (D) “to run for citywide office startled and galvanized the city’s political establishment, which worried aloud about handing the TV-savvy and self-financed candidate a new megaphone,” the New York Times reports.

“In candid conversations, some of the leaders expressed acute regret over their failure to swiftly undercut the mayoral campaign of former Rep. Anthony Weiner, another scandal-scarred candidate for citywide office, and said they would not make the same mistake twice.”

“Behind the scenes, they began to lay out a blueprint for undermining Mr. Spitzer’s bid for comptroller, the city’s third-highest elected office, and for propping up his lesser-known Democratic rival, Scott M. Stringer, the Manhattan borough president.”