Client 9 in 2010? Spitzer says “No”

By Steve Flamisch know or don’t care. But political expert Helen September 1, 2009 Desfosses, speaking by phone from Virginia, said the chances of Spitzer vying for either seat are slim. fired back at the Post on “There’s no way President Obama will let Tuesday, saying the newspaper wrongly him challenge Kirsten Gillibrand, and there is claimed the former governor is contemplating a no way [Assembly Speaker] Sheldon Silver will return to politics. support him against Tom DiNapoli,” Desfosses In an article headlined “You Can’t Keep a said. “I think he could make a gradual come- Bad Man Down,” the Post cited anonymous back... but he could never challenge those two.” sources as saying Spitzer has privately dis- Desfosses said Spitzer should draw upon cussed the prospect of running for statewide of- his reputation as the “Sheriff of Wall Street” as fice as early as 2010. Spitzer resigned in disgrace a way of regaining the public’s trust. Spitzer less than 18 months ago when he was revealed has granted media interviews in recent months to be “Client 9" in a high-priced prostitution discussing the nation’s financial crisis, and he ring. has penned columns and op-eds for various “If the stories [of running for office] were newspapers and magazines. true, it would be worth talking to you guys,” In New York’s history, only one other Spitzer said to journalists while waiting for a governor has left office amid a scandal, ac- cab in on Tuesday morning. “I hate cording to Robert Ward, Executive Director of to disappoint you.” SUNY’s Rockefeller Institute of Government. Speaking on the CBS 6 News at 5:30 on was impeached in 1913 based Tuesday, Post State Editor and CBS 6 Political on allegations - false ones, some historians be- Analyst said he believes Spitzer may have lieve - that he had diverted campaign contri- leaked the information himself in hopes of butions for his own use then lied about it. drumming up publicity. One month later, Sulzer won a seat in the The Post article, written by Maggie very Assembly that had voted to oust him from Haberman, referenced the possibility of Spitzer office. challenging state Comptroller Thomas Spitzer could conceivably follow Sulzer’s DiNapoli or U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand in a lead, though Ward noted that Spitzer’s style is Democratic primary in 2010. Neither incumbent more executive than legislative. Ward de- returned CBS 6 phone calls. clined to speculate on whether Spitzer might A Siena Research Institute poll released on run for any office. August 24 found that a plurality of voters prefer Spitzer has not been indicted in connection “someone else” to DiNapoli and Gillibrand, re- with the prostitution ring. spectively, and that most voters either don’t

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