Eliot Spitzer | The New York Observer

What Happened to Spitzer's Government Consolidation Commission

Fri, 22 May 2009 12:46:00 -0400

ALBANY—A few hours after Attorney General Andrew Cuomo formally unveiled a local-government consolidation bill, David Paterson put out a statement referring to legislation as something "[T]he Attorney General and I have been working on together." This caused some head scratching (Irene Liu did a great job parsing the syntax), given Paterson comments Tuesday that he was unaware of the details of Cuomo's negotiations with legislative leaders. While the governor's top lawyer attended the event where...

State Senate Breaks With Hermann

Tue, 19 May 2009 12:31:00 -0400

ALBANY—Robert Hermann, who was alleged by Inspector General Joseph Fisch to have violated the public officers law, is no longer working for the Democrats in the State Senate. "Today, the Senate accepted the resignation of Mr. Robert Hermann, Special Counsel to the Senate Majority, effective immediately," Austin Shafran, press secretary for Majority Leader Malcolm Smith, said in a terse statement e-mailed to reporters while many sat in a leaders meeting. Hermann had been working with Smith's...

Inspector General: Troopergate Prober Was Leaking to Spitzer's Office

Wed, 13 May 2009 11:57:00 -0400

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Gillibrand to Meet Privately with Gay Leaders

Mon, 11 May 2009 14:19:00 -0400

Kirsten Gillibrand is having a closed-door meet-and-greet with prominent members of the gay community in Manhattan tonight, and among the expected guests are, according to a knowledgeable source, Howard Koeppel and Mark Hsiao, the gay couple Rudy Giuliani lived with briefly during his divorce, but whose recent wedding Giuliani skipped. The meeting, according to another source, is taking place at 5:30 p.m. at the Gramercy Park South home of Jeff Soref, a major Democratic gay-rights...

Poll: New Yorkers Would Take Spitzer Over Paterson

Mon, 04 May 2009 10:40:00 -0400

ALBANY—The latest Marist poll has David Paterson's approval rating still below 20 percent, and a majority of voters actually would prefer having Eliot Spitzer in the Capitol. Nineteen percent of registered voters surveyed think Paterson is doing an excellent or good job, similar to the result in a Siena Poll released last month, which found Paterson's approval rating at 18 percent. Interestingly, Paterson's numbers are somewhat higher among suburban voters and Jewish voters....

In Search of Eliot Spitzer, Via Fred Dicker

Fri, 24 Apr 2009 14:12:00 -0400

ALBANY—Alex Gibney, the noted documentary filmmaker behind Gonzo and The Smartest Guys in the Room, was on the third floor of the Capitol today with a film crew, focusing on New York Post State Editor Fred Dicker. "I'm doing a project on the rise and fall, and possible redemption of Eliot Spitzer," Gibney said. He declined to say who else he'd interviewed. Gibney told me he's not exactly sure when it's going to come out,...

Is Eliot Spitzer the Next Gary Hart?

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:54:00 -0400

He hasn't said it, but you almost get the sense that Eliot Spitzer thinks he cashed his chips in too soon last year. Less than 48 hours separated the revelation that he'd been a top client of a high-end call girl service and Spitzer's announcement that he'd quit as governor. And five days after that, he formally left office and began his political exile. Now, just 13 months later, he's all over the news--on The...

Silda Wall Discusses the City's Volunteer Initiative

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 16:30:00 -0400

One of the featured speakers at Michael Bloomberg’s volunteer-themed event this afternoon in Washington Heights was Silda Wall, the wife of former governor Eliot Spitzer. Afterward, she told me and another reporter that boosting volunteerism is “one of the most powerful things we can do to prepare our next generation and to educate them and achieve all the goals that we’re trying to do.” She said the group she’s long been associated...

2009 Pulitzer Prize Winners and Nominees Announced at Columbia

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:17:06 -0400

Driving rain couldn't keep about 50 reporters and bloggers away from from Columbia University, where the 2009 Pulitzer Prizewinners and Finalists were announced. Coffee, tea and cookies were served on third floor of the Columbia Journalism School as the winners' names were presented. It was noted that this was the first year online-only reports were eligible, but none of them won.

Among those who won journalism's top honors were The New York Times' David...

Bloomberg and Friends Cheer for Volunteers, Obama

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:05:00 -0400

In response to Barack Obama’s push for more public service among Americans, Michael Bloomberg is unveiling the city’s effort to boost volunteerism . "If you grow up in New York City, you will learn how to serve, and you will be expected to serve," Bloomberg told a crowd gathered at an indoor track in Washington Heights. The event was essentially a pep rally, complete with cheerleading sections representing dozens of volunteer organizations, city employees wearing bright...

Spitzer: 'I Would Desperately Love to Be Back as Governor'

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:37:00 -0400

POUGHKEEPSIE—In case you can't get enough of Eliot Spitzer, the subject of this week's Newsweek cover story, you can listen to a live interview with him here. Spitzer spoke to the syndicated weekly radio show Newsweek On Air, telling hosts David Alpern and Isaac Davy-Aronson that the financial services sector came to "overwhelm" the rest of the economy in recent years, and that he'd love to make some contribution to a necessary economic restructuring. "I would...

Pataki Makes a Spitzer Joke

Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:25:00 -0400

George Pataki told Republicans last night that he was once mistaken for Eliot Spitzer. "True story," he said. And, he added, "If there's still any press—I'm the former governor of New York who left...