By Bianca Fortis
New Yorkers denied former Gov. Eliot Spitzer a chance to redeem himself when they chose the Manhattan borough president as the next city comptroller.
Scott Stringer narrowly won the race Tuesday night with 52 percent of the vote while Spitzer pulled in 48 percent, according to Associated Press election results, with 97 percent of precincts reporting.
The comptroller acts as the chief financial officer of the city.
Spitzer, the former 54th governor of New York state, resigned from the post in March 2008 after an investigation revealed he had patronized a high-end prostitution ring over the course of his career.
Spitzer, who entered the race late in the game, had led the polls until recently. In the last few weeks approaching the primary, Stringer caught up and eventually overtook his opponent.
The duties of the office include registering contracts, managing the city’s pension funds and auditing city agencies.
Stringer has said the first agency he would target that could affect Queens would be the city Department of Buildings.
Cheryl Allison, a native of Germany and an Astoria resident, said she cast her vote for Stringer.
“I really don’t care what he does in bed,” she said about Spitzer. “It’s not about morality. It’s about how he ran his campaign.”
Voter Evelyn Pamintuan greeted Stringer warmly in Elmhurst as he made a campaign stop with state Assemblyman Francisco Moya (D-Jackson Heights).
“I voted for him because of integrity, and when you handle money, that’s especially important,” she said.
One voter who supported Spitzer was Sean Mollahan, who pulled the lever for the candidate in downtown Flushing.
“We feel like there is no voice when it comes to attacking Wall Street,” he said.
In the race for city public advocate, two Democratic candidates are headed to a run-off Oct. 1.
City Councilwoman Letitia James (D-Brooklyn) received 36 percent of the vote and state Sen. Daniel Squadron (D-Brooklyn) collected33 percent, according to AP.
The three other candidates, Reshma Saujani (15 percent), Catherine Guerriero (12.9 percent) and Sidique Wai (2.8 percent), did not receive enough votes to advance to the run-off. The role of the public advocate in New York City is to act as a watchdog for citizens and ensure they receive city services.
Squadron is in his third term. He represents the 26th Senate District, which includes the northwest part of Brooklyn and Lower Manhattan.
James serves as councilwoman for the 35th District, which encompasses Clinton Hill, Fort Greene and parts of Crown Heights, Prospect Heights and Bedford-Stuyvesant.
The current public advocate, Bill de Blasio, was able to use the office as a launching pad in his political career: On Tuesday he won the Democratic primary election for the mayoral race.
Reach reporter Bianca Fortis by email at bfortis@cnglocal.com or by phone at 718-260-4546.
