Eliot Spitzer, David Paterson Close Campaign Accounts

ALBANY, N.Y. -- Former New York governors Eliot Spitzer and David Paterson have closed their campaign accounts, signaling no quick returns to politics.

Spitzer, whose CNN news program was recently canceled, turned over much of his remaining $182,305 to education foundations. They include his alma maters, with $25,000 going to Harvard Law School, $50,000 to Harvard College and $25,000 to Horace Mann School.

Paterson, who succeeded Spitzer in 2008 after his resignation amid a prostitution scandal, spent much of his remaining $218,166 to pay off campaign bills.

Paterson spent $105,600 to pay off the remaining lease on campaign space in Manhattan. He also paid $86,000 in legal fees to defend himself against ethics charges over free New York Yankees tickets he obtained for the 2009 World Series.

Comments

[RolloMartins]

01:11 PM on 07/18/2011

phew! That $30 billion endowment of Harvard's was beginning to dwindle down to practically nothing. Just in the nick of time.

[thoughtmc00]

09:56 AM on 07/18/2011

Spitzer was such an amazing advocate for the people- he was entirely unafraid of big banks and the like. The problem was that he was a hypocrite in one of the worst ways you can be one as a lawyer. He was literally in charge of prosecuting people for prostitution while being a "jon" himself. You just can't do that, and if you do, then the people are entirely correct in questioning and doubting your ability to lead. Wiener was a whole different story- and he should never have resigned. Sending people nude photos of yourself is much less damning, and should have nothing to do with his career in politics. Unfortunately, people get whipped up into a firestorm over the wrong issues while ignoring the truly important issues such as instituting meaningful financial reform and balancing the budget.

p.s. I understand why, it's because you don't have to study to learn what's wrong with a guy cheating on his wife and you have to read a lot of pages to figure out financial reform- if you ever can.

[lcsm]

10:32 AM on 07/18/2011

I agree with what you say. Regarding Wiener, he should have known how his political enemies would have used what he was doing against him since he was such a high profile liberal. Then he lied about it for days when it came out. It was poor judgement that handed the enemy an easy victory.

[FeralForever]

08:54 AM on 07/18/2011

What I found so pathetic about Patterson was that NO ONE asked him about his past indiscretions, yet he forced his wife join him at a podium where openly 'confessed' to be sorry for having 'sexual relations' outside his marriage in front of a piddling news crew. It went nowhere. How pathetic was that? Both these guys are essentially history, because they never made anything but bad history in the first place. They are just spiraling down stooges, and the latest crash and burn flavor of too many long months. See ya, guys. NEXT.

[StarDagger]

08:27 AM on 07/18/2011

Its too bad, Spitzer is one of the best minds in the country and his show was a breath of fresh air in a very stuffy swamp of moronic journalism.

[RJ2500]

08:04 AM on 07/18/2011

And with the change left over, Elliot bought some new socks.

[nappyman]

07:59 AM on 07/18/2011

Whew! Can't believe we survived those two jack offs.

[Apennyfortheoldguy]

07:24 AM on 07/18/2011

Spitzer went to Princeton, not Harvard. Did you actually look at the numbers or just inferred them?

[Hugh-Gee]

08:40 AM on 07/18/2011

He went to Princeton for his BA, and then attended Harvard Law School.

[richj45]

05:57 AM on 07/18/2011

Spitzer was going to be a positive game changer for NY politics but made some serious enemies and they and his male ego thing got him canned..

[plaidsportcoat]

08:39 PM on 07/17/2011

Should have given to Brown, not Harvard!

[oftenon]

06:48 PM on 07/17/2011

I notice a dearth of contributions to the current NY Dem party.

[nycpaladin]

03:21 PM on 07/17/2011

They may not be don, but they will soon be forgotten.

[AltoProfunda]

10:47 AM on 07/17/2011

Patterson - see no evil
Spitzer - do no evil

I'm still waiting for "speak no evil".

[FCorey]

01:48 AM on 07/18/2011

That's Palin.

[FORCESGTX]

08:47 AM on 07/17/2011

Isn't Paterson Blind? if so how does a blind man see a World Series Game, or was he there for the beer?

[messy]

08:34 AM on 07/18/2011

He's legally blind but not totally blind. He can see colors and shapes in his right eye. He can also go to the movies.

[Dwight Alexander]

08:24 PM on 07/16/2011

I was hoping they were going to run together for president and vp in 2012...(second only to the present clowns...obama and biden)

[FCorey]

01:51 AM on 07/18/2011

And you would prefer the dream ticket of BACHMANN/PALIN to swoop down in red miniskirts, "I just got through having sex" hairdos and leather jackets to 'save' the country from the socialists, right?

Dummy.

[Huzie]

02:24 PM on 07/18/2011

Those clowns may be the only thing preventing you from being sacrificed on the Republican altar of no more entitlements like Social Security and Medicare for the little people. Eliot Spitzer made some powerful enemies in the financial world while he was Attorney General. He could have been a great governor if he did all his thinking with the head that sits on his shoulders.

[Dan Buckles]

07:30 PM on 07/16/2011

I would like to see Spitzer run for president, he would win. But I would really like to seem him as the US Attorney General. He'd do a great job by cleaning up the banks and the corporate criminals that have taken over our economy. It's time for change for the good of the people.

[Leonor Fontes]

08:13 PM on 07/16/2011

yes. me too, I think he should run for president.

[Hugh-Gee]

08:37 AM on 07/18/2011

I don't think Spitzer would win. After winning the governorship by a record margin, his arrogance and d1ckishness became obvious. Add to that the fact that his ideology is far to the left of the American average, and his candidacy doesn't look promising at all.
I say this as someone who proudly voted for him in 2006. It's too bad, because he's absolutely brilliant. But he's finished as a politician.

[homer9]

01:15 PM on 07/18/2011

I'd like to think u r wrong re spitzer's future in politics. And to call him left of most Americans may be true:but lets not rely on current definitions of left and right. A
leader who can bring the most important issues to the people and reframe them, re-explain them with power and intelligence will always be a viable candidate.