Neal Kwatra, Eliot Spitzer Campaign Organizer, Reportedly Leaves

One of Eliot Spitzer's campaign organizers has reportedly left the former New York governor's campaign for New York City comptroller.

The New York Times reported on Neal Kwatra, and the efforts by opponents to boost Democratic rival Scott M. Stringer:

According to people close to him, Neal Kwatra, a top city political adviser who had voluntarily helped orchestrate the rollout of Mr. Spitzer’s campaign, decided to cut his ties with the campaign amid signs that some of his clients, including the city’s Hotel Trades Council, which is backing Mr. Stringer, were cool to the Spitzer candidacy. Mr. Kwatra declined to comment.

Spitzer, a Democrat, launched his return to politics on Monday, just four days before the deadline.

Politico pointed out that as Spitzer faced a looming Thursday deadline to collect 4,000 signatures, Kwatra "did not set up a paid signature-gathering operation before departing."

Five years ago, Spitzer resigned as governor after admitting to paying up to $80,000 to prostitutes over the course of several years.

He addressed the prostitution scandal that drove him from office in 2008, and told HuffPost's Howard Fineman, “I think that the public has always been wonderfully forgiving. But I have to quickly add that we will see if that forgiveness extends to me."

Spitzer is campaigning for a position overseeing finances where, as Politico describes it, "he could play the role of activist investor while managing the city’s almost $140 billion in pension funds, pressure money managers to accept reforms if they want to do business with New York and audit city agencies’ various dealings with financial companies and make headlines if he thinks the taxpayer is getting a raw deal."