Eliot Spitzer greeted voters in Union Square on Monday, after announcing his candidacy for City Comptroller late Sunday night. Credit: Bess Adler
Since announcing his plan to run for City Controller on Sunday night, Eliot Spitzer has been facing some tough questions from reporters while at the same time scrambling to get enough signatures by Thursday’s deadline to make it on the Democratic primary ballot.
Spitzer is paying canvassers $800 per day – a rate that is typically unheard of in city petition drives, New York Daily News reports.
The former governor needs to collect 3,750 signatures from registered Democrats to qualify for the Sept. 10 primary. The signatures must come from voters who have not already signed for another candidate. Spitzer gave himself only four days to pull off what other candidates usually take at least a month to do.
Some political strategists are questioning whether he will make it on the ballot, The New York Post reports.
Spitzer didn’t even reach out to political consultants for help in collecting signatures until Sunday night, indicating that he was disorganized and unprepared prior to his last-minute decision to run, The Post reports.
