Eliot Spitzer facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Eliot Spitzer
Spitzer in 2004

54th Governor of New York
In office January 1, 2007 – March 17, 2008
Lieutenant	David Paterson
Preceded by	George Pataki
Succeeded by	David Paterson
63rd Attorney General of New York
In office January 1, 1999 – December 31, 2006
Governor	George Pataki
Preceded by	Dennis Vacco
Succeeded by	Andrew Cuomo

Personal details
Born	Eliot Laurence Spitzer (1959-06-10) June 10, 1959 (age 66) New York City, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Silda Wall (m. 1987; div. 2013) Roxana Girand-Spitzer (m. 2020)
Children	3
Parent	Bernard Spitzer (father)
Education	Princeton University (BA) Harvard University (JD)
Signature

Eliot Laurence Spitzer (born June 10, 1959) is an American politician and lawyer. He served as the 54th governor of New York from 2007 to 2008. Before that, he was the 63rd Attorney General of New York from 1999 to 2006. He is a member of the Democratic Party.

Spitzer was born in the Bronx, New York City. He went to Princeton University and then earned his law degree from Harvard Law School. He started his career working for law firms in New York. Later, he became a prosecutor for the Manhattan District Attorney's office.

In 1998, Spitzer won the election for state attorney general. He defeated the Republican, Dennis Vacco. He became known as the "Sheriff of Wall Street." This was because he worked to stop unfair practices in the financial world. In 2006, he was elected governor of New York. He won by a very large number of votes. However, he served as governor for less than two years. His lieutenant governor, David Paterson, finished his term.

After leaving the governor's office, Spitzer worked as a TV host. He also taught at City College of New York. He has been involved in real estate and invested in new companies. In 2013, he ran for New York City Comptroller but did not win the Democratic nomination.

Eliot Spitzer's Early Life and Schooling

Eliot Laurence Spitzer was born in 1959 in the Bronx, New York City. His mother, Anne, was an English literature professor. His father, Bernard Spitzer, was a very successful real estate developer. Eliot was the youngest of three children. His family raised him in the rich Riverdale area of the Bronx.

He graduated from Horace Mann School in 1977. He then went to Princeton University. In 1981, he earned a degree from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs. After Princeton, he attended Harvard Law School. There, he met Silda Wall, who he later married. Spitzer was also an editor for the Harvard Law Review.

Eliot Spitzer's Legal Career

After law school, Spitzer worked for a judge. Then he joined a law firm called Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison. He worked there for less than two years. After that, he joined the New York County District Attorney's office.

Spitzer worked for Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau. He became the head of the unit that fought against organized crime in labor unions. He spent six years, from 1986 to 1992, on these cases. His most important case was in 1992. He led an investigation that stopped a crime family's control over trucking and clothing businesses in Manhattan.

Spitzer left the District Attorney's office in 1992. He worked at other law firms until 1998. During this time, he handled cases about consumer rights and fair business practices.

Becoming New York's Attorney General

Running for Attorney General

First Campaign in 1994

In 1994, Eliot Spitzer decided to run for New York State Attorney General. He was 34 years old and not very well known. He was one of four Democratic candidates. Spitzer said he would use state laws to go after companies that polluted. He also supported the death penalty.

Spitzer used a lot of his own and his family's money for his campaign. Despite this, he came in last among the four Democratic candidates. He received only 19% of the votes. The winner of the primary, Karen Burstein, lost the main election to Republican Dennis Vacco.

Second Campaign in 1998

Four years later, in 1998, Spitzer ran for Attorney General again. This time, he was a leading candidate among the Democrats. He had the most money for his campaign, over $2 million. In September, he won the Democratic primary election with 42% of the votes.

In the main election, Spitzer faced the current Attorney General, Dennis Vacco. Spitzer won the election by a very small number of votes. He won in New York City and some nearby counties.

Re-election in 2002

In 2002, Spitzer ran for re-election as New York's Attorney General. He won a second term by a large margin. He defeated Republican Judge Dora Irizarry with 66% of the votes.

What He Did as Attorney General

As Attorney General, Spitzer made the office more important. Usually, state attorneys general focus on local fraud. They often leave bigger national issues to the federal government. Spitzer changed this. He started civil lawsuits and criminal cases against companies for white-collar crime, stock fraud, Internet fraud, and environmental issues.

The New York Attorney General's office has power over Wall Street. This means it can investigate many big companies. New York State's Martin Act of 1921 gives the Attorney General special powers. It allows them to demand documents and question people in fraud investigations. Spitzer used this law to take on cases that seemed to be federal issues. This was very helpful after several big company scandals began in 2001.

During his time, Spitzer also ordered a study in 1999. It looked at how the NYPD used its "stop-and-frisk" practices. In 2004, a magazine called The Nation suggested Spitzer as a possible candidate for vice president. They said he was the "most effective battler against corporate abuses."

Running for Governor in 2006

Spitzer celebrating on election night

On December 8, 2004, Spitzer announced he wanted to run for governor of New York. This was very early, almost two years before the election. Because he moved quickly, he gained support from Democratic leaders across the country.

In January 2006, Spitzer chose David Paterson to be his running mate for lieutenant governor. Many New Yorkers supported Spitzer, including former New York City mayors David Dinkins and Ed Koch. In May 2006, Spitzer and Paterson won the support of the New York State Democratic party. In the Democratic primary election in September 2006, Spitzer easily won. He secured his party's nomination with 81% of the votes.

On October 5, Spitzer said he would work to make gay marriage legal in New York if he became governor. He was elected governor on November 7, 2006. He defeated Republican John Faso and others with 69% of the votes. He won by the largest number of votes ever in a New York governor's race.

Serving as Governor of New York

Eliot Spitzer became Governor of New York on January 1, 2007. He took his oath of office in an outdoor ceremony. This was the first outdoor inauguration in New York in over a hundred years.

Laws He Supported

Jonathan's Law: In May 2007, Governor Spitzer signed this law. It helps parents and guardians get access to records about their children's investigations.

Challenges as Governor

Spitzer wanted to change how things worked in Albany. But he faced challenges early on. His ideas for filling empty positions in the government were not accepted by the state legislature. The legislature chose Thomas DiNapoli as the new State Comptroller, even though Spitzer had a different choice.

Spitzer's budget quickly showed a deficit. By the end of October, it was expected that the state would have a shortage of over $4 billion. New York State also started losing jobs during his first year. Some people in the New York State Legislature criticized Spitzer. They said he was not willing to compromise on issues.

Spitzer was also accused of cutting state funding for health care and education in the Schenectady area. This was seen by some as payback for a politician's opposition to Spitzer's plan for driver's licenses.

Idea to Legalize Same-Sex Marriage

In April 2007, Spitzer suggested a bill to make same-sex marriage in New York legal. The leader of the State Senate, Joe Bruno, said he was against it. This bill passed in the State Assembly in June 2007. However, it was not approved in the State Senate.

"Troopergate" Controversy

In July 2007, the New York Attorney General's office looked into a situation. It was about the Spitzer administration asking the State Police to keep special records of Senate leader Joseph Bruno's travels.

A report said that people in the governor's office planned to create media stories about Senator Bruno's travel. The report also suggested that the governor's staff made the State Police go beyond their usual rules. Spitzer said he was responsible for what happened in his office. He said his administration "grossly mishandled" the situation. He also said he would not allow such behavior. This event was called "Troopergate" by the news.

Driver's Licenses for Immigrants

Spitzer with Hillary Clinton in 2007

On September 21, 2007, Spitzer announced a plan. It would allow immigrants without legal status to get driver's licenses in New York. Later, he changed the plan so these licenses would look different. They would not allow access to airplanes or federal buildings.

On October 22, 2007, the State Senate voted against Spitzer's plan. The bill to stop his plan passed with support from both parties. Many voters did not like this plan. On November 14, Spitzer announced he would stop the plan. He said it would never be put into action. The news called this a "surrender" and "Governor Flip-Flop."

Approval Rating as Governor

By November 2007, Spitzer's approval rating as governor was 33 percent. This was a big drop from earlier. Polls showed that many people were unhappy with his performance.

Resignation

Spitzer announced on March 12, 2008, that he would resign as governor. His resignation took effect on March 17, 2008. Lieutenant Governor David Paterson then became the new governor of New York. Paterson was the first African American Governor of New York State.

Teaching

In September 2009, Spitzer started teaching at the City College of New York. He taught a class called "Law and Public Policy."

Media Appearances

After leaving office, Spitzer continued to appear in public and on TV. He wrote articles for Slate magazine about the economy. He also gave speeches.

He appeared on several TV shows. In 2010, he joined CNN to host a discussion program called Parker Spitzer. Later, the show was renamed In the Arena. In 2011, CNN canceled the show. In 2012, Spitzer joined Current TV and hosted his own program, Viewpoint with Eliot Spitzer. He left Current TV in 2013.

Investing

In 2012, Spitzer became an investor in a company called TipRanks. It is a financial technology company in Israel. He also joined the company's board of directors.

2013 Campaign for NYC Comptroller

On July 7, 2013, Spitzer announced he was running for New York City Comptroller. He needed many signatures to get on the ballot, and he gathered over 27,000. Spitzer said he was asking for forgiveness from voters. However, he lost the primary election to Scott Stringer on September 10, 2013.

Real Estate Career

After his father became ill and passed away in 2014, Spitzer took over his family's real estate business, Spitzer Enterprises. He had avoided this role for most of his life. Spitzer sold some of his company's properties for a large profit. He used this money to fund a big project to build three new buildings in South Williamsburg, Brooklyn.

Personal Life

Silda Wall and Eliot Spitzer married in 1987. They have three children together. Silda Wall Spitzer was with her husband when he announced his resignation as governor. In May 2013, it was reported that Spitzer and his wife were living apart. At the end of 2013, they announced their marriage was over.

In 2019, Spitzer announced he was engaged to Roxana Girand. They planned to marry in 2020, but the wedding was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, in 2024, he shared that they had a small wedding on that same day at his home.

Images for kids

Eliot Spitzer's signature