Manhattan Madam Runs for Office Against Former Client Eliot Spitzer

Known better by her working name, Kristen Davis aka the Manhattan Madam has declared that she’s running for New York City Comptroller, immediately after former Governor Eliot Spitzer announced that he would be attempting to get back into politics in that very same office. “Gosh, it’s going to be a fun race!” Davis told the New York Observer.

Davis admits that she hasn’t moved on from the 2008 prostitution scandal, which culminated in her spending four months in Riker’s Island, but says she’s the perfect candidate for comptroller because, “Math, budgeting, finance [are] what my college degree’s in and that’s what I did for most of my adult life.”

Davis seems less interested in politics and more interested in running against or in spite of Spitzer in any capacity possible; she previously attempted to win the New York gubernatorial race in 2010 and discussed perhaps running for Mayor against Anthony Weiner. “If Spitzer throws his black socks in the ring I may have to throw in my lacy brassiere,” she said about her potential run for Mayor. She’s also spent time writing open letters to Lindsay Lohan, suggesting she fire her attorney Mark Heller (who Lohan is currently off-again with) and started an organization to fight sex trafficking.

As for Davis’ opponent, Mr. Spitzer, he seems as unclear about the point of the office of Comptroller as anyone voting for it is (it’s the person in charge of the city’s finances, if you hadn’t figure that out yet), telling the New York Times that he has “done many and different things” in the years since he left office, adding, “I think they have been useful.”

And unlike Anthony Weiner, for whom Spitzer was already getting lumped together with plenty, the former Governor seems unwilling and unclear about how to handle his checkered past. Politically, the two men trying to start over in the world of New York politics at the same time could not be more different; as BuzzFeed‘s Ben Smith reminds us, Spitzer once called himself “a fucking steamroller,” whereas Weiner was a less than productive politician. Smith writes:

“…Spitzer has basically nothing in common with Weiner, aside from their low body fat, and shared (and lightly observed) Jewish faith.”

For her part, Davis told the Observer she considers what Spitzer did much worse than Weiner‘s activities, probably because she didn’t go to jail because of Weiner.

And as for Spitzer’s current life, he told the New York Times that he would not comment on his marriage to Silda Spitzer (it’s been rumored for ages that the two are separated) because “Our private lives are our private lives” but then noted “Yes, we are married, absolutely.” When asked about his daughters and how they felt about the campaign, he said:

“They are in a completely different stage of life. They are mature, they are grown up. They have lived through a lot.”

Which is about the best non-answer ever.

When asked about Davis running for office, Spitzer told WNYC Monday morning that he was “not going to dignify her claims” about their previous interactions, questioning her facts and saying that he was focused on articulating his goals for office to his constituency. He also said that “it’s a fair argument” that he was a hypocrite for prosecuting prostitution while soliciting it.

Davis – seriously, chock full of satisfactory quotes – said that because of leaders like Spitzer and Weiner, New York looks “like a huge joke to the rest of the county.” Because the rest of the country is doing so well.

Manhattan Madam to Eliot Spitzer: ‘Gosh, It’s Going to Be a Fun Race!’ [Politicker]