Eliot Laurence Spitzer was born on June 10, 1959 in Bronx, New York. He attended Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs followed by Harvard Law School. Upon graduation, he entered private practice and thereafter alternated stints in public service with work for several prestigious New York law firms. He clerked for federal district court judge Robert Sweet and served as an assistant district attorney in New York County, where he helped eradicate the Gambino organized crime family's control of trucking and the garment industry. After an unsuccessful run for the office of New York State Attorney General in 1994, Spitzer defeated incumbent Dennis Vacco to gain the office in 1998. While Attorney General, Spitzer sought to regulate industrial polluters, pharmaceutical companies, gun manufacturers, and above all, the financial industry.
After serving two terms as Attorney General, Spitzer defeated Republican opponent John Faso to gain the governorship in 2006. In his short tenure, Spitzer sought to reform the state budget process, the workers' compensation system, and the financing of health care and education. He also sought to reinvigorate the ailing upstate economy and championed campaign finance reform in an effort to curtail the influence of special interests and make state government more accessible to the public at large. Spitzer drew criticism for his support of the failed effort to legalize same-sex marriage in the state and for his ill-fated proposal to issue driver's licenses to illegal immigrants. Following disclosure of evidence that he patronized prostitutes while serving as governor and attorney general, Spitzer resigned the governorship effective March 17, 2008.
For further information concerning the life and political career of Eliot Spitzer see Paumgarten, Nick. "The Humbling of Eliot Spitzer: The Governor's Rocky Rookie Season." The New Yorker Digital Edition (December 10, 2007); and Masters, Brooke A. Spoiling for a Fight: The Rise of Eliot Spitzer . New York: Times Books, 2006.
From the guide to the Central subject and correspondence files, 2007-2008, (New York State Archives)
