Eliot Spitzer, the disgraced former governor who has convulsed the normally sleepy race for New York City comptroller, is open about the way he is going to use his personal fortune to win. But he wants to hide the extent of that wealth from city voters by refusing to release his complete tax returns.
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Mr. Spitzer has campaigned mostly on national television, and he is doing well in early polls against the Manhattan borough president, Scott Stringer, based on his name recognition, as he tries to hit the reset on the prostitution scandal that forced his resignation as governor in 2008.
Mr. Stringer, who had hoped to slide effortlessly into the comptroller job, does not have Mr. Spitzer's personal resources. He is financing his campaign through the city's excellent public matching system. On Tuesday, Mr. Stringer also released five years of tax returns and pointedly called for Mr. Spitzer to do the same.
Mr. Spitzer does not have the matching option, since he catapulted himself into the race after the June 10 deadline for candidates to get the city's $6 for every $1 in small contributions. But neither will he agree to the city's cap on spending of about $4 million for the primary, saying that he would "spend sufficient funds to inform the public about where I stand on the issues."
The old Eliot Spitzer vigorously supported the city's campaign finance system. The old Eliot Spitzer also made his full tax returns available, as attorney general and governor. He called for Mitt Romney to release his full returns when Mr. Romney was the Republican presidential candidate, including sections that revealed details like "offshore shelters and other games that are suspect."
"So Mitt," he said at the time, "before we let you get away deriding the hard-working folks who are perhaps not fortunate enough to have to file a federal income tax return, I want to see how hard you worked to minimize your own contribution. Game on, Mitt: Where do you stand with your own taxes?"
Mr. Spitzer's current campaign has released the first two pages of his returns for the last two years, suggesting that he paid ample taxes. But that is not enough for someone who wants to take over as the city's chief financial monitor. Are there any conflicts of interest in that $4.2 million he earned in 2012 and the $3.7 million he earned in 2011? Is he doing business with anyone who might want to do business with the city?
Mr. Spitzer's financial disclosure report, required by city law, showed investments in real estate and income from media companies including CNN, but it still gives only the barest outline of his financial dealings.
Mr. Spitzer should provide a great deal more disclosure, including more than just two years' worth. He's not required by law to do more than he has done, but you would think that he would live up to the standard he himself set in 2012 for Mr. Romney.
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