Spitzer Files Signatures for New York City Comptroller

Eliot Spitzer's pleas for forgiveness may actually have worked. The former governor of New York (and prostitute aficionado) has managed to get the number of signatures needed to get on the primary ballot—in fact, he got over 20,000 of them.

According to the AP, Spitzer submitted 27,000 signatures to the city Board of Elections Thursday, just an hour and half before the midnight deadline.

"I just want to first and foremost thank the citizens of New York that signed these petitions," Spitzer told reporters after making his submission.

The ex-governor only needed 3,750 valid petition signatures in order to be on the Democratic primary ballot in September, and was reportedly aiming for at least 7,500. (Candidates generally need around 15,000 signatures to feel secure, as the signatures can be challenged and invalidated over technicalities.)

So how did the wannabe-comptroller manage to get so many New Yorkers on his team? Well, it may have something to do with the fact that his petitioners were getting paid $800 dollars a day, according to the NY Daily News. (Although other sources have suggested that the salary was more like $12 an hour.)

It could also be that New York City is really is forgiving: 67 percent of Democrats apparently think that Spitzer deserves a second chance, according to a NBC//Wall Street Journal/Marist Poll.

Although most candidates started petitioning in early June, Spitzer managed to collect his signatures in less than four days.

"It's important to those who said it was not possible in the course of three and a half days to gather enough signatures to get a candidate on the ballot for citywide office," Spitzer said.

His opponent, Manhattan borough president Scott Stringer, is still in the lead, with enough signatures to deal with any potential challenges.

"One hundred thousand people signed my petition, and we didn't have to pay anybody," Stringer said Thursday evening on NY1. Ouch.