NYC mayor-elect's spokeswoman dating Eliot Spitzer, reports say
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A spokeswoman for the incoming New York City mayor has been dating disgraced ex-New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer, the New York Post reports.
Lis Smith, 31, who serves as Bill de Blasio’s communications director, hosted Spitzer, who was known to a Washington escort service as "Client No. 9," twice last week at her Manhattan apartment, the Post reported Sunday.
The newspaper details several rendezvous between the two, including Spitzer’s late-night visits and romantic dinners at posh New York restaurants.
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A spokeswoman for Spitzer said the ex-governor holds Smith “in high regard” and didn’t deny the relationship. Smith didn’t return requests for comment from the Post.
Smith, who worked on President Obama’s 2012 re-election campaign, was hired by Spitzer in July as a spokeswoman during the ex-governor’s unsuccessful primary run for city comptroller earlier this year. She then went to work for de Blasio in September.
She has been considered a front-runner to become de Blasio’s press secretary, Politicker reported.
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On Monday, de Blasio would not confirm whether he intends to add Smith to his administration, which begins on Jan. 1, Politicker added.
“I respect Lis as a professional but I also respect her right to privacy,” the mayor-elect said.
Spitzer served as New York’s 54th governor from 2007 to May 2008, when he resigned amid revelations that he patronized an elite escort service.
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