On March 10, 2008, New York residents got a shocking wake-up call. Governor Eliot Spitzer had been caught soliciting a female escort, through a wiretapping sting. To all of his constituents this was not the man they had put into office. The shock of this scandal rang through the entire United States, bringing to a head the multiple scandals of public officials.
When news broke less than a month ago regarding the prostitution ring sting, most Americans anticipated an immediate resignation. Spitzer on the other hand thought he had a chance at keeping his spot. For the PR world this was a huge crisis. A publicly elected official caught red handed, spending tax payer money on call girls.
PR directors not only feared their strategic planning in down playing this situation, but others not involved in the scandal feared high profile clients of their own might be the next to be outed. PR in this situation is hard to create. Besides the fact that his job was lost, and his image permanently tainted, they needed to create a medium to keep his personal appearance and sympathy in line with that of the constituents.
A few days later, Spitzer announced his resignation, and was deeply regretful for all his actions while taking complete responsibility. This struck a cord with constituents, realizing he had made a mistake, he was sorry, and he was ready to turn a new page and move on with his life.
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