| Kristin Davis | |
|---|---|
| Anti-Prohibition Party nominee for Governor of New York |
|
| Election date November 2, 2010 |
|
| Opponent(s) | Andrew Cuomo, Carl Paladino, several minor parties |
| Incumbent | David Paterson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 7, 1975 Fresno, CA |
| Political party | Anti-Prohibition Party |
| Alma mater | St. Mary's College |
| Occupation | Former madam |
| Website | http://www.kristindavis2010.com/ |
Kristin M. Davis, formerly known as the Manhattan Madam, is a former madam famous for having run one of the prostitution rings that Governor of New York Eliot Spitzer frequented prior to the scandal leading to his resignation.
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Davis was a madam who competed with the Emperors Club VIP, the escort service at the center of the Eliot Spitzer prostitution scandal, and has suggested that Spitzer frequented her services as well. Among her employees was a woman named Irma Nici, who claims to have served Spitzer and English footballer David Beckham during her time in Davis's agency.[1] Indeed, she stated on The Joy Behar Show that Spitzer was blacklisted from her agency for his behavior toward her staff. Davis served four months in prison on Rikers Island for her role in the scandal[2][3] and was sentenced to five years probation, which was cut short at two and a half years in November 2010.[4][5] Davis claims she witnessed "psychosexual torture" during her time on Rikers Island.[6] She says that she has ended her involvement in the prostitution industry as a madam after serving that jail time.[7] Prior to her work in prostitution, she worked in the back office of a hedge fund operation.[8]
Davis announced in 2011 that she would be opening "Hope House," a nonprofit organization designed to assist women affected by sex trafficking. A hotline is to be set up within the year, while a full shelter will be constructed in 2013 if the funds allow it.[9]
Davis claimed in 2011 that her agency provided prostitutes to Dominique Strauss-Kahn in 2006, but that he was "rough and angry", and according to her, "When men abuse women I'm no longer going to protect their identities."[10]
Davis was a candidate in the New York gubernatorial election, 2010 on the Anti-Prohibition line. She ran on a platform of legalizing prostitution, marijuana and same sex marriage, and firearms rights.[2][11][12] Among her unorthodox campaign strategies was the naming of her campaign committee as "Friends of Kristin Davis," which abbreviated to FOKD.[13] She has stated a goal of raising $2 million for her campaign.[14] She admits that she does not believe she can win.[15] She also stated:[16]
I am confident that I can collect more than enough signatures from cadres of escorts, ex-escorts, strippers, dancers, dommes, gays, lesbians, Libertarians, Ron Paul supporters, U.S. Marines, rappers who revere the pimp or other lovers of freedom moving my petitions under the direction of my communications consultant Frank Morano.
Roger Stone, who previously worked as an operative for former Presidents Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George Bush, Sr., was initially named as Davis's campaign manager,[2] and is still listed as so as of April 2010,[17] though he has also been cooperating with his protege, Michael Caputo, on a competing campaign by Buffalo developer Carl Paladino.[18] Stone has stated that the two candidates have distinct goals (Davis is only seeking to gain the requisite 50,000 votes, while Paladino, in Stone's perception, has an actual chance to win), and as such he does not believe there is a direct conflict of interest. Stone also said he accepted his position in the Davis campaign before Paladino entered the race.[19] Caputo has stated that he believes Davis will at least outdraw Conservative Party nominee Rick Lazio.[20]
Davis competed against Sam Sloan and Guilderland attorney Warren Redlich for the nomination of the Libertarian Party of New York. However, she refused to appear at the party's convention on April 24, 2010, leading to her name being left off the ballot and Redlich easily winning the nomination.[21] Those within the party are concerned that Davis will splinter the Libertarian Party vote by running on her self-created ballot line.[21] Several names for the line, including "Surprise Party," "Citizens Party," "Marijuana Legalization Party," "Hookers and Pot Party," "Personal Freedom Party" and "Reform Party" were rejected by outside sources (Personal Freedom due to a conflict with Charles Barron's "Freedom Party" despite Barron's much later entry into the gubernatorial race, and Reform Party due to a dispute with the national Reform Party),[22] before settling on the name "Anti-Prohibition Party" in July 2010.
Davis has floated the name of Tucker Carlson as a potential lieutenant governor candidate,[16] but Carlson apparently declined. Instead, Anti-Prohibition Party petitions had Linda Espejo listed as the lieutenant governor candidate, though at least one report suggests that Espejo has declined the nomination, requiring a replacement to be named by a committee.[23] The party named Jewish-Russian-American lawyer and community organizer Tanya Gendelman as Espejo's replacement.[24] Randy Credico, already running in the Democratic Party primary and cross-endorsed by the Libertarians, is the nominee for the Senate seat held by Chuck Schumer. Vivia Morgan is the candidate for Kirsten Gillibrand's Senate seat. Davis endorsed Democrat Kathleen Rice for attorney general, though Rice will not appear on the APP line.[15] Jeffrey Graham, the mayor of Watertown, endorsed Davis, and despite declining an invitation to be the APP lieutenant governor nominee, he continued to campaign for Davis at his business and on his Web site.
Davis finished with 20,898 votes in the official vote tally, less than half the necessary votes to qualify as a political party. She finished in last place among those on the ballot. By comparison, Redlich finished with 46,091 votes in the same tally, more than double the total Davis drew; however, Caputo's prediction of beating Lazio came true, since Lazio only received 65 votes, all write-ins (as after failing to win the Republican nomination, Lazio dropped off the Reform Party nomination in favor of Paladino).[25]
Davis has indicated that she will not return to politics. She had left open the possibility of running for any office that Spitzer sought, but Spitzer closed his campaign accounts in July 2011, making it extremely unlikely that Spitzer (or, by extension, Davis) will ever seek public office again.