While New Yorkers await the outcome of the criminal inquiries into the personal behavior that led to his resignation, the former Governor owes it to the citizens whose trust he betrayed to take a step that is critical to restoring their faith in our state’s political process.

Citizen Eliot Spitzer — who in his resignation speech declared that he would never again be a candidate for public office — should immediately liquidate all campaign funds under his control and donate the proceeds to charity, preferably a charity that is committed to helping young women avoid self-destructive lifestyles.

With an excess of $3 million in his 2010 re-election fund, Spitzer can, at least partially, atone to his fellow New Yorkers by putting this money to some positive purpose.

Citizen Spitzer, whose personal fortune laid the groundwork for his meteoric political rise, should clearly understand that the people of New York will be watching closely to see how these funds are disbursed.

New Yorkers will not tolerate their use for his personal legal defense, nor will they tolerate this money being doled out as campaign contributions, either to individual elected officials or to state Democratic Party campaign accounts in an effort by the former governor to maintain his political influence.

While former Governor Spitzer still owes his family and the people of New York the answer to many questions, I call on him to immediately answer this question about the future of his campaign fund.

The people of New York deserve no less than an immediate answer to this critical $3 million question.