New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio hired a former Canadian government official who ended his 2010 Toronto mayoral campaign after his mistress publicly revealed they often had sex on a couch in his City Hall office.
Former Toronto city councilor Adam Giambrone will head the city’s new streetcar project that will create the Brooklyn-Queens connector starting Monday, the Daily Mail reported. De Blasio’s office will pay him an annual salary of $160,000.
Giambrone’s mistress, Kristen Lucas, exposed their affair during an interview with the Toronto Star in 2010, claiming that their relationship began when she was a 19-year-old university student. Giambrone lived with his long-term girlfriend Sarah McQuarrie at the time, who is now his wife.
Media outlets have described Giambrone as Canada's Anthony Weiner, the former New York City congressman and mayoral candidate whose political career ended amid multiple sexting scandals.
"I still think of you when I need … um … stimulation," Giambrone texted Lucas, according to messages published by the Daily Mail.
In other message, he told Lucas that he found her "smart and interesting" and liked her because she was "good-looking naked."
Giambrone messaged Lucas in December 2009 telling her that would be announcing he has a "partner" during his mayoral campaign.
"It is someone named Sarah [McQuarrie], who I’ve been involved with in the past. It is important for the campaign ... I had to have someone political," he wrote. "I really wanted to tell you [about McQuarrie] when we met. I hope this does not change things. We’re still going to meet like we said next week, right?"
Lucas responded in anger, telling him that "it changes everything."
"Why couldn’t it have been me?" she wrote. "You HAD to choose someone good for your campaign. That’s f***ing ridiculous."
De Blasio has not commented on Giambrone’s scandal. New York City Hall spokesman Austin Finan told the New York Post on Monday that the office welcomed Giambrone’s "expertise planning and launching new streetcar lines."
"The BQX will be the first streetcar to ply New York City streets in roughly 70 years, and having someone with hands-on experience from North America’s largest streetcar system will be valuable as we undertake the project. We’re excited to have him join the team," he said.