Ms. Aspen has not been a stranger to controversy and it's actually in relation to her that the Senate race has turned into a constitutional crisis between the Statehouse in Albany and City Hall in New York City. Earlier this month, a state court signed off on a court order to close down the office's of Kinky Amy's, a live streaming adult content provider that is run by Amy Aspen. The Mayor, upon finding this out during a campaign event rushed to the scene and physically prevented—with the help of NYPD—the state troopers from carrying out the order.
The subsequent rift that was caused persuaded the Governor, who had pushed for the initial court order in the first place, to declare a de facto state of war against the city. The State, which had prior to this paid for teachers, subway workers, and state services has all but shut down. The New York City transit system has been running on a skeletal staff for the last several days. State parks and highways have been shut down until Parker Trask resigns and allows the State of New York to close down Kinky Amy's.
Rather than get annoyed with this state of affairs, New Yorkers are still divided over the issue. Roughly a third of all city residents sided with the Governor in a poll asking who was at fault, agreeing that Kinky Amy's should've been closed and the battle fought in court.
A third of all city residents agreed with the Mayor, suggesting that the action taken by Governor Meelios was overreaching of the worst sort, and the subsequent reaction in trying to freeze out the city was overkill.
A final third of survey respondents expressed no opinion, stating that the lack of subway service or certain state activities being curtailed had not affected their lives as of this point.
Whatever the outcome, the effect of the sexual impropriety charges is sure to add yet another blow to the Trask campaign at a time when it can ill afford one. It remains to be seen how this will affect the Senate race.
Parker
My days now seem to be spent in complete and utter chaos. My entire campaign is imploding before my eyes like a match held to a gas tank.
With the influx of calls and me being up to my neck in emails, I barely have time to breathe. The insanity is overwhelming.
I realize the phone on my desk has been ringing non-stop so I reach over and finally answer it.
"Trask speaking," I say, fully expecting to hear some constituent yell at me about my morals, or lack thereof, or how I'm corrupting the people of this city, babies and grandmas alike, and even school children. Nothing would surprise me.
But instead, I realize it's a whole lot worse.
"Parker, look, I hate to do this to you, buddy, but I've decided to leave the campaign."
It takes me a minute to recognize the voice, but then it hits me; it's my Deputy Director, Scott.
"Scott, wait, hold on," I say. I'm trying not to beg because I don't fucking do that kind of thing, but I'm feeling pretty desperate at this point. "You can't do that. This campaign needs you."
And it's the fucking truth. I do need him. He's in charge of organizing our volunteers who fill out events and contact voters. Essentially, they're our fucking ground troops. I need his leadership in this arena, now more than ever.
"You're wrong. I can leave, Parker," he says solemnly, "and I am leaving because … I hate to say it, but the Governor's right. The sex trafficking, and Amy's sex store—well, it needs to be shut down. It's just wrong. Plain wrong … and a real shame. I have a family, and daughters of my own. I can't live with myself knowing that I'm letting this happen in our city. It's an eyesore."
"You do realize who we're talking about here," I say. "The Governor is a wolf in sheep's clothing. That much I can promise you. This isn't what it looks like."
"To be honest, I don't know who to believe anymore," Scott replies.
And with that statement, I know I've lost him and there's no getting him back. It's the nail in the coffin. One by one, I'm losing the trust of my campaign mangers.
This isn't fucking good.
I still have some loyal staff members sticking it out with me, but as I look around the office, I see we're spread pretty fucking thin.
Not everyone has outright quit, like Scott just did, but a whole lot of people are mysteriously calling in sick today, and that leaves me feeling pretty fucking uneasy.
I have to turn things around, and fast. The clock is ticking and I'm running out of time. I can feel the pressure of all of these events riding on my shoulders.
I turn up the volume to the TV mounted on my wall. It's the local news, and it's no surprise I'm still making headlines.
Today I'm still getting raked over the coals.
"Unlike his earlier campaign promises, it seems the last thing you want to do is 'ask Trask' for anything these days," a reporter says. "A taboo relationship with his stepdaughter, and then a sex trafficking ring—what's next for New York City's Mayor? What new lows can he possibly sink our city into next?"