But with the first Democratic debate approaching on Oct. 13, and a series of deadlines to qualify for
primary ballots piling up after that, time appears to be running short.
As observers wonder whether newly - minted candidate Eliot Spitzer will even be able to gather the nearly 4,000 signatures he needs to make it on the
primary ballot, the city's mayoral candidates began submitting their
piles of petition forms to the city's Board of Elections Tuesday afternoon — and it appears Mr. de Blasio and Mr. Liu are leading the pack.