Stephen Goldsmith and his wife, Margaret, in 1996.Stephen Goldsmith, a former deputy mayor who resigned in 2011 after being arrested on a domestic violence complaint, has filed for divorce from his wife of 24 years, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
Mr. Goldsmith, 66, filed the paperwork on Wednesday in Marion County, Ind., where he was the elected prosecutor for 12 years before becoming a nationally prominent mayor of Indianapolis from 1992 to 2000.
Mr. Goldsmith, who was divorced once before, did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment. G. Allen Dale, a lawyer for Mr. Goldsmith’s wife, Margaret, said he had not heard about the divorce until contacted by a reporter.
In a statement, M.. Goldsmith’s spokeswoman, Kate Snedeker, confirmed the divorce, while declining to elaborate: “As you can imagine, this is a difficult time for the entire Goldsmith family. Your support and respect for the family’s privacy are much appreciated.â€
In 2010, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg chose Mr. Goldsmith, a Republican, as deputy mayor for operations. But almost immediately, Mr. Goldsmith, a newcomer to the city, was viewed as too aloof for a job whose main charge is to run basic services like sanitation and the Police and Fire Departments. His low point was the city’s much-criticized response to the December 2010 snowstorm.
So it was not entirely surprising when he resigned in August 2011 after 14 tumultuous months. But what was surprising was when The New York Post revealed that he had been arrested at the Georgetown townhouse that he and his wife shared in Washington, and that! Mr. Bloomberg had not disclosed the arrest when Mr. Goldsmith stepped aside.
Ultimately, Mr. Goldsmith was found innocent of assault, and his arrest record was sealed. He had most recently been juggling several jobs, including teaching at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and serving as a strategic adviser to a Washington law firm.
