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This belongs to you. Take it back...
comptroller 
Tue Sep 29, 2009 at 21:50:54 PM EDT
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It's 9:45 and even though the polls only closed at 9, NY1 and most pundits have already called the run-off. The numbers are as follows:
City Comptroller
John Liu- 56.6%
David Yassky- 43.4&
82% reporting
Public Advocate
Bill de Blasio- 62.6%
Mark Green- 37.4%
82% reporting
These are not small victories, but rather major double digits crushings. This is a victory for progressives, for the Working Families Party, and for general change in the city. All four of these candidates are seasoned politicos but there's a big difference between Councilmen like de Blasio and Liu as opposed to multi-time candidates and long term political operatives like Green and Yassky.
I'm happy about these results. What are you thinking?
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Sun Mar 08, 2009 at 21:28:54 PM EDT
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This is, in my opinion, very good news. One of my favorite NYC pols, City Councilman John Liu, has decided to jump into the NYC Comptroller race. Examiner.com has the goods:
Queens City Council Member John C. Liu today exited the the crowded field of candidates vying for the Democratic Party's nomination for City Public Advocate to instead join fellow Queens Council Members David I. Weprin and Melinda Katz in seeking his Party's nomination for City Comptroller.
Liu cited his strong financial background as why he'd make a good comptroller. His campaign slogan will be, "A proven record of fiscal responsibility."
"Now more than ever, we need a Comptroller who will root out waste and inefficiency as budget cuts are imposed, and ensure accountability and equal opportunity as billions in stimulus funding arrive," said Liu. "With my professional background in finance and my experience in city government, combined with my demand for fairness and equality, I will be that Comptroller. I will be the Comptroller who will scrutinize the details without losing sight of the big picture."
In 2001, Liu became the first Asian-American to hold public office in New York City.
His campaign website was temporarily down Sunday night, where a short note read, "We've taken a moment to update our website with the most recent news and developments from the campaign. Stay tuned to John Liu for NYC Comptroller!"
I really like John Liu. He's extremely bright, has built an extremely effective operation with a number of extremely talented and dedicated folks around him. He's going places. I fully expect him to be a Congressman, at the very least, one day.
Given the current field, including my own Councilman, David "Mr Squishy" Yassky, I am very bullish on Councilman Liu.
This race is going to be fun to watch.
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Fri Feb 29, 2008 at 11:22:09 AM EST
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New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli criticized Gov. Eliot Spitzer and his 2008-09 Executive Budget due to the increase in borrowed money in that budget.
Debt burden cited as state's fastest-rising budget line.
In a sobering assessment of the state budget proposal made last month by Gov. Eliot L. Spitzer, the comptroller took to task his fellow Democrat's plan. He said that it relies too much on borrowing and on overly optimistic ways to raise money, such as Spitzer's controversial proposal to tax drug dealers.
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Under the governor's plan, the level of state debt will rise to $67.3 billion, from the current $54.3 billion, over the next five years. That means the debt level for every person living in New York State will go from the current $2,800 to $3,500. That does not include tens of billions more in local government and public authority debt already outstanding.
DiNapoli said the additional borrowing by Albany over the next five years under Spitzer will rise "significantly higher" than in the previous five years. New debt will annually average $5.8 billion during the period, compared with $3.3 billion the previous five years, a 73 percent increase, DiNapoli warned. Moreover, while the debt will grow by $30.9 billion by 2013, the amount of old debt retired will total only $17.8 billion. The new debt will go for everything from new buildings at state universities to parks improvements and economic-development efforts.
DiNapoli issued a press release regarding the issues with the budget. In that press release, DiNapoli said: "We're facing very uncertain economic times," DiNapoli said. "If things continue to decline in the financial industry, New York will get hit even harder. The Governor made some difficult choices, but there will have to be more. We should only spend within the parameters of what the State can afford. When you spend more than you take in, something has got to give."
Here is DiNapoli's full report on the 2008-09 Executive Budget.
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Thu Oct 04, 2007 at 18:05:59 PM EDT
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More than a couple of Quick Hits, but somewhat less than a full-on post, it's today's edition of "Stuff You May Find Interesting", provided with pretty much no commentary ('cause I'm feeling lazy).
First up, following on the discussions here recently about the U.S. Supreme Court case regarding judicial selection procedures here in New York State (NY Board of Elections v. Torres), offered for your consideration are:
* Linda Greenhouse's take in the NY Times on Wednesday's oral argument;
* A fairly detailed analysis provided by the good folks over at SCOTUSblog; and, for those who like their oral arguments unvarnished,
* The official transcript of the argument before the Court (67-page PDF file).
From the look of it, we should expect the Supremes to overturn the lower court rulings by a large majority (probably at least 7-2), perpetuating for now the current party nominating system.
Next, we have Tuesday's release by Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli's office of the State and Local Retirement System (i.e., Pension Fund) Annual Report (132-page PDF), along with the 118-page particularized asset listing. I'm sure there's plenty of notable information in there, but I'm hardly the one to dig it out. If you want to examine what sort of fiscal shape the pension fund is in, or which specific, potentially objectionable stocks the state holds a major stake in ($1.6 billion worth of Exxon Mobil might come to mind for some folks), here's your chance.
And finally, there's the tidbit that dear old great-grandpa Fred has been invited to speak at the NYS Conservative Party's annual cocktail reception Monday October 15 at the Sheraton New York Hotel & Towers in Manhattan. Let's see if he manages to put Michael Long and pals to sleep with his soporific style. Or maybe Thompson will nod off after a drink or two. In what was described as not being a slap in the face, St. Rudy was not invited to come speak with the group. And if anyone here is willing to pony up $500 per head, I'm sure they'll welcome you with open arms (while cashing your check, of course).
And now, I'm briefly off to a cocktail reception of my own (well, wine and cheese, actually, but that's kind of close).
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Tue Sep 25, 2007 at 09:19:07 AM EDT
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That bizarre run for NY-11 didn't quite work out, so now my City Councilman, David Yassky, wants to run for city Comptroller.
Yassky Enters Comptroller Race
A Brooklyn council member, David Yassky, has entered the race for the city comptroller in 2009, increasing the list of council members vying for the seat. Mr. Yassky, a Democrat who represents parts of Williamsburg, Greenpoint, and downtown Brooklyn, has filed papers with the Campaign Finance Board for the citywide office.
Will my City Councilman get my vote for Comptroller? To quote a very dear English friend of mine, "not bloody likely".
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Tue Jul 10, 2007 at 14:37:15 PM EDT
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Did you know that the New York State Comptroller is the sole trustee of the state's pension fund? I had just assumed that there had to be a Board of Directors of some sort like one finds in, ya know, normal states, ones that are sane. There isn't. It's Tom DiNapoli. Period.
That's right. Mr. DiNapoli, a man who flunked a very basic economics quiz, a man who, when asked about the number of retiree beneficiaries of the fund, was off by a staggering 600,000, is now the sole trustee of a fund now pegged at over $154 BILLION dollars. Wrap your head around that one. Then ponder that Tom wants to keep it that way even though there are some rather serious questions about decisions made by his disgraced predecessor.
Inquiries Raise Questions About State Fund
Gov. Eliot Spitzer said Monday that amid continuing investigations of the comptroller’s office, the state should consider ending the practice of having the comptroller act as sole trustee of the state’s $154.5 billion pension fund.
“The issue of having a single person as the sole trustee is an issue worth taking a hard look at,” Mr. Spitzer said in an interview, adding that he had not made up his own mind on the subject.
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New York is one of only a few states in which one person has ultimate responsibility for the pension fund. Other states, like California, have politically appointed boards that oversee pension dollars.
Maybe having one guy, a guy without much - how do I put this delicately? - actual experience in either management or finance, running the whole show without any oversight isn't such a great idea.
Of course, Mr. DiNapoli doesn't see it this way. He thinks the status quo is just fine. Hell, he even has a remedy and it's a doozy.
Many officials now are weighing whether additional safeguards against conflicts should be put in place. But the current comptroller, Thomas P. DiNapoli, said in an interview last month that he believed he should retain his role as sole overseer of the pension fund.
“As comptroller, the ultimate accountability is at the ballot box,” Mr. DiNapoli said. “If you have a board, that becomes a more diffuse level of responsibility.”
That's some chutzpah, don't ya think? A man who didn't receive a single vote outside of the legislature itself for the office he now holds, suggesting that the remedy for folks not so enthralled with his skills, or lack thereof, is the "ballot box".
Nice one, that.
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Wed Feb 14, 2007 at 06:33:17 AM EST
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Courtesy of the Empire Zone, "Blog of Record: Comptroller Roll Calls": http://empirezone.bl...
I just found out my Assemblyman voted for DiNapoli, so after snooping around the Assembly website I decided to send him an e-mail to find out why, especially since his party leader actually voted for Martha Stark.
E-mail on the flip.
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Wed Feb 14, 2007 at 01:52:07 AM EST
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(From the diaries. - promoted by lipris)
Corruption and the benefits of being in the 'club' have been mainstays for the state government of New York. Selecting Assemblyman Tom DiNapoli to comptroller would have hardly batted an eye in the past. However, it seems that the times, they are a changing.
First Eliot 'Steamroller' Spitzer came out and attacked lawmakers for appointing the unqualified DiNapoli to the position to state comptroller last week. The harsh reaction from the Governor prompted the NY media to cover the criticism. Now it seems the public is taking noticing and letting their Assemblymen know how they feel.
Crossposted at Joshing Politics
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Mon Jan 29, 2007 at 00:11:20 AM EST
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Today, the New York State Assembly has been asked to take a stand on the Comptroller issue. The Albany Project has sent the following letter to every Assemblyman and will post all responses:
See letter after the flip....
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Thu Jan 25, 2007 at 18:45:09 PM EST
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Translation: "Drop Dead". The panel reviewing candidates to fill the state Comptroller's job has apparently decided to tell Shelly to go stick it by choosing three, not five candidates, none of whom are from the Silver-dominated state Assembly. The Daily Politics has the dirt.
Rocking the boat, big time
The panel screening candidates for state controller has just released its list of three finalists -- not five -- and none of the four Assembly members vying for the job made the cut.
The picks are investment banker Bill Mulrow, New York City Finance Commissioner Martha Stark and Nassau County Controller Howard Weitzman.
This sets up a confrontation with Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who has expressed a preference for electing one of his members and threatened to ignore the panel's findings if it sent less than five names.
Take that, Shelly! The full statement from the panel (via DP) after the jump...
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Wed Dec 20, 2006 at 19:44:43 PM EST
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Looks like Hevesi just blinked.
Capitol Confidential has the scoop:
Hevesi expected to step down by Friday
State Comptroller Alan Hevesi will agree this week to resign to avoid an indictment stemming from an ethics scandal in which he used public employees to chauffeur his wife, according to sources familiar with his decision.Hevesi, one of the state's highest-ranking elected officials, will consent to stepping down from the post he has held since January 2003 by Friday morning at the latest as part of a plea deal with Albany County District Attorney David Soares.
The comptroller, a 66-year-old Queens Democrat, will also plead guilty to a criminal charge, which will not be higher than a Class E felony and will not require him to spend any time in jail, according to the sources.
I was really hoping that the reason that Alan was playing hardball was that he had some juicy dirt on some other Albany bigs. Looks like, even if he did, it wasn't juicy enough.
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Tue Dec 12, 2006 at 19:41:14 PM EST
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According to the New York Times, New York State Comptroller Alan Hevesi has agreed to payback $206,000 from his unethical use of state workers. But Hevesi's days are most likely numbered despite his re-election:
Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi agreed to pay a total of more than $206,000 today to resolve an inquiry by the New York State attorney general's office into his use of state workers to chauffeur and act as companions for his wife Carol.
[snip]
The settlement, which comes on the heels of a scathing Ethics Commission report on the matter, averted a lawsuit, but it does not end Mr. Hevesi's legal and political troubles. He is still the subject of a criminal inquiry by the Albany district attorney, and Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer will almost certainly ask the Republican-controlled New York State Senate to consider removing the comptroller from office when his term begins in January, people involved in the discussions have said.
I have to say that I have been almost personally affected by this scandal, as I used his Agenda for Reform as a portion of platform during my race for the 107th State Aseembly district.
More below...
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Tue Dec 12, 2006 at 11:30:24 AM EST
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Recently, I wrote a diary discussing a report published by Environmental Advocates of New York called "Forecast for New York: Projected Global Warming Impacts & Next Steps." For me, the most important point the report made was to emphasis that New York State could clearly have a positive impact on reducing global warming pollution.
New York produced as much global warming pollution as 99 developing countries combined. Clearly, actions by New York are important in the global and national context of addressing climate change.
Now, it seems that for whatever reasons, Michael Conners, Albany County Comptroller, has become a more vocal supporter of thinking globally and acting locally.
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