NY Comptroller
Well, the race for New York Comproller has shaped up into a contest. Hillary won’t lose. Spitzer is poised to become Governor. Andrew Cuomo will take the AG spot. All Dems, in a rout for the Republican party in New York.
But… Democrat candidate for State Comptroller, Alan Hevesi, has shot himself in the foot. Spitzer, the whitecoller-crime fighting AG, waited days to throw old Alan overboard but he did. “Alan, don’t stand so close to the rail!!” “Oh, God! Man overboard! Man overboard!”
Hevesi was using state funds to pay for a driver for his wife. The original story was that they had received threats. The new story is that she’s sickly. So far he’s ponied up over $170,000 to reimburse the state. Curiously that’s about a half year’s pay for him. He must be very thrifty. [/sarcasm]
Why is the Comproller at all important? The State Comptroller is the sole trustee of the vast sums in the New York State pension fund. He’s the one who decides on investments, and on the firms used for investments. The prize: $120 billion. Yeah, billion with a B.
The Republicans picked another schmoe to run against him, conceding the race as they did all the others. Then this hit, and J. Christopher Callaghan looks like he has a chance to win. So, this mook who is Saratoga County Treasurer is about the hit the jackpot.
Is he qualified? Hell, no! But I’m sure that all his friends in the Republican Party will be quite willing to assist him with all those important decisions.
Hevesi’s real crime. He got caught. He’s not the first big shot in Albany to put a driver on the state payroll and he won’t be the last. In the grand scheme of things, if you have money in the pension system, or if you don’t want to have to bail out the pension system, who would you rather have as Comptroller? Hevesi, with experience and a blemish, or bow tie guy from Podunk New York?
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