As the debate gathers steam over Proposal 1 – the ballot measure that would wrest budget authority from the governor and vest it in the legislature – one of the missing voices has been that of the city comptroller, William Thompson. He’s clammed up tighter than a conch in a mudslide, even though other executive branch figures around the city and state have been warning of the trouble ahead if Proposal 1 goes through.

For what is happening under cover of Proposal 1, which will appear on the state ballot in November, is that the legislature is moving to usurp budget control from the governor, where much of the power has historically resided. That’s the same legislature that has been over-riding the governor’s effort to veto tax increases and spending and borrowing binges. So Proposal 1 is a recipe for more spending and taxing in a state that already has too much of both.

Democrats with executive ambitions such as Attorney General Spitzer have already come out against the measure, as have Governor Pataki and Mayor Bloomberg. Mr. Thompson is thinking of running for mayor one day, so it makes sense for him to defend the prerogatives of the executive. When he stopped by the editorial rooms of The New York Sun yesterday, we tried to pry out of him a statement on Proposal 1. He didn’t want to say. But he is a shrewd operator, and our guess is that he’ll eventually speak on the issue, siding with the executive branch – and the taxpayers – against this effort by the legislature to pick the taxpayers’ wallet.