Where’s Eliot Spitzer? New Yorkers know where the Republican candidate for governor, John Faso, stands on tax relief. New Yorkers knew where Mr. Faso’s primary opponent, William Weld, stood on tax relief before he dropped out of the race. New Yorkers know where Mr. Spitzer’s Democratic primary opponent, Thomas Suozzi, stands on tax relief. Only one candidate remains a mystery: Eliot Spitzer. He’s made some vague suggestions of cutting property taxes. But does he mean it? What, in fact, are his views on taxes? New Yorkers are waiting to find out.

Mr. Faso has a career long record of standing on principle on taxes. Messrs. Faso and Suozzi, and, for that matter, Mr. Weld when he was in the race, all articulated specific ideas for reducing taxes. Mr. Faso has presented a three-point plan that would expand the School Tax Relief, or STAR, program, cap annual increases in school taxes at 4% or the rate of inflation, whichever is lower, and tackle some of the most intractable causes of high local spending, the Wicks Law and the Triborough Amendment.

Mr. Suozzi has presented a $5 billion “taxpayer savings” plan that would, for example, reduce the state work force, reform Medicaid not just by cutting fraud but also by re-examining things like the list of approved pharmaceuticals, and create a new state pension tier for new government hires. Mr. Weld proposed an Empire State taxpayer’s bill of rights that would have capped local government spending increases at inflation plus population growth, and flirted with income-tax reform.

Each of these plans has its strengths and weaknesses, as these columns have noted before. Mr. Faso shines when tackling the union-coddling rules that drive up school costs, while Mr. Suozzi impresses with his determination to tackle public-employee pensions and the state’s debt. Mr. Faso stumbles with his STAR expansion, which would only pass some of the property tax burden to income-tax payers and, if his spending cap were to flounder in the legislature, ultimately would increase school spending and property taxes. Mr. Suozzi’s expansion of sales-and-use-tax collections seems out of place in a “taxpayer savings” plan.

Still, either the proposal from his primary opponent or his prospective general-election foe would give Mr. Spitzer plenty to talk about if only he wanted to engage in the fight. So why hasn’t he? Mr. Spitzer portrays himself as fearless in the face of Wall Street, but his proposals on tax are exceptionally timid. To the extent he discusses the issue, he talks about property taxes. True, local property taxes are a big part of the problem in New York. But Mr. Spitzer seems at a loss for what to do. He talks about the need to reduce unfunded mandates from Albany but doesn’t quite mention what unfunded mandates he would tackle. He pitches a plan to improve the fairness of assessments, which would help property owners but not nearly as much as a true overhaul.

More broadly, the attorney general appears to be shying away from any positions that might offend the politically powerful unions that are such a force in the Democratic party. Mr. Faso, by contrast, is confronting the unions with his proposals to repeal or amend the Wicks Law and Triborough Amendment, both beloved of unions because the laws empower organized labor at the expense of school districts. Mr. Suozzi is equally brave with his ideas on reducing payrolls and reforming pensions.

Mr. Spitzer could offer a plan that’s even better than either Mr. Faso or Mr. Suozzi has produced so far, going on the offensive in the Tax Cut War of 2006. Or, if he’s afraid of offending his base, he could come up with a plan for cutting taxes and spending without taking on organized labor, although, considering the role public-sector unions played in creating the mess, that route would be much harder. Instead, Mr. Spitzer has assailed New Yorkers with deafening silence or, worse, proposed a long list of spending increases, while the Democratic Party chairman recently opposed tax relief before he supported it.

The attorney general might think that his wide lead over Mr. Suozzi and generally positive poll numbers will let him skate by without committing to a tax-cut plan. It’s a gamble. New Yorkers pay some of the highest state and local taxes in the nation, and it’s risky to have nothing to say on the issue. Mr. Spitzer grabbed headlines with his claim that he knew better than the New York Stock Exchange how to spend the exchange’s money on things like executive compensation, but what New Yorkers really care about is how he’ll spend – or save – their own tax dollars.