Talk Turns to Thompson as Hevesi Falters
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The newest political parlor game in Albany is guessing who will be the state’s next comptroller.The most talked about names are not on the November ballot.
Alan Hevesi’s swift fall from grace is raising speculation about who would replace him if he resigns after the November 7 election, a race he is favored to win despite his legal problems.
The target of a criminal and an ethical investigation into his use for three years of a state employee as a chauffeur for his ailing wife, Mr. Hevesi, 66, may succumb to pressure to step down before the end of the year.
If a vacancy arises, the power to elect a replacement is vested in the state Legislature, whose 212 members in the Assembly and Senate would hold an election. Controlling 105 votes in the Democrat-controlled Assembly — two short of a majority in the combined Legislature — speaker Sheldon Silver holds the most cards. It’s unlikely, however, that he would elect a comptroller who is unacceptable to Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, a Democrat who is the front-runner in the governor’s race.
Democrats in Albany are reluctant to talk about what is developing into an underground campaign for a statewide office. One assemblyman, Richard Brodsky, dismissed the guessing game as “silly.” Privately, however, party insiders are floating several names.
The most prominent name on the short list is New York City’s comptroller, William Thompson, an African-American who is widely talked about as a potential mayoral candidate in 2009. Mr. Hevesi’s resignation would offer Mr. Thompson a chance to win a powerful statewide job without spending a dollar or campaigning a day.
By taking a job in Albany, Mr. Thompson would put himself on the long-term path toward the governorship, possibly creating a rivalry with another rising Democrat, Andrew Cuomo, who lost a 2002 bid for governor and but is favored to win this year’s race for attorney general.
Another name on the short list is William Mulrow, a labor-friendly investment banker from Bronxville who lost to Mr. Hevesi in the Democratic primary for comptroller in 2002. Among those being talked about as successors to Mr. Hevesi, Mr. Mulrow is the closest to Mr. Spitzer.
Mr. Silver and Mr. Spitzer could turn to the chairman of the Assembly’s ways and means committee, Herman “Denny” Farrell, who is also the chairman of the Democratic Party. Mr. Farrell, whose chances to become speaker have waned in recent years, might welcome the chance to retire from the Assembly. For lawmakers, the move would mean that one of the most sought after and lucrative posts in the Assembly — chairman of ways and means — would become open, giving them a chance to move up the legislative ladder.
Mr. Hevesi’s departure would also give a Spitzer administration a chance to plug some demographic gaps by adding an upstate dimension to a Democratic ticket that is monopolized by New York City residents. There are murmurs in Albany about Mark Poloncarz, the young comptroller of Erie County who had been supported by the retiring majority leader of the Assembly, Paul Tokasz. Mr. Poloncarz is a Buffalo lawyer who joined Senator Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign as a Western New York coordinator.
One Democrat also floated Mr. Silver himself as a sleeper candidate.With his power in Albany threatened by the rise of Mr. Spitzer, Mr. Silver, who has served as speaker since 1994, could be looking for a graceful exit.
Even if Mr. Hevesi is not indicted by the Albany County district attorney, which earlier this month began a criminal probe into Mr. Hevesi’s alleged misappropriation of state funds, the Queens Democrat may find it untenable to continue acting as New York’s fiscal watchdog and custodian of the $140 billion pension fund.
After acknowledging last month that he disobeyed the state ethics commission by not paying for the driver and was returning more than $80,000 to the state government, Mr. Hevesi has kept a low profile. His campaign is refusing to release a public schedule and has denied requests from reporters for interviews with the comptroller. A spokesman for the campaign did not return a call for comment.
Albany observers say the Democratic strategy is to “run-out-the clock” for the next two weeks. The party is assuming that Mr. Hevesi will be able to hang on for the next weeks and beat back his little-known Republican challenger, J. Christopher Callaghan, a former treasurer of Saratoga County whose efforts to capitalize on the investigations have been hampered by his lack of resources and name recognition. His war chest is estimated at $250,000, which is not enough money to mount a major statewide television campaign that would introduce him to more voters. “Ideally, we would like to see the level of support necessary for Chris Callaghan to be elected comptroller. But we are aware there are other priorities for Republicans this year,” the Republican candidate’s son and spokesman, John Callaghan, said.