State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli sent a letter to members of New York’s congressional delegation this week to express his support for the Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, which he says includes reforms that are “critical” to the state pension fund of which he is the sole trustee.

“As a long-term investor, the Common Retirement Fund relies on investment returns for 80 percent of benefits paid retirement system pensioners,” the comptroller wrote.

“It is critical that we avoid future market upheavals like the one that that led to the Great Recession and harmed institutional and individual investors alike. The recent downturn not only eroded the value of the Fund, but has also further harmed taxpayers by necessitating significant contribution increases for State and local government employers.”

DiNapoli’s management of the pension fund has become a central issue of the state comptroller’s race, with his GOP opponent, Harry Wilson, accusing him of mis-stating recent gains and being too political in wielding his clout (like say, through the BP shareholder lawsuit in which DiNapoli hopes to land lead plaintiff status).

Wilson has so far not taken a public position on the Wall Street reform bill, which has passed the House but is stalled in the Senate – in part because the death of Sen. Robert Byrd has left the Democrats short a vote.

Shortly after the release of his letter (which came from the state comptroller’s publicly-funded press office), DiNapoli’s campaign re-released it with an accompanying statement questioning Wilson’s position on Wall Street reform and saying his silence on the matter has been “deafening.”

“Perhaps it is unsurprising that Wilson, a product and continued beneficiary of the world of unregulated hedge funds, would fail to take a position on legislation that will reign in the excesses of Wall Street,” the DiNapoli campaign’s statement reads.

“But shouldn’t we expect more from the person asking to be put in charge of New York State’s Common Retirement Fund for more than 1 million New Yorkers and their families?”

“This legislation will help put an end to many outrageous practices that generated enormous profits for Wall Street firms at the expense of taxpayers.”

“The people of New York State deserve to know if Hedge Fund Harry is on their side or if he will continue to condone the irresponsible practices that helped cause the recent financial crisis. More than a year after President Obama first proposed sweeping financial reform legislation, the silence from Harry Wilson is indeed deafening.”

It should be noted that this comes as Wilson announced he has raised $1.1 million, loaned his campaign $2.3 million and has $2.7 million on hand – an interesting attempt by the comptroller to try to deflect attention away from the fundraising numbers and change the subject.

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