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Comptroller
DiNapoli: $1.79 M On Hand
Jul 15th - 5:53 pm
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli has raised $1 million since January and has $1.79 million on hand, according to a fundraising summary released by his campaign.
That’s $1 million less than the $2.7 million balance announced yesterday by his GOP/Conservative opponent, Harry Wilson, although $2.3 million of that is the former hedge fund manager’s own money.
It’s also not much more than the $1.3 million DiNapoli reported having on hand in mid-January.
All told, DiNapoli has raised $3.1 million. He spent $521,699 over the last six months.
“Our campaign has garnered strong support from across New York State,” DiNapoli campaign manager Mark Benoit said.
From Buffalo to Brookhaven, and all points in between, a broad range of New Yorkers have demonstrated that they believe in the leadership of Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.”
“I am confident that in the coming months we will continue to have the resources necessary to promote our winning message of protecting taxpayers’ money and increasing accountability in government.”
Wilson Loans Campaign $2.3 M, Has $2.7 M On Hand
Jul 13th - 2:05 pm
Republican Harry Wilson has released his first campaign finance report of the election cycle, which reveals the former hedge fund manager has so far sunk $2,253,000 of his own cash into his bid to oust Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
All told, Wilson took in $3,397,592 during this reporting period, $1,139,169 of which he raised, and spent $633,153. he has $2,764,439.
That’s twice the $1.3 million DiNapoli reported having on hand in mid-January. The comptroller recently announced that he had decided to end his self-imposed contribution limit of $10,000 for inidividuals in the face of a tough challenge from Wilson.
“We are very pleased with where we are in this campaign,” said Wilson campaign manager Chapin Fay.
“We began fundraising in earnest just eight weeks ago, and the response has been strong. Harry Wilson is better qualified for this office than his opponent, and with this type of support, we are confident that we will be able to let voters know that statewide well in time for the November election.”
DiNapoli Uses BP As Ammunition Against Wilson (Updated)
Jul 7th - 1:36 pm
Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s campaign is responding to Republican Harry Wilson’s 5-point plan for reforming the office he’s trying to hold onto this November.
The Democratic incumbent is trying to paint his challenger as a defender of BP for refusing to say that suing the oil company is a good idea.
DiNapoli campaign spokesman Eric Sumberg released the following statement:
“By publicly declaring his support for protecting the corporate interests of BP, Harry Wilson has now made clear that he aligns perfectly with the far-right wing of the Republican party.
“From Republican Rep. Joe Barton, who apologized to BP for President Obama’s ‘$20 billion shakedown’ of the company, to GOP Senate candidate Rand Paul, who called President Obama’s criticism of BP ‘un-American,’ Harry Wilson, who comes from the world of unregulated hedge funds, now joins the pantheon of Big Oil defenders.”
“We need a comptroller who is looking out for the financial well-being of every day New Yorkers, not multinational corporations.”
UPDATE: Wilson’s campaign manager Chapin Fay e-mailed a response, which appears after the jump.
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DiNapoli Gets A Campaign Spokesman
Jul 1st - 11:48 am
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is beefing up his campaign staff, hiring on a spokesman who is so confident of the former assemblyman’s chances at victory that he’s departing the Senate payroll to take this political gig.
Eric Sumberg, who has worked as Sen. Tom Duane’s communications director since last March, called to report that today is his last day with the Manhattan senator. He’ll be joining DiNapoli’s campaign as press secretary next Tuesday.
Up to this point, consultant John Del Cecato (who’s also working for AG contender Eric Dinallo and has in the past worked for AG Andrew Cuomo and ex-AG/Gov. Eliot Spitzer) has been splitting press duty with DiNapoli’s campaign manager Mark Benoit, backed up on the government end by OSC spokesman Dennis Tompkins.
DiNapoli, who was appointed to his post in February 2007 by his former legislative colleagues after ex-Comptroller Alan Hevesi was felled by Chauffeurgate, is facing a tough challenge from Republican former hedge fund manager Harry Wilson.
The two campaigns have traded barbs in recent weeks over a controversial amortization plan that Wilson characterizes as borrowing from the pension fund and DiNapoli’s camp insists is merely “smoothing” to provide predictability for local governments and the state when it comes to contributions.
Dems Slam Wilson’s Wall Street Ties
Jun 21st - 11:36 am
Republican state comptroller candidate Harry Wilson is in town today to highlight what his campaign calls the “fiscally reckless” pension fund borrowing scheme that is the “brainchild” of his Democratic target, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli.
DiNapoli has insisted through a spokesman that he hasn’t yet signed off on what was initially reported as a tentative deal between legislative leaders, the governor and the comptroller, but the Times’ Danny Hakim noted the idea actually orginated with the comptroller’s office.
The task of defending DiNapoli has fallen to state Democratic Party Executive Director Charlie King, who put out a pre-press conference statement belittling Wilson as “Hedge Fund Harry” and slamming him for his ties to Wall Street.
Wilson has sought to spin his Wall Street experience as an asset despite widespread negative public opinion about the financial industry in the wall of multiple government-funded bailouts and bonus scandals.
Clearly, the Democrats aren’t going to let him do so unchallenged.
“Someone needs to tell Harry Wilson that, after Wall Street brought our economy to its knees, no New Yorker buys the idea that a flashy Wall Street résumé means you’re a prudent, long-term investor,” King said.
“Hedge Fund Harry needs to abandon his run-and-hide approach to campaigning: running on his self-proclaimed financial abilities, while hiding the details of his Wall Street past and personal fortune.”
“If he wants New Yorkers to trust him with their pensions, Hedge Fund Harry needs to come clean with New Yorkers about how he earned his fat paychecks, how he invests his own money, and how he performed when he was gambling with others people’s money,” King continued.
“Until then, New Yorkers have every right to ask ‘exactly who is Hedge Fund Harry?’ Don’t hedge, Harry. Come clean.”
Wilson Seeks Debate Over Pension ‘Raid Scheme’ (Updated)
Jun 16th - 10:56 am
Republican Harry Wilson is keeping the heat on the man he’s trying to oust, Democratic state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, over a proposed pension fund borrowing plan, calling for a televised debate on the issue.
“Mr. DiNapoli supported questionable borrowing schemes for 20 years in the State Assembly, but now he seems confused by the definition of the word,” Wilson said in a press release.
“So I am pleased to offer him a debate opportunity to make his positions on borrowing schemes and other matters pertaining to the office of the state comptroller abundantly clear.”
“This issue is important to the taxpaying public, and I will make myself available to any New York television station graciously willing to host this debate. I ask Mr. DiNapoli to do the same.”
Wilson slammed DiNapoli for flip-flopping on this issue, saying he “alternately a) proposed the plan himself, b) opposed the plan, and c) claimed not to be familiar with the plan, even though the Governor issued it on January 14th of this year.”
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PEF And CSEA Support DiNapoli
Jun 14th - 5:04 pm
PEF and CSEA wasted no time this afternoon in issuing statements praising state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli for pledging to protect the state pension fund from any sort of raid to balance the budget.
Much of organized labor community has already endorsed DiNapoli, and given the effusive tenor of these statements, I expect CSEA and PEF will likely follow suit.
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Wilson Coy On Self-Funding
Jun 14th - 4:27 pm
State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is widely considered the weakest link on the statewide Democratic ticket next fall, so it’s only logical that his Republican opponent, Harry Wilson, is seen as the GOP’s best shot at victory in November.
But, as Siena poll spokesman Steve Greenberg noted during one of his many interviews today, former Comptroller Alan Hevesi cruised to re-election in 2006 despite the toxic combination of the Chauffeurgate scandal, then-AG Eliot Spitzer’s un-endorsement and a boatload of free media received by his GOP challenger, Chris Callaghan.
The voters didn’t remove Hevesi from office, his guilty plea to a felony charge brought by Albany DA David Soares did.
Such is the power of incumbency – especially for a Democratic incumbent in a Democrat-dominated state who holds a down-ballot office that not many people have heard of, much less care about.
According to today’s Siena poll, DiNapoli is leading Wilson 45-22, with 36 percent undecided. DiNapoli has a 19-25 favorable/unfavorable split, with 64 percent unsure of who he is. Wilson’s split is 9-11, 79.
In short, things look good for DiNapoli – unless Wilson can raise his name recognition and get his message out in a big way between now and November.
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The Debate Debate Begins (Updated)
Jun 8th - 10:28 am
…Speaking of early, the first debate gauntlet has been thrown down by Republican Harry Wilson, who today challenged his Democratic target, state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, to a head-to-head match-up in every major media market between now and Election Day.
“New York taxpayers have been badly burned by the current leadership in Albany and they need to hear what the two state comptroller candidates plan to do about it,” Wilson said in a press release.
“Our taxpayers are supposed to have a chief fiscal watchdog overlooking state budgets, so how is it possible that we are in the shape we are in? Mr. DiNapoli probably doesn’t want to answer questions like that, but it his obligation to the voters of this state to make himself available to them.”
The debate challenge is a time-honored tradition for insurgents. And the traditional response for incumbents, who want to avoid engaging – and thereby legitimizing – their opponents for as long as humanly possible, is: “Thanks, but no thanks.”
I expect to see a lot more of this as the campaign season heats up. But Wilson is the first statewide contender to go there…at least as far as I can recall.
UPDATE: Here’s the response from the DiNapoli campaign:
“We look forward to comparing Comptroller DiNapoli’s strong record of achievement and reform to our opponent’s career that began at Goldman Sachs and continued in the unregulated hedge fund industry.”
“Tom DiNapoli has spent the last three years providing solutions to our state’s tough fiscal problems, conducting a top-to-bottom overhaul of the Office of the State Comptroller, and managing one of the nation’s best performing pension funds. Harry Wilson, so far, has offered nothing.”
“Maybe in his spare time, Mr. Wilson will finally release his full tax returns so New Yorkers can learn a little more about what’s in his financial closet. Comptroller DiNapoli will debate when the time is right, and he’ll bring his tax returns.”
All In The Endorsement Family
Jun 8th - 10:09 am
A reader forwarded this very laudatory – and very early – endorsement by The Jewish World of state Comptroller Tom DiNapoli (“a mensch for all seasons!”) and said he couldn’t help noting the fact that the publisher & editor-in-chief of the publication, Jerome Lippman, has a personal connection to the Long Island Democrat.
Lippman’s wife, Beth, works for DiNapoli’s campaign, his campaign manager Mark Benoit confirmed. Beth Lippman is a part-time office manager for DiNapoli 2010, Benoit said, and also does some liaison work for the Jewish community on the comptroller’s behalf.
Beth Lippman started working for DiNapoli’s political operation less than a month ago. The endorsement came out last week.
Benoit noted that DiNapoli has long-standing ties to The Jewish World and has been supported by the paper in his past campaigns.
He also insisted he has been talking to Beth Lippman about coming on board with the campaign since February, but didn’t have the ability to hire her until recently because the campaign didn’t actually have an office until early April.
“This was in no way a quid-pro-quo,” Benoit told me in a recent interview. “We hired her long before the endorsement.”
It goes without saying that the Jewish vote is going to be important in the upcoming general election, in which DiNapoli is facing off against Republican Harry Wilson. DiNapoli’s strongest supporter, Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, is an Orthodox Jew and will do doubt also be doing his part to assist his former conference member with that particular voting bloc.
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