The vote in the New York State Legislature as to who will replace Alan Hevesi as Comptroller was not unanimous. It wasn’t 212 to zero. It wasn’t even strictly along party lines. Moreover, according to press reports, different legislators had different opinions, and some even expressed them in the legislative chamber, and then voted based on those opinions. I didn’t think of this at first, because the media did not focus on it. News outlets instead discussed the result of the vote. Thinking about it, however, it is almost stunning, given that this is the New York State Legislature we are talking about, that it might have been a real vote. This may be an aberration, but if it is a sign of things to come, then it is good news.