It's official: Adolfo Carrion is no longer waffling between Mayor and Comptroller.

This morning, at his ABNY debut, Carrion declared he is not going to run for Mayor and plans to seek the office of Comptroller.

The running Spitz List of Comptroller Candidates and suggested slogans:

William Boyland, Jr: Did I Mention My Last Name is Boyland?

Jim Brennan: Couldn't Think of Anything Better to Do

As the newspapers continue to criticize the State Legislature's choice for Comptroller, I wanted to provide an alternative viewpoint:

1 - Tom DiNapoli is as qualified as state or city comptrollers New Yorkers have chosen in the past. As an elected position, the process allows for ANYONE to hold this position - no financial background required.

2 - Mr. DiNapoli received bi-partison and bi-cameral support.

3 - Assemblymembers have a relationship with Mr. Dinapoli. He is well liked and trusted. It's not 'cronyism' to vote for someone you know and trust.

4 - The State Democrats voted in-step with their leader, yet have received little criticism. In fact, if the Democrats owned only two more seats in the Senate, they would be in the same position.

Mr. DiNapoli is the Comptroller, despite being having been called “unqualified,” and it is now his burden to prove the critics wrong. Unlike the Governor or the media it is not his technical qualifications that trouble me. Experts can be hired to provide information and advice, although the person doing the hiring must have enough knowledge to evaluate that advice, which often conflicts. My concern with a former member of the Assembly serving as Comptroller is different -- conflict of interest. Our incumbent elected officials, those who work for them, and the small number groups that support them, have become an insular tribe with overlapping interests that conflict with, and have been given priority over, those of most current and all future New Yorkers. As Comptroller, Mr. DiNapoli will oversee three functions -- financial reporting, auditing of state agencies and local governments, and pension administration. In each of those functions, doing an honest job would require him to show, for all to see, who the winners are, and who the losers are.

WNBC is reporting that State Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver is saying the next New York state comptroller will be Nassau County Assemblyman Tom DiNapoli.

Session is set to start at 2:15.

Hey. How's it going? Everyone settling in nicely now that Pataki's gone? Congrats, too, on adding another Democratic State Senator. Slowly but surely, eh?

Anyhow, I want to talk with you a little bit about this whole Hevesi replacement situation.

See, I like Governor Spitzer. I voted for him. I am hopeful about his agenda to reform the way you guys all do business on the Hudson. I didn't vote for Shelly Silver. I didn't vote for Joe Bruno. Neither of those guys represent me, neither of those guys represent anyone in WNY, and none of them are particularly interested in what goes on out here in the stix, right? I mean, Silver is from the lower east side of Manhattan, and Bruno has a nice horse farm near Saratoga. I don't mind Silver running the Assembly or Bruno running the Senate. After all, they're elected to do so by their membership. What I do mind is that they see themselves as co-Governors of the state along with Spitzer.

Let me start by saying that I like Alan Hevesi.  When you spend too much time involved in politics, you learn that many of our wise elected officials are really nothing more than vapid, empty suits that are able to memorize some lobbyist talking points when making an argument.  Spending much of my time around so many mediocre pretenders in the political clubs and chambers in which I have participated, it was a breath of fresh air whenever I happened to find myself involved in a conversation with Alan Hevesi.  Whether he was NYC Comptroller, Mayoral Candidate or NYS Comptroller, Hevesi always made me, and the others involved in our conversations, feel important (a trait that neither Dan nor Andy learned from their father).  He gave thoughtful, well reasoned answers to the numerous policy and political questions he received from people he barely knew and wouldn't remember after he had left the room (including me).  He never lost the college professor, ivory tower demeanor and occassionally I did notice that conversations with him were a little like a professor giving a lecture to his college students, but it was a class and lecture I would've enjoyed and it did not bother me as much as it did others.  To me, Hevesi was one of the few bright bulbs in a state dominated by dimwits.  I was one of the few people that supported his mayoral candidacy and believed in 2001 that New York would have been a much better city under Hevesi than under the other four candidates (including Bloomberg). 

Deal or No Deal?

The edit heads at the Daily News vote No Deal today for City Council pay raises (of which, Barry Popik reminds us).

But we here at Backroomie, we're in to matters even more ludicrous. And that's the panel that Mayor Bloomberg created to render advice on this matter.

Frank Lombardi of the said News recently reminded us that this panel historically is but a facade for money-hungry lawmakers, and that in the past 23 years they have never NOT recommended a salary increase. OK.

We know. It's very early. But, John Toscano of the Queens Gazette throws some fuel on the Comptroller 2008 2009 fire. Says that Council Finance Chair, David Weprin, has planned a May 2nd fundraiser for a possible Comptroller bid; and that Finance Commissioner, Martha Stark, will also be throwing her hat into the ring.