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Choosing A New Comptroller
New York ended 2006 under a cloud of scandal. The state’s Comptroller resigned under pressure for misusing taxpayer dollars. Coupled with previous investigations, indictments and prison sentences for other officials, the resignation by the Comptroller meant that in the year 2006, New York reached a new ethical low. But now the state must choose a new Comptroller. The Comptroller plays an important role in New York State government. The Comptroller is the state’s chief fiscal watchdog. The Comptroller invests the public employees’ pension funds, reviews and approves state spending, and monitors the spending of governmental agencies. The Comptroller is charged with examining state agencies and in some cases reveals problems with the way in which these entities run their programs. The Governor runs the state agencies and, inevitably, the watchdog activities of the Comptroller can lead to conflict. That’s why the Comptroller is a separate, statewide elected official. The drafters of the state constitution wanted the executive branch to be monitored by someone who was independent of the Governor. In doing so, they hoped that the Comptroller would be willing to independently and accurately review agencies’ activities, even if it incurred the wrath of the Governor. If the Governor appointed the Comptroller, the drafters felt that he or she would not have the independence necessary to monitor the spending of taxpayers’ dollars. And that’s why the constitution charges the Legislature with appointing the Comptroller’s replacement in the event of a resignation. The framers wanted to make sure that the Legislature was in the dominant position to approve a replacement in order to maximize the new Comptroller’s independence. Under the state constitution, the Legislature meets in joint session to collectively vote to approve a replacement Comptroller. As a consequence, Democrats who have an overwhelming majority of the 212 state legislators will control the choice a new Comptroller – with the lion’s share of the Democrats in the Assembly majority. That’s why you are hearing so much about how individuals interested in applying for Comptroller are jockeying for the support of the Speaker of the Assembly. So what should be done? The Legislature should consider the following factors in choosing a new Comptroller: Integrity. Given the circumstances of the previous Comptroller’s departure, the new Comptroller must be widely viewed as a man or woman of integrity. Independence. Given the Comptroller’s watchdog role in state government, the replacement must clearly be independent of the Governor. But he or she must be viewed as independent of the Legislature as well. How can this be assessed? The new Comptroller must have a track record that shows that she or he is willing to stand up to the legislative leaders as well as the Governor. Reform-mindedness. The former Comptroller was widely viewed as being innovative in monitoring programs run by state and local governments. The new Comptroller must continue to follow that path of innovation. Keen understanding of state government. Through practice and under law, the Comptroller is deeply involved in the state budget process. Over the past few years, the Governor and the legislative leaders have stated that in the event that they cannot agree on how much money that state has to spend, they will agree to the Comptroller’s estimate. In addition, the Comptroller must agree that the final budget is balanced. If he does not, legislators do not get paid. Knowledge of the financial services industries. The Comptroller is the sole trustee of the $140 billion pension fund. And while the Comptroller’s staff has extensive expertise in investing these monies, the Comptroller him- or herself must have a background in financial services since that is where much of the state pension monies are invested. Of course politics will play a role, but New Yorkers must watch the process for choosing the new Comptroller to make sure that political considerations are not the major factors in the choice. That’s all for now. I’ll be keeping an eye on the Capitol and will talk to you again next week. |
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