The View From Here . . .

Most political pundits are proclaiming this to be a huge Democratic year in New York State, with much of the competitive interest this year focused on the colorful race for attorney general. However, one other race, for comptroller, could prove to be a sleeper, with potential for an upset.

Comptroller Alan Hevesi, the Democratic incumbent, was elected state comptroller in 2002, winning a fairly close race against John Faso, this year's GOP gubernatorial nominee. Mr. Hevesi had previously been New York City comptroller and unsuccessfully ran for mayor in 2001.

Mr. Hevesi's Republican challenger is J. Christopher Callaghan, the Saratoga County Treasurer, who boasts that he has "been in the business of public finances since 1971". Mr. Callaghan, who wears a trademark bow tie, started out virtually unknown around the state. Moreover, at least up to now, Mr. Callaghan's campaign has been very much underfinanced with the candidate often trying to drum up publicity by doing appearances at upstate fairs and Republican gatherings.

Not surprisingly, the controller campaign started out pretty humdrum, with Mr. Hevesi, sporting about $6 million of campaign dollars in the bank and enjoying a big lead in the opinion polls.

However, things have changed considerably since, following a telephone call placed by Mr. Callaghan to the comptroller's own "hotline", it was revealed that Mr. Hevesi's wife, who has been ailing, has received the services of a state employee as a chauffeur over a three year period.

Mr. Hevesi has apologized for the use of the state employee and paid $82,000 back to the state. The New York Post also reported that Mr. Hevesi had used the same driver to ferry his wife to and from medical appointments during Mr. Hevesi's stint as New York City comptroller and had to make about $6,300 in reimbursements to the city after the story received press coverage.

The Hevesi story, while not nearly as well publicized as Jeanine Pirro's marital difficulties, has started to get considerable traction. Mr. Hevesi has so far declined to schedule a debate with his opponent and largely disappeared from the campaign trail. He has also refused to discuss the chauffeur matter with newspaper editorial boards.

Moreover, the chauffeur issue made more headlines when the Albany County district attorney, David Soares, a Democrat, announced that he was opening up an investigation of the matter.

According to the New York Post, Mr. Hevesi has now turned "control of his office over to his longtime political consultant, Hank Morris, in hopes of staving off a criminal indictment." Meanwhile, the paper reports that the scandal has turned Mr. Hevesi into a "pariah" of New York politics. "Nobody wants to be anywhere near Hevesi," said a campaign operative working for one of the other Democrats running statewide this year. "He's become radioactive. Nobody wants to be seen or photographed with him."

Meanwhile, Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner Eliot Spitzer, while previously praising the comptroller as "honest", was noncommittal about Mr. Hevesi this week in a meeting with the Daily News editorial board. The paper reported that "Spitzer declined to offer any defense of Hevesi. Asked if Hevesi's ability to perform his duty as the state's top fiscal watchdog had been compromised, Spitzer said, "I'll let the voters decide that."

Mr. Hevesi's commercials, which emphasize his accomplishments as comptroller, continue to run frequently and he currently maintains a huge name recognition advantage over Mr. Callaghan. But don't be very surprised if voters decide on November 7 that the low-profile Saratoga County man with the bow tie is the right man for the job.