A Campaign Is Revived With the Help of a Stranger

NY Times ^ | October 1, 2006 | MARC SANTORA

[neverdem]

J. Christopher Callaghan, the Republican candidate for New York State comptroller, has a secret friend.

“I don’t know his name,” Mr. Callaghan said in an interview.

But one thing is clear: For some reason, he said, the person clearly despises his opponent, the incumbent, Alan G. Hevesi, a Democrat.

It was this secret friend who whispered rumors to Mr. Callaghan that Mr. Hevesi’s wife was being driven around by a state employee at taxpayer expense.

When Mr. Callaghan made the charges public last week, his long-shot candidacy was given new life, and Mr. Hevesi was forced to apologize. The comptroller also decided to reimburse $82,000 to the state.

With the Republican Party’s other statewide candidates either trailing badly in the polls, like John Faso, who is running for governor, or wrapped up in scandal, like Jeanine F. Pirro, Mr. Callaghan is now looking like the one bright spot for the party this year, although his candidacy is still considered a long shot.

Until his recent troubles, Mr. Hevesi was considered a shoo-in for re-election to the job of comptroller, a post with a low profile but sizable responsibilities. Through New York’s pension fund, the comptroller controls more than $120 billion in assets, more than twice the entire gross domestic product of Guatemala. The office also monitors the billions more spent by the state each year.

Should Mr. Callaghan defy the odds, it would be quite a leap for a man whose job as Saratoga County treasurer — a post he held from 1997 until this summer, when he decided to run — put him in charge of about $60 million annually. But he says he is not in the least bit daunted.

Mr. Callaghan, 59, said he first thought about running in 2004 after Mr. Hevesi made changes to the...

[neverdem]

Nathaniel Brooks for The New York Times
A tip from a secret friend helped J. Christopher Callaghan report charges against his opponent.
HEVESI: I HAVE NO EXCUSES - APOLOGY OVER DRIVER (NY State Comptroller, repeat of NYC scandal)

[kcvl]

Hevesi: I'm sorry for unpaid bill

Having sent $82G check, comptroller calls using state driver for his wife and not paying 'really inappropriate"; Callaghan gets in a dig


http://tinyurl.com/rhkrk


Hevesi began by explaining the need for his wife, Carol, who is recovering in a nursing home from several surgeries, to have a driver. Hevesi, who has taken several controversial stances in his role as state comptroller and, before that, New York City comptroller, said, "I have been subject to a number of threats from a number of sources, physical threats against me and, by implication, my family."


"Is there one set of standards for Eliot Spitzer and Alan Hevesi, and another set for everyone else?" Faso told reporters at the association meeting. "Can you imagine if this was a Wall Street executive what Eliot Spitzer would be saying?"

[Al Simmons]

The scumbag will probably win anyway. NY is such a 'Rat dive. I remember back in 1978 when a senior at my High School brought then-Queens-assemblyman Hevesi to give a short talk to our class...of course this was in one of the most left-wing districts anywhere...which went McGovern in 1972...

[PajamaTruthMafia]

You gotta love it. For the NYT, the story is not the guy ripping off the State but they guy running against him. They use it a way to take question his competence and take a swipe at Republicans in general. But, they aren't biased right? Unflippin real!

[Question Liberal Authority]

But one thing is clear: For some reason, he said, the person clearly despises his opponent, the incumbent, Alan G. Hevesi, a Democrat. It was this secret friend who whispered rumors to Mr. Callaghan that Mr. Hevesi’s wife was being driven around by a state employee at taxpayer expense.

HUH? How can the New York Times possibly draw any conclusion about the motives of the "whistle blower"? They are just patriotically practicing their First Amendment obligations. The people have a right to know.

If we were to infer that the "secret friend" despises Hevesi, then we would also have to infer that The New York Times has a political agenda whenever they expose some secret of the Bush Administration. But the New York Times has no political agenda. And it must be true because I read it in the New York Times.

[Sherri-D]

Hevesi began by explaining the need for his wife, Carol, who is recovering in a nursing home from several surgeries, to have a driver. Hevesi, who has taken several controversial stances in his role as state comptroller and, before that, New York City comptroller, said, "I have been subject to a number of threats from a number of sources, physical threats against me and, by implication, my family."

No one disputes some arcane need, but who is paying for it is the only issue. A cheat and a thief

[mass55th]

State employees are not allowed to accept gratuities of any kind, nor use the employer's resources for their own personal needs. Havesi has been an elected official, having first served in the State Legislator for 25 years and then as Comptroller at different times. He knew full well that his use of a state employee for personal reasons was wrong. If his wife needed to be driven around, he should have solicited a family member (one son presently serves in the State Legislator...another served until 2003), or hired a private driver for her. But of course he figured he'd be able to save a few bucks by skimming from the state's coffers. He should have to resign, but because he's a Democrat, he'll be allowed to pay back the state, and get on with his political career. It's the same story every time. Dems get away with crimes while Republicans pay the price. Had it been a lowly civil servant who did this, he'd have been fired, fined and face possible outside criminal charges.

[mass55th]

State Legislator=State Legislature

[mewzilla]

How did Hevesi come up with the 82 grand figure, I wonder? For three years, that sounds lowball to me...

[Sherri-D]

I believe I said just that, only shorter. :)