December 8, 2006

 
On December 1, we praised Governor-elect Eliot Spitzer for the ethics reforms he adopted unilaterally.  You can link to our article, which includes a link to Spitzer's press release on ethics.  He deserves credit for the high standards he has imposed on himself and his administration.
 
We are disappointed, however, at the ferocity with which state officials appear to be pursuing his running-mate, Comptroller Alan Hevesi. There is no doubt that Hevesi did wrong by misusing his car and driver.  He has apologized and paid what was asked of him by the State Attorney General.  His action may deserve further punishment, such as censure, a fine, or the loss of his state car.  But an effort to drive an independently elected executive from office, based on facts that were widely known at the time of his election, seems to be an over-reaching attempt to frustrate the public will by applying standards of conduct never previously used for such a purpose.
 
The comptroller is supposed to be an independent watchdog over state agencies, public authorities, local school boards and his sway includes the office of the governor’s office.   As far as we know at this point, he has performed that function with distinction for four years.  If evidence is submitted of other misconduct, we would want to review the situation.  We do not believe the comptroller should be a gubernatorial appointee, or hand picked by the Speaker of the Assembly, as would
be the case if the elected Hevesi were removed or forced to resign.  We particularly do not believe that the office should be used to create a "balanced ticket" of state officials along geographic, religious or ethnic lines.  That mistake was made when Governor Cuomo rejected Carol Bellamy and demanded the election of Carl McCall as Comptroller on the resignation of Ned Regan in 1993,  Mr. McCall had been Cuomo's running mate for lieutenant governor in 1982  Although Cuomo won, McCall lost to Al DelBello of Westchester, who stuck it out for just two years before quitting for a job in private industry.

The State Comptroller is an independent elected official for a valid reason, just as the New York City Comptroller is elected separately from the Mayor, he should not be an appointee. 
 
Today's Times carries a fair and balanced story, HEVESI IS SAID TO WANT TO FIGHT FOR HIS JOB, by Michael Cooper on pB5.  There is also an editorial, THE COMPTROLLER'S GLASS HOUSE, on A34, which continues the Times editorial board’s righteous anti-Hevesi campaign, which began in October.  It is interesting to see this high moral stance from the newspaper which endorsed George Pataki twice for re-election after he became widely known as the governor of pay to play.

Hevesi is not a popular figure with politicians.  He is self-contained, somewhat depressed, and has the arrogance of academia as well as the pomposity of politics.  He does not have friends who are speaking up on his behalf.  For the record, we are in no way close to Hevesi.  He treats us with the same condescension he sometimes manifests to others. I cannot recall ever having had a serious conversation with him.  But when I was Parks Commissioner, he treated our agency fairly and without prejudice, and did not make decisions which would have made our work much more difficult.
 
As reformers, we are enormously concerned about misconduct and conflicts of interest by public officials.   But one does not impeach a state-wide elected official for misusing his car and driver, just as one does not impeach a President of the United States for a personal affair, inappropriate as it may have been.  In cases where impeachment is pursed, high ground shifts, thus the tables are turned. In the eye of the public, the moralists become the hypocrites, and the sinner becomes the victim.
 
There will be more about this in the media in the weeks to come, but an underlying theme is the power of the electorate in a democracy.  As you know, the word ‘demos’ is Greek for people. 2,193,603 demos voted for Alan Hevesi on November 7. This came after his wrongdoing had been publicized on the front papers, in television, and after the New York Times urged the election of J. Christopher Callaghan, the Republican-Conservative candidate for Comptroller.
 
Technically, any taking of something that is not yours can be considered a crime, so it is likely that a local district attorney can find cause for an indictment.  As former Chief Judge Sol Wachtler said, "Even a modestly competent district attorney can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich."   If every state and city official who used his or her government car for personal business were to be brought before the bar of justice and punished under the Penal Code, there would be more executives in jail than outside, and it would be extremely difficult to find the quorum necessary to conduct business.meetings.

It is possible that the Comptroller will be induced or intimidated into resigning.  People often say they will fight to the end the day before they throw in the towel.  That decision is his to make;.  There is also a certain irony in his having been elected City Comptroller by making allegations of unethical conduct by the incumbent, Elizabeth Holtzman, in 1993.  But we recall that Ms. Holtzman made her bones in 1973 by trampling on the deservedly vulnerable Richard Nixon, who in his turn had Red-baited Congresswoman and actress Helen Gahagan Douglas in their 1950 Senate race in California.  Nixon called her 'the pink lady,' and said she was pink right down to her underwear.  She, in turn, was the first to call him Tricky Dick, a name that stuck.  Rule 10: "I wonder why."

When I was Commissioner, we never fired anybody between Thanksgiving and New Year's Day, so as not to ruin their families' holidays.  This was a latter-day equivalent of the medieval Truce of God.   We trust that state officials will show the same civility, and that whatever proceedings lie ahead of us take place, if they must, after the inaugural.  We hope that there will be no more petty slights inflicted on any elected officials; public events are not private parties.  The Times says today that people in glass houses should not throw stones.  That is true, but it is also true that one should not throw stones at people who may be living in glass houses.
 
Reader response has been favorable to our column criticizing the City Council for taking the raises recommended by the Quadrennial Commission and ignoring their proposals for reform.   Those of you who are more than casually interested in this subject can link here to the report of the Quadrennial Commission.



#336 12.08.06  1121wds