October 26, 2006
Hevesi Says He Won't Resign
During an election debate, State Comptroller Alan Hevesi said he would not resign after the State Ethics Commission found he violated state law by having a state driver chauffeur his wife. Hevesi made what the NY Times called "a spirited and at times emotional defense tha was alternately apologetic and defiant." He also continued to claim there were security threats against his wife - hence the need for a driver - threats the State Ethics Commission found to be non-existent.
Republican challenger Chris Callaghan emphasized the findings from the ethics report (which also noted that the driver wasn't part of a security detail anyway, that Hevesi never intended to pay the state back for the driver's services and may have even underpaid), “That’s a serious ethical failing. And it has destroyed your credibility." Hevesi pointed out Callaghan's own spotty records as Sarasota County treasurer, but, really, Hevesi is the damn State Comptroller. Look at what the State Comptroller's responsibilities are - "Reviewing State contracts, payrolls and payments before they are issued." The whole matter is just deflating and disappointing, because Hevesi has done a good job on most everything else.
Much of the debate centered around Hevesi's controversy. Callaghan, who the Daily News called "Knot Ready for Prime Time" (he wears bow-tiess) because of an underwhelming performance, told reporters, "I was pleased to moderate the debate between [New York 1 News anchor] Dominic Carter and Alan Hevesi. I think I did very well."
Attorney General and likely next Governor Eliot Spitzer will most likely withdraw his endorsement of Hevesi. Scuttlebutt is that Governor Pataki will ask the State Senate to start proceedings to remove Hevesi from office, with the Governor's office looking for replacement candidates. And a blast from the past: Hevesi broke the law when he used sirens on his car to get to a press interview in 2001.
Photograph of Hevesi during last night's debate by Keith Bradford/AP
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how about if we use "That’s a serious ethical failing. And it has destroyed your credibility..." as a rationale to have bush impeached? the repubs are hypocrites.
Hevesi should be ashamed of himself for running his mouth off about his wife's medical problems on TV, trying to use her poor physical and mental health as an excuse for cheating taxpayers.
To say he was worried about his wife's security, but didn't have a cop doing the chauffeuring (which is what happened with Giuliani's wife) is pretty bogus. He had a middle-aged office worker keeping the Mrs "safe," and stuck us with the bill.
He should do the honorable thing and resign, and promise not to take office if re-elected. The state should also bar him from holding public office in the future, and any professional licensing he holds should also be suspended.
And for those of you comparing him to Bush and complaining a republican double-standard -- it's a lot easier to take down a state official than the president. Government on all levels is oozing with corruption and abuse, and you have to start somewhere cleaning it up.
If the majority of voters agree with you, reg dem, it will happen. But Spitzer better be careful about messing with Hevesi if he's the people's choice for comptroller - it would kill Spitzer's reformer creds right from the beginning if he tried to undo the popular will. If this came up half-way though a term, that's one thing, but since it's right at an election, it's up to the voters.
I love it when Republican Candidates complain about Ethic!
As for Spitzer, he's just doing the dance. Ultimately, the voters will decide.
While there were no direct threats against Mrs. Hevesi, it's not unreasonable to believe that threats against Alan Hevesi have applicability to the family. As the Ethics Committee report says:
" Notably, during the period February 2003 until June 2006, the security team received no threats to Mrs. Hevesi (Fiore: 280; Johnson: 322-323). There were incidents directed at the Comptroller: a license plate was stolen from the Comptroller's car, and the windshield on his car was smashed while it was parked outside his Queen's residence. There were other incidents involving the Comptroller which invoked angry responses, such as his June 1, 2006 commencement address at Queens College in which he made a critical statement about President Bush, and his role beginning in July 2006 in a back pay dispute concerning the State's corrections officers. Those incidents, however, did not produce any threats to Mrs. Hevesi. By July 2006, Mrs. Hevesi had entered a nursing home because of her health issues (Fiore: 268-271, 279-282; Johnson: 343-347; Hevesi: 521, 625-628).
Despite this record, the Comptroller himself believed that there was a security risk to Mrs. Hevesi and disagreed with the NYSP assessment (Hevesi: 612-613). The Comptroller testified that he viewed Mrs. Hevesi's health needs as related to her security needs and relied on his own personnel in assessing the risk to her (Hevesi: 607, 611-612). Although Mrs. Hevesi was never threatened, the Comptroller believed that a "threat to me . . . is a threat to the family as well," especially due to his wife's "vulnerable state" (Hevesi: 599-600). For the Comptroller, security meant preventing her from falling down a flight of stairs, preventing "someone trying to try to get to me through her" (Hevesi: 521), and giving her "peace of mind; that there's someone there in an emergency if she needs help, if the car breaks down, if she gets jostled, the whole range" (Hevesi: 522)."
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/ethc/NORC/Hevesi.htm
As the report details, he made multiple requests for advisory opinions since at least as early as 2003 for a security detail for his wife.
In an advisory opinion, the Committee wrote:
"However, in those situations when legitimate security concerns are not found to be present, or when the function is unrelated to your official business, you should refrain or reimburse the State for any costs incurred for the use of State resources to avoid the appearance that you are using your position as Comptroller for some unwarranted benefit for your wife [Public Officers Law §74(3)(d)], or that you are otherwise engaged in acts in violation of the public trust [Public Officers Law §74(3)(h)] (E: 13)."
Refrain or reimburse. Hevesi has reimbursed for the driving. _Late_, quite obviously, but the Ethics Commission details how he repeatedly asked for this assistance, the fact that the "threat assessment" for Mrs. Hevesi _only_ looked at threats to her, and not Alan Hevesi, and did not look to her physical condition.
What were left with is Hevesi really, really, wanted a security detail for his wife, repeatedly asked for it, and he reimbursed the state, per the Ethics Committee's directive, much too late.
This is what people are getting their knickers in a bunch over? Right.
How about Joe Bruno, who is screaming for Hevesi's head, strong-arming state agencies to hand AMD $1.2 _billion_ to build a plant in his district?
http://www.officeroutlook.com/news/Infrastructure/1094.htm
Hevesi paid his "bill." Is Bruno going to reimburse New Yorkers for the hand-off to AMD?
Hypocrisy from the upper echelons of the Republican party aside, Hevesi should resign or face disgrace from being forced out.
Then again, so should Hastert, the pedophile-enabling blowhard.
Listen: this is easy. You have a soon-to-depart fiscal expert, right now, who is more than capable of acting for Hevesi; who is a Republican (but not a partisan hack); and, who would give immediate credibility to Eliot Spitzer's claim to be a reformer. What's more, he would be acceptable to ALL the players in Albany that count; he would let Spitzer start a clean term without the Hevesi scandal around his neck; AND he would be a fine trustee for the state's pension fund. (Being rich, he wouldn't steal.)
What's more, he wouldn't be Shelly Silver's choice or Joe Bruno's choice. He's somebody the whole table could agree on:
Andrew Eristoff, the current (but soon to depart) New York State Finance Commissioner.
You heard it here first.