Comptroller hopefuls go on the attack in heated debate

The months of sniping between Democratic Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Republican challenger Harry Wilson boiled over Monday during the candidates' first debate, with Wilson hammering DiNapoli for being a creature of Albany and DiNapoli accusing Wilson of engendering the economic collapse.

DiNapoli, a longtime Assemblyman from Great Neck known for his placid demeanor, attacked Wilson's Wall Street background, citing it over a dozen times in the hourlong debate at Pace University in lower Manhattan.

"It's a choice between middle-class values and Wall Street values," DiNapoli said. "My opponent comes from Wall Street, the least transparent part, the hedge fund industry."

Wilson argued that DiNapoli, who was installed to the office by state legislators in 2007 after Alan Hevesi resigned in scandal, would be more beholden to his former legislative colleagues than to the people of New York.

"Mr. DiNapoli I can tell is a nice guy," Wilson said. "He's a 24-year creature of Albany. . . . I think the controller has to be the primary watchdog for the taxpayer. I will use every power at my disposal, every skill I've built up over the course of my life."

Wilson, who is vying to become the first Republican elected comptroller since Edward Regan in 1990, tried to tie DiNapoli to the Hevesi scandal, noting that Attorney General Andrew Cuomo has withheld an endorsement to his fellow Democrat because the office remains under investigation.

"Is the attorney general investigating you personally?" Wilson asked DiNapoli.

"Read the papers," DiNapoli snapped back. "There's an investigation going on, we all know that. If you want to ask questions about the investigation, ask the people doing the investigation."

Throughout the debate, DiNapoli and Wilson argued over who would best manage the state's $130 billion pension fund, the comptroller's primary responsibility. DiNapoli touted his record during his 3 ½ years in office, while Wilson recalled his record working on the post-bailout turnaround at General Motors and suggested more outreach to the private sector.

"We have more investment talent in this state than anywhere else in the world and we don't adequately use it," Wilson said.

But DiNapoli said Wilson's background would lead the state down a troubling road.

"He's one of the Don Juans of Wall Street," DiNapoli said, "and now he preaches like he's St. Francis of Assisi coming to save the state."