Board cuts one DiNapoli challenger from ballot, leaving three-way primary

ALBANY — The Democratic primary for state comptroller has narrowed to a three-man race.

The state Board of Elections voted Tuesday to remove Adem Bunkeddeko from the ballot, leaving five-term incumbent Thomas DiNapoli and two challengers — former nonprofit housing executive Drew Warshaw and former Kansas State Assemb. Raj Goyle.

The board found that Bunkeddeko failed to get 15,000 registered Democrats to sign his petitions, a key condition of getting on the ballot for the June primary. Board staff reviewed the 22,062 signatures Bunkeddeko’s campaign filed and 11,225 found were invalid, leaving 10,837 valid.

Bunkeddeko’s campaign said it remained confident he would be on the ballot in June but did not comment further on the board’s decision. Bunkeddeko previously filed a petition in state Supreme Court in Albany County asking a judge to validate his petitions, and a hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

Republican Joseph Hernandez is also running in the general election.

Warshaw had also tried to get Goyle kicked off the ballot for not having enough valid signatures, but the board found that Goyle had 16,004 valid signatures out of the 31,250 he filed, enough to clear the 15,000 signature requirement.

The two primary challengers now are seeking to oust DiNapoli as the state’s chief fiscal watchdog and overseer of a nearly $300 billion pension fund, a role he has held since 2007.

Both challengers have said they are running because they believe DiNapoli has not done enough to address the challenges everyday New Yorkers face. They pledged to use the office in a more aggressive way, including auditing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, divesting from companies involved in the federal immigration crackdown and using pension funds to invest in affordable housing.

DiNapoli’s campaign previously said it welcomes the challengers, noting that neither has been endorsed by an elected official.

Both Goyle and Warshaw have raised more money than DiNapoli. But DiNapoli holds a slight financial edge, thanks to matching funds from the state's public campaign finance program.

With matching funds, Warshaw has raised $2.58 million while DiNapoli and Goyle have both raised over $3.15 million.