The 2006 New York Comptroller Election took place on November 7, 2006 with the incumbent,

Alan Hevesi Alan G. Hevesi (born January 31, 1940) is a former American politician and convicted felon who served as a New York State Assemblyman from 1971 to 1993, as New York City Comptroller from 1994 to 2001, and as New York State Comptroller from 2003 ...

winning against Republican challenger Chris Callaghan. Hevesi was plagued by scandals during the campaign involving misuse of state funds. Hevesi won the election, resigning a few days before his second term would have begun.

Democratic Party

is the incumbent Comptroller of the State of New York. A

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

and former professor, Hevesi was first elected State Comptroller in 2002. Hevesi served two terms as New York City Comptroller from 1994 to 2002, when he was term-limited out of the office. He was being investigated for using a state employee as a chauffeur for his wife and failing to keep records or reimburse the State of NY by the Albany County District Attorney and was found to violate state law by the New York State Ethics Commission.

Republican Party

Christopher Callaghan, the

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

candidate, served as the

Treasurer A treasurer is the person responsible for running the treasury of an organization. The significant core functions of a corporate treasurer include cash and liquidity management, risk management, and corporate finance. Government The treasury ...

Saratoga County, New York Saratoga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, representing a 7.2% increase from the 2010 popu ...

from 1997 to 2006. He was first appointed by Governor

George Pataki George Elmer Pataki (; born June 24, 1945) is an American lawyer and politician who served as the 53rd governor of New York from 1995 to 2006. An attorney by profession, Pataki was elected mayor of his hometown of Peekskill, New York, and went on ...

in 1997, and elected to a full term later that year. He was reelected twice.

Third Parties

On the ballot

Julia Willebrand Julia Willebrand is an American environmental, peace and education activist and was the Green Party nominee for the office of Comptroller of the State of New York in the 2006 New York state elections. Biography Julia was born in the Bay Ridg ...

(

Green Green is the color between cyan and yellow on the visible spectrum. It is evoked by light which has a dominant wavelength of roughly 495570 nm. In subtractive color systems, used in painting and color printing, it is created by a combi ...

), educator and peace activist *John Cain (Libertarian), insurance broker *Willie Cotton (Socialist Workers), journalist and former candidate for congress

No ballot access

*Michael Cronmiller (Right to Life), failed to obtain required signatures for 2006 election cycle

Comptroller election background

Nominee Alan Hevesi and the Democratic ticket

Alan Hevesi was the nominee of the Democratic Party for Comptroller. He served as Comptroller of New York City from 1994 to 2001 when he attempted a run for Mayor of New York City. Failing that, Hevesi ran for state Comptroller in 2002 defeating Republican challenger

John Faso John James Faso Jr. (born August 25, 1952) is an American attorney and politician who served as the U.S. representative for from 2017 to 2019. Faso was first elected to the post in 2016. A Republican, Faso previously represented the 102nd dis ...

. In 2006, controversial allegations regarding Hevesi's tenure as Comptroller arose including admitted use of a state employee as a chauffeur for his wife and the purported use of state employees along the campaign trail. At a commencement address he delivered at Queens College on June 1, 2006, Hevesi told his audience that Senator

Charles Schumer Charles Ellis Schumer ( ; born November 23, 1950) is an American politician serving as Senate Majority Leader since January 20, 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, Schumer is in his fourth Senate term, having held his seat since 1999, and ...

was so tough he would "put a bullet between the president's eyes if he could get away with it." Several hours after his remarks, Hevesi apologized for his comments, calling them "beyond dumb," "remarkably stupid" and "incredibly moronic." On October 12, 2006, Albany County District Attorney

David Soares P. David Soares (born October 26, 1969 in Brava, Cape Verde) is the Albany County, New York District Attorney. He is a Democrat. Personal life Soares was the youngest of the six children of Lucas and Lidia Soares.Hank Morris. On October 23, 2006 the New York State Ethics Commission deemed that Hevesi's actions involving the chauffeur violated state law, finding that: *Hevesi used two state employees as drivers *One of the drivers used a car owned by the state *There was a "low threat risk" against Hevesi's wife with no documented threats against her and only one against him – which they discounted as not serious *Hevesi never intended to reimburse the state On October 26, 2006, Democratic

gubernatorial A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

candidate Eliot Spitzer withdrew his endorsement of Hevesi saying, "Recent developments in the Comptroller's race are deeply troubling. The outcome of the Ethics Commission investigation presents information that compromises Alan Hevesi's ability to fulfill his responsibilities." On November 4, 2006, Hevesi was ordered to pay an additional $90,000. "Considering the record as a whole, I believe there is a preponderance of evidence that the comptroller knowingly and intentionally violated New York's public officers law," Kelley said in his 24-page report to Pataki.

Nominee Christopher Callaghan and the Republican ticket

Christopher Callaghan was the nominee of the Republican Party for Comptroller. Callaghan was Treasurer for

Saratoga County Saratoga County is a county in the U.S. state of New York, and is the fastest-growing county in Upstate New York. As of the 2020 U.S. census, the county's population was enumerated at 235,509, representing a 7.2% increase from the 2010 popul ...

from 1997 to early 2006 when he resigned to begin his campaign for state comptroller. There were reports that state party leaders were trying to recruit

Rockland County Rockland County is the southernmost county on the west side of the Hudson River in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the New York metropolitan area. It is about from the Bronx at their closest points. The county's population, as of t ...

Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef to run for comptroller against Treasurer Callaghan. Vanderhoef announced that he was not running for comptroller and instead announced his candidacy for lieutenant governor. Callaghan spent much of the summer travelling to the many

county fair An agricultural show is a public event exhibiting the equipment, animals, sports and recreation associated with agriculture and animal husbandry. The largest comprise a livestock show (a judged event or display in which breeding stock is exhibit ...

s throughout New York. On September 21, 2006, Alan Hevesi admitted that he hired an employee of the state to drive around his wife after Callaghan made a public statement on the matter and called the "Comptroller's hotline." Callaghan used the Comptroller's hotline during the campaign to call in misuses of government funds specifically found in Hevesi's office.

Newspaper endorsements

*''

Poughkeepsie Journal The ''Poughkeepsie Journal'' is a newspaper based in Poughkeepsie, New York, and owned by Gannett, which bought the paper in 1977. Founded in 1785 (though not a daily newspaper until 1860), the ''Journal'' is the oldest paper in New York state, a ...

'': Callaghan *

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

: Callaghan *''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

'': Callaghan *''

Times Herald-Record The ''Times Herald-Record'', often referred to as ''The Record'' or ''Middletown Record'' in its coverage area, is a daily newspaper published in Middletown, New York, covering the northwest suburbs of New York City. It covers Orange, Sullivan ...

'': Callaghan *'' Newsday'': Callaghan *''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'': Callaghan *'' New York Daily News'': Hevesi *''

Buffalo News ''The Buffalo News'' is the daily newspaper of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area, located in downtown Buffalo, New York. It recently sold its headquarters to Uniland Development Corp. It was for decades the only paper fully owned by W ...

'': Callaghan *Brooklyn Papers: Callaghan *''

Rochester Democrat and Chronicle The ''Democrat and Chronicle'' is a daily newspaper serving the greater Rochester, New York, area. At 245 East Main Street in downtown Rochester, the ''Democrat and Chronicle'' operates under the ownership of Gannett. The paper's production fac ...

'': Callaghan *''Jamestown Post Journal'' *''Troy Record'': Callaghan *''

Syracuse Post Standard ''The Post-Standard'' is a newspaper serving the greater Syracuse, New York, metro area. Published by Advance Publications, it and sister website Syracuse.com are among the consumer brands of Advance Media New York, alongside NYUp.com and ''The ...

'': Callaghan

Opinion polls

^† Of voters polled in Albany, Rensselaer, Saratoga and Schenectady counties.

Election results

Dates

*A debate was held on October 25, 2006 by

NY1 NY1 (also officially known as Spectrum News NY1 and spoken as New York One) is an American cable news television channel founded by Time Warner Cable, which itself is owned by Charter Communications through its acquisition in May 2016. The channe ...

. *The election was held on November 7, 2006.

References

External links

Chris Callaghan's 2006 campaign websiteNew York State Office of the Comptroller
{{2006 United States elections Comptroller 2006 New York