J. Christopher Callaghan

The Public Advocate just repaid the city four years' worth of reimbursements for using a city employee as a chauffeur.

The Times takes a look at a loan program plagued with fraud while Andrew Cuomo was HUD secretary.

Spitzer wants to boost the level of school aid the city gets from the state. John Faso doesn't.

Right when he took office, the State Comptroller steered a no-bid contract to a former employee who worked on his campaign.

Coop says that Faso's focus on the Hevesi chauffeur stuff was a tactical blunder.

Christopher Callaghan said his personal investments are "not extensive."

Cuomo said his opponent in the attorney general's race should repay taxpayers the more than $100,000 her state-employed driver earned in overtime.

Ray Hernandez looks at Chris Shays to illustrate the challenges faced by moderate Republicans in the Northeast.

The wife of an upstate Republican congressman who had previously called 911 from their home said yesterday, "At no time did I need to be protected..."

Robert DeNiro is making automated telephone calls for Hillary Clinton.

The Staten Island Advance endorses Hillary, saying "it almost doesn't matter who is running against her..."

A CNN poll shows Barack Obama second only to Hillary for the Democratic nomination in 2008; Rudy Giuiliani and John McCain are in a statistical dead heat.

-- Azi Paybarah

Christopher Callaghan is kicking off a statewide bus tour starting Wednesday that will take him to "all corners of the state by election day," according to his campaign.

It's unclear where exactly Callaghan's "Tax-Less Express" will be stopping, but the idea is to get the least-known Republican running this year in front of as many voters as possible before Nov. 7 on what I assume is still a very limited budget.

I'm just surprised he'd do anything at this point that risks taking the focus off of Alan Hevesi.

-- Azi Paybarah

At an event yesterday at which Christopher Callaghan was endorsed by Staten Island Republicans, most of the officials focused on Callaghan's discovery of Alan Hevesi's chauffeur scandal.

Most of them.

When Rep. Vito Fossella endorsed Chris Callaghan, the congressman, who a few months ago was found to have misused campaign funds on ski trips for his family, made no mention of Hevesi or the scandal that is ostensibly giving Callaghan a fighting chance on Election Night.

When I asked Fossella afterwards if he, like most of the speakers there, thought that Hevesi should be removed, he said, "I think the purpose here is to say Chris Callaghan will bring a much-needed dose of good government. From what I've seen, I'm hard pressed to see how he can stick around."

Later, I asked Fossella if his own situation had been at all similar to Hevesi's.

Fossella: "No."

Me: What's the difference?

Fossella: "We complied with all the letters of the law and we're fine with it."

The Chairman of the Brooklyn Republican organization, who had said that anybody who did what Hevesi did should be led out in "handcuffs and chains," said he had never heard of Fossella's transgression. (And didn't he didn't seem too interested in the details when I spoke to him.)

-- Azi Paybarah

Eliot Spitzer just revoked his endorsement of Alan Hevesi. "Recent developments in the Comptroller's race are deeply troubling," said Spitzer in a statement. "The outcome of the Ethics Commission investigation presents information that compromises Alan Hevesi's ability to fulfill his responsibilities."

"J. Christopher Callaghan's experience and substantive positions lead me to believe he is not qualified to be Comptroller. Therefore, I can no longer support either candidate in the state Comptroller's race. I am confident that State Senate proceedings will carefully evaluate the facts and recommend appropriate action. In the event that Mr. Hevesi is removed from office through such a proceeding, it is the obligation of state leaders to act in a bipartisan manner to find a highly-qualified replacement."

UPDATE: Here's Alan Hevesi's response:

"I have a great deal of respect for Attorney General Eliot Spitzer and believe he will make an excellent governor and will implement essential reforms. I also believe that 5 million voters should choose the next State Comptroller on November 7th."

--Jason Horowitz

Alan Hevesi's campaignis an expensive one, with all the trappings you'd expect of statewide incumbent's reelection effort.

Christopher Callaghan, by comparison, has been a bare-bones effort.

But now, the Republicans, probably sensing an opportunity in light of the chauffeur scandal, are rallying to bolster his stretch-run effort.

Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno's spokesperson, Lisa Black, is taking a two-week leave from her job starting today to work full-time on Christopher Callaghan's campaign. Speaking late yesterday, Black said they plan to do some quick fund-raising and hopefully cut a television ad.

-- Azi Paybarah

So Alan Hevesi is going to debate comptroller opponent Christopher Callaghan after all.

It'll take place tomorrow on NY1 at 7 p.m., with Dominic Carter moderating.

Any guesses as to the rationale of Hevesi's timing?

-- Azi Paybarah

The folks at The Poughkeepsie Journal sure are lucky. They scheduled their editorial board meeting with Alan Hevesi right after the chauffeur scandal broke, according to the editorial page editor, John Penney.

"It was one of the first questions we asked him," Penney told me yesterday.

Hevesi's opponent, Christopher Callaghan, just had his interview with the paper, which will make its endorsement in the race soon.

-- Azi Paybarah

Voters don't care much about Alan Hevesi's chauffeur scandal, but what about the donors?

According to Hevesi's 32-day pre-general election filing, he's raised more than $70,000 in contributions from individuals and corporations since the story broke on Sept. 22. His bow-tied opponent, Christopher Callaghan, got more than half of his $35,163 in contributions during that same period.

Hevesi's post-scandal money came from 14 contributors. Callaghan's came from 27.

And to put it all in perspective, Hevesi has $5,872,586.53 left on hand. Callaghan...$43,147.21.

-- Azi Paybarah

The Newsday blog has a nice dispatch from the meeting of the NY Association of Counties in Lake George, featuring a jaunty Christopher Callaghan - the GOP's new, post-Pirro Great Hope for 2006 - and a contrite Alan Hevesi.

Callaghan: "It's great to be among good honest folk and away from Albany, city of mandates, regulations, chauffeurs."

Hevesi: "I'm taking a pounding and it's well deserved."

-- Josh Benson

With control over $129 billion in pension funds, budget oversight and audit functions at stake, you  read more »