Joe Morelle

I just got off the phone with one of Hillary Clinton’s newly deputized "rapid responders," Assemblyman Joe Morelle. In the spirit of rapid responding, I named a few elected officials and asked him to say the first thing that popped into his head:

Hillary Clinton: “Extraordinary”
Bill Clinton: “Smartest man in any room he‘s in.”
Barack Obama: “Very talented and has a lot of promise.”  read more »

Even with former city and state comptrollers on a screening panel, some lawmakers still believe the next state comptroller will be one of the Assembly Democrats who are campaigning for the position. So far, the Assembly candidates include Joe Morelle, Richard Brodsky, Tom DiNapoli, Felix Ortiz, and Pete Grannis.

So how does an Assembly member separate himself from the other candidates?

One way, which could ingratiate himself with the new governor, is to show a track record of pushing for legislative reform.

One sign of that support for former Assemblyman Scott Stringer's resolution supporting rules changes recommended by the Brennan Center. Jeremy Creelan, formerly of the Brennan Center, already sent a letter saying Morelle was supportive of the Brennan Center's recommendations and therefore, demonstrated the kind of independence a comptroller needs.

It's also worth noting that the other comptroller candidates - Brodsky, DiNapoli, and Grannies - never signed onto it. Ortiz, who is considered a bit of a long shot. It's unclear how vocal any of them were on the issue, but a paper trail is a paper trail

-- Azi Paybarah

Even with former city and state comptrollers on a screening panel, some lawmakers still believe the next state comptroller will be one of the Assembly Democrats who are campaigning for the position. So far, the Assembly candidates include Joe Morelle, Richard Brodsky, Tom DiNapoli, Felix Ortiz, and Pete Grannis.

So how does an Assembly member separate himself from the other candidates?

One way, which could ingratiate himself with the new governor, is to show a track record of pushing for legislative reform.

One sign of that support for former Assemblyman Scott Stringer's resolution supporting rules changes recommended by the Brennan Center. Jeremy Creelan, formerly of the Brennan Center, already sent a letter saying Morelle was supportive of the Brennan Center's recommendations and therefore, demonstrated the kind of independence a comptroller needs.

It's also worth noting that the other comptroller candidates - Brodsky, DiNapoli, and Grannies - never signed onto it. Ortiz, who is considered a bit of a long shot. It's unclear how vocal any of them were on the issue, but a paper trail is a paper trail

-- Azi Paybarah