(Photo: Getty)

Mr. DiNapoli is able to put pressure on corporations due to his role managing the state pension fund. According to his office, the fund has about $1.9 million in shares of Dunkin' Donuts among its investments and Mr. DiNapoli issued a shareholder resolution asking the coffee and pastry company to address the environmental concerns of palm oil production. In exchange for Mr. DiNapoli withdrawing the resolution, Dunkin’ Brands Group will upgrade its palm oil usage all the way up to 100 percent "sustainable" palm oil--that is, collected from producers who meet certain environmental standards.

“Dunkin’ Brands should be commended for taking the necessary steps to use only sustainably harvested palm oil in its products,” Mr. DiNapoli said in a statement. “Consumers may not realize that many of the foods and cosmetics they eat and use contain palm oil that has been harvested in ways that are severely detrimental to the environment. Shareholder value is enhanced when companies take steps to address the risks associated with environmental practices that promote climate change.”

Mr. DiNapoli won similar palm oil battles with the Sara Lee Corporation in 2010 and J.M. Smucker Company in 2012.

Shirley Huntley's mugshot.

Former State Senator Shirley Huntley, who has already plead guilty to federal embezzlement charges, decided to settle her affairs this morning by pleading guilty to separate state-based charges of tampering with evidence during the embezzlement investigation. Specifically, in the words of Attorney General Eric Schneiderman when he unveiled the indictment last summer, Ms. Huntley was accused of "falsifying business records, conspiracy and tampering with an investigation in a scheme to steal taxpayer money using a sham nonprofit that did not provide any services to the public whatsoever.”

Ms. Huntley initially maintained her innocence, including issuing a forceful declaration in an "Emergency Press Conference" on her front lawn. This morning, however, the former southeastern Queens lawmaker reversed course and directly admitted to breaking the law to benefit Parent Workshop, the "sham nonprofit."

"In or around March 2011, I assisted Roger Scotland and Patricia Savage by drafting a letter to be used to create a false record indicating that events on behalf of the Parent Workshop had taken place at the Beacon Center," Ms. Huntley said. "I understood that the false record would be submitted by Patricia Savage in response to a subpoena issued as part of the Attorney General's investigation of Parent Workshop."

For their part, A.G. Schneiderman and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who jointly led the state investigation, took a victory lap with statements released after Ms. Huntley's admission.

“It is unconscionable that an elected official would deliberately tamper with a law enforcement investigation into the theft of taxpayer dollars," Mr. Schneiderman said. “Former Senator Huntley’s felony plea sends a strong message that those who abuse their positions to rip off taxpayers and tamper with investigations will be held accountable. My office’s partnership with the Comptroller is designed to combat such corruption, and we will continue to work tirelessly to protect every penny of taxpayer money during these challenging economic times.”

“Former Senator Huntley betrayed the trust of her constituents and her public duty,” Mr. DiNapoli said. “State officials must be held to the highest standards. My office will continue to work with the Attorney General to investigate wrongdoing and protect taxpayer funds.”

Other individuals, including Ms. Huntley's niece, Lynn Smith, still face charges due to their connections to Parent Workshop.

(Photo: NY1)

A couple days ago, the New York Daily News reported former Governor Eliot Spitzer "is being talked about" as a potential primary candidate against incumbent Comptroller Tom DiNapoli, a move he had reportedly seriously considered in 2010. On NY1's Inside City Hall last night, however, Mr. Spitzer dismissed the speculation and labeled Mr. DiNapoli "a buddy."

"It was a tabloid and you know I've always said ... to you, 'I never trust what's in the tabloids!'" Mr. Spitzer declared over the protestations of host the show's host, Errol Louis, a former Daily News columnist.

Mr. Spitzer pointed to the fact that he didn't comment for the article, which only cited Democrats privately bandying his name about and not anything from the former governor himself.

"Look, I haven't even seen the article," Mr. Spitzer said. "I got a call or two about it. I think--I hope--the article said I did not speak to the reporter, have never spoken to him about it. It's just made up out of nowhere. I have no idea where it comes from."

Pressed further about his opposition to Mr. DiNapoli's initial appointment following Alan Hevesi's forced resignation after he was found misusing state resources, Mr. Spitzer claimed Mr. DiNapoli was a "great friend" and said there had never been any personal animosity between the two.

"This is for people who have a long, long history," Mr. Spitzer explained. "Back to 2007, when Alan Hevesi had resigned, the Assembly and the State Senate chose Tom DiNapoli. Tom is a good friend. I've always liked him. Been a buddy of mine. Wonderfully nice. Decent, good person. My issue was I thought they should have chosen someone with deeper roots in the financial sector, who understood what is primarily a financial job, managing pension funds, auditing, etc."

Tom DiNapoli

New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli estimates the damage from Hurricane Sandy could cost the state at least $18 million. Mr. DiNapoli announced his estimate in a statement this afternoon.

"My office’s preliminary estimate of economic losses due to the storm ranges from $15 billion to $18 billion. Our daily infrastructure of highways, power, sewer and water--the elements of modern life that we take for granted--have all been altered by this storm," Mr. DiNapoli said. "Though the rebuilding effort may offset some of these losses, we must continue to monitor what the long-term economic impact to New York will be."

Mr. DiNapoli based his estimate on "initial assessments in relation to previous natural disasters." His statement noted this estimate is "speculative" as economic losses will include disruption to business and property loss that was not included in other estimates and there are many "unresolved economic variables" including the duration of power outages and the full effect of flooding on infrastructure and the environment.

In compiling his estimate, Mr. DiNapoli cited disruption in the financial sector, damage to infrastructure, potential disruption in tourism and flooding, including at contaminated sites like Newtown Creek and the Gowanus Canal where "the full extent of environmental hazards is yet to be determined."

While Mr. DiNapoli noted federal assistance will cover the cost of emergency public transportation and power restoration, he expressed his support for the efforts being made by Governor Cuomo, Senators Schumer and Gillibrand, and the New York delegation for federal reimbursement for all repair and recovery costs. He has also notified state agencies his office is expediting approval of contracts and payments for hurricane recovery work.

"The sooner we get contractors on the ground to assist residents and business owners, the faster New York will be back on its feet," Mr. DiNapoli said.

Mr. DiNapoli is also directing his office to prepare a more comprehensive report of hurricane-related costs as more information becomes available.

The shareholder resolution is calling on ExxonMobil to explicitly prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender.

“ExxonMobil is putting investors at risk by failing to prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity,” Mr.  DiNapoli said. “ExxonMobil claims it does not have discriminatory policies but it continues to deny health benefits to same-sex couples who are married in New York State that are automatically given to married couples. I urge shareholders to support my proposal to ask ExxonMobil to end these practices and bring this company into the modern age.”

A vote on the proposal is slated for May 30.

In a release, Mr. DiNapoli notes that Exxon Mobil is just the latest company in which the pension fund invests that he has urged to expressly prohibit discrimination. Since 1999, when Exxon and Mobil merged, the company  has come under fire for its decision to cease offering health-care benefits for its employees’ same-sex partners.

“Next year’s budget will be balanced, but there are still significant out-year budget gaps to be closed and risks to be managed,” Mr. DiNapoli said. “The city has relied heavily on reserves and other one-shot sources of revenue, leaving fewer reserves to cushion the impact of potential budget risks.”

Those risks include the pace of the national economic recovery, further layoffs on Wall Street, new budget agreements with the city's labor unions, and Mr. DiNapoli notes, when the city can expect proceeds from the sale of taxi medallions.

The city closed a $4.6 billion budget gap last year and has narrowed the shortfalls in coming years, but the report notes that this is largely due to the freeing up nearly $5 billion in reserves and $1 billion in anticipated revenue from the sale of taxi medallions and savings from administration cuts.

Key details from the rest of the report can be found below:

Preliminary employment data had indicated that New York City recovered
only half of the jobs lost during the recession and that job growth
slowed markedly during the second half of 2011, which raised concerns
about the pace of the economic recovery. Newly released revised data
show that New York City has regained all of the jobs lost during the
recession even though the unemployment rate remains high at 9.3 percent.

Wall Street, a key driver for the city economy, faces continued
challenges as it adjusts to regulatory reforms and recovers from the
recent financial crisis. Broker/dealer operations of the member firms of
the New York Stock Exchange (the traditional measure of Wall Street
profitability) had a strong first half in 2011, but lost $4.9 billion in
the second half. For the year, profits totaled $7.7 billion, the second
year that profits declined by more than 50 percent and the lowest level
of profitability since 2002. In response to weaker profits, Wall Street
has reduced cash bonuses and is expected to resume downsizing.

The report also found that:

·       The city currently projects a surplus of $1.3 billion for FY
2012, which the city will use to help balance next year’s
budget. The FY 2012 surplus comes mostly from a draw down in
reserves and is substantially smaller than last year’s surplus
of $3.7 billion.
·       The FY 2013 budget includes $3.5 billion in nonrecurring
resources, including $1 billion from the sale of taxi medallions
and $1 billion from the Retiree Health Benefits Trust. The city
deposited surplus resources into the Retiree Health Benefits
Trust during the last economic boom to fund the future cost of
retiree health benefits, but the city has been redirecting these
resources ($3.1 billion) to help balance the budget.
·       Most of the reserves accumulated during the last economic
expansion will be exhausted by FY 2014, leaving the city with a
much smaller cushion against future budget risks.
·       Debt service is projected to grow from $4.8 billion in FY 2011
to $7.2 billion by FY 2016, an increase of 49 percent. Debt
service is projected to consume 13.5 percent of city fund
revenues in FY 2016, compared with 10.8 percent in FY 2011.
·        As of January 2012, New York City exceeded its prerecession job
level by 17,200, with 162,200 jobs added since the recession
ended.
·       The Governor’s budget for New York State includes a number of
initiatives that would impact the city, including significant
increases in education aid (contingent on reaching agreement
with the teacher’s union on a teacher evaluation program), a new
pension plan that would decrease benefits for future government
employees and a three-year takeover of the growth in the local
share of Medicaid. These initiatives are subject to state
legislative approval.

“Cash bonuses were down in 2011, reflecting a difficult year on Wall Street,” DiNapoli said. “Profits were down sharply and securities firms in New York City resumed downsizing in the second half of the year. The securities industry, which is a critical component of the economies of New York City and New York State, faces continued challenges as it works through the fallout from the financial crisis and adjusts to regulatory reforms.”

Mr. DiNapoli also estimated that the profits for broker/dealer operations of New York Stock Exchange member firms would be half of what they were in 2010, the second year in a row that profits dropped by more than half.

Wall Street bonuses have become a hot-button issue ever since the collapse of financial markets in 2007, a symbol for many of the finance industry's excesses; there are however a vital revenue lifeline for cash-strapped New York City and state.

Mr. DiNapoli also noted that securities industry in New York City shed over 4,000 jobs in the last eight months of 2011. His report also noted that while the average cash bonus declined by 13 percent to $121,150 in 2011, the average salary (including cash bonuses) in the securities industry in New York City grew by 16 percent to $361,180 in 2010,which was 5.5 times higher than the average salary in the rest of the private sector ($66,110). Data is not yet available for 2011.

New York Leaders for Pension Reform, as the new group is called, say they will lead a  campaign travel to Albany and across the state to push lawmakers to adopt Gov. Andrew Cuomo's pension reform plan, which includes adding a sixth tier to the pension plan and switching new employees from a defined benefit to a defined contribution plan.

“The first time I traveled to Albany as Mayor in 2002, pension costs accounted for $1.5 billion of New York City’s budget. Now, pension costs account for one out of every six dollars – or 12 percent of New York City’s entire budget. These costs are unsustainable,” said Mayor Bloomberg. “Local governments around the state are all in the same boat, and we are joining together to support Governor Cuomo’s push for pension reform to ensure that boat does not become a sinking ship.  Passing responsible pension reform is essential to ensure that we can afford retirement benefits for tomorrow’s workers – and the public services that today’s citizens deserve and demand.”

Labor and Comptroller Tom DiNapoli have resisted a defined contribution plan, saying that it would do nothing to cure the immediate budget woes and could hurt later retirees.

This effort marks yet another coalition of elected leaders that Mayor Bloomberg has formed in order to push for specific agenda items. His previous efforts however, which include a coalition to reform gun laws and coalition to liberalize immigration laws, have focused on national issues and been national in scope. This is, to my knowledge at least, the first similar statewide push.

The coalition is a veritable who's who of local executives from across the state, and the only name missing, as best I can tell, is Buffalo mayor Byron Brown.

The full release is below:

Mayors and county executives from across New York State, representing more than 15,000,000 New Yorkers, today announced that they have formed a bipartisan coalition to address the crisis of skyrocketing pension costs. New York Leaders for Pension Reform will lead a vigorous campaign across the state to ensure state legislators understand the importance to local governments of passing Governor Andrew M. Cuomo’s reform plan to get pension costs under control without reducing retirement benefits for a single existing public employee. Coalition members also will travel to Albany later this month to advocate for the Governor’s plan.

Taken together, annual pension costs to local governments across the State have gone from $1.7 billion in 2002 to $12.5 billion today – an increase of more than 630 percent. Despite opposition to reform by Comptroller DiNapoli and others, members of the coalition know first-hand how runaway local pension payments have already significantly reduced localities’ ability to fund education, public safety, social services, economic development and other services – and how skyrocketing costs threaten to force severe budget cuts or tax increases in the years ahead. That is why local government leaders are demanding action from the Legislature now.

Governor Cuomo’s plan will create a new tier of pension benefits for yet-to-be-hired employees who are participating in the New York State and New York City retirement systems. Existing employees and retirees will be unaffected. The new plan would reasonably raise the retirement age for newly hired employees, and exclude overtime from the formula used to calculate the final average salary for pension payments. Further, the proposal would provide employees with the option of participating in a defined contribution plan – similar to plans common in the private sector – that some employees may decide is a better choice for their individual career path.

Today, coalition members – full list below – spoke out in favor of the Governor’s proposal:

“Exploding pension costs are the single biggest threat to local government’s ability to deliver needed services,” said Westchester County Executive Robert Astorino. “It will be impossible to provide any real property tax relief while operating under these debilitating labor costs that automatically increase every year at an unsustainable rate. The Governor’s proposal is a good first step toward delivering savings in the long-term and I thank Mayor Bloomberg for spearheading this coalition. We must continue working together to enact this plan and other reforms that will provide relief for both today and the future.”

“Suffolk County’s pension costs per employee have risen over 1,200 percent in the past decade, that is an unsustainable mandate and it is crowding out other investments we must make in our communities,” said Suffolk County Executive Steve Bellone. “I am pleased to join with Mayor Bloomberg and local officials from throughout New York who understand the need for pension reform.”

“In Wyoming County we collect $15,184,695 in property tax levy. Wyoming County simply cannot afford to maintain this level of pension costs,” saidChairman of the Wyoming County of Board of Supervisors Douglas Berwanger. “Therefore, the Wyoming County Board of Supervisors supports Governor Cuomo’s efforts to achieve passage of the pension reform initiative.”

“The first time I traveled to Albany as Mayor in 2002, pension costs accounted for $1.5 billion of New York City’s budget. Now, pension costs account for one out of every six dollars – or 12 percent of New York City’s entire budget. These costs are unsustainable,” said New York City Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg. “Local governments around the state are all in the same boat, and we are joining together to support Governor Cuomo’s push for pension reform to ensure that boat does not become a sinking ship.  Passing responsible pension reform is essential to ensure that we can afford retirement benefits for tomorrow’s workers – and the public services that today’s citizens deserve and demand.”

“Rapidly increasing pension costs have become an unsustainable burden for local governments throughout New York,” said New Rochelle Mayor Noam Bramson. “Pension reform is urgently needed in order to relieve pressure on both taxpayers and municipal services.”

“The pension system cannot continue as it exists, it is bankrupting localities across the state,” said Watertown Mayor Jeff Graham. “I look forward to working with Mayor Bloomberg and my colleagues in government to achieve these reforms.”

“The Governor proposes pension reforms that would create flexibility in pension and retirement choices for public employees. Next to Medicaid, pension costs in New York State are the most significant burden on local governments. Unsustainable at its present rate of double digit growth, the new proposal ensures long term affordability for taxpayers while offering a secure retirement system for New York State’s public employees,” said Genesee County Legislature Chair Mary Pat Hancock. “We urge support for the pension reforms and the other important mandate relief measures in the 2012-2013 Executive Budget.”

“All local governments in New York State are dangerously close to financially ruin due in large part to the cost of public employee pensions, we need reform and Governor Cuomo’s proposal is a step in the right direction,” said Hornell Mayor Shawn Hogan. “As New York State’s longest serving mayor, I have never seen such dire financial times as we currently face, we must have a new tier now.”

“It is imperative that Albany Legislators support pension reform including the new tier proposed by Governor Cuomo. The present system is unsustainable and unaffordable and is directly affecting every municipality from New York City to Plattsburgh,” said Plattsburgh Mayor Donald Kasprzak. “I fully support immediate pension and retirement mandate reform and strongly urge the Albany Legislature to do the same as well.”

“Pension contributions are one of the fastest growing costs every county government faces,” said Onondaga County Executive Joanne Mahoney. “Onondaga County’s pension costs have more than doubled in only four years. These increases are not sustainable and real pension reform is needed now”

“New York State has reached a point where we can no longer afford the expensive public pension system,” said Nassau County Executive Edward P. Mangano. “Governor Cuomo’s reform plan would have no impact on current workers or retirees, rather it is part of a long-term strategy to be fair to both future employees while saving taxpayer money and reform a system that has become untenable.”

“Pension reform has been at the top of my legislative agenda in Albany,” said Syracuse Mayor Stephanie A. Miner. “Our pension bills have been growing exponentially each year and are a significant reason upstate cities are in precarious fiscal shape. I am pleased to join Mayor Bloomberg and other leaders to advocate for the initial reforms advanced by the governor.”

“The out-of-control increases in pension costs are threatening every local government’s ability to provide essential municipal services and adequately maintain and compensate our workforce,” stated New York Conference of Mayors President and Ogdensburg Mayor William Nelson. “Governor Cuomo’s reform proposal makes total sense, is long overdue and is good news for taxpayers, communities and public employees.”

“Governor Cuomo’s vision for reform is fair to those receiving pensions now and for those who will receive pensions in the future.  More important, his plan protects taxpayers who can no longer afford to underwrite this unsustainable benefit,” said Utica Mayor Robert A. Palmieri. “Pension obligations make up more than 10 percent of Utica’s budget. The very survival of our cities depends on changing the pension system.”

“I’ve spoken numerous times about the need for pension reform and it’s very promising to see that Governor Cuomo is acting to address the issue,” said Erie County Executive Mark Poloncarz. “I am confident that the Governor, working with the Assembly and Senate, can craft a solution that protects the retirement savings of our public workforce and their families, while addressing the economic realities presented to Erie County and municipalities across the state.”

“If retirement costs continue to escalate, counties and other local governments will have to make very difficult budget choices that pit the needs of paying for retirement against the need to provide services. None of us want to make those choices,” said Oneida County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr. “The proposal that the Governor has drafted provides the benefits that public employees deserve, at a cost that governments can afford. This is a compromise that reflects the fiscal reality of our times, and I believe it is an important and essential step New York must take.”

“I am pleased to be working with Mayor Bloomberg and my colleagues around the state on this critical issue. Pension payments are one of the top budget drivers in my city,” said White Plains Mayor Thomas Roach. “The pension reform plan put forth by Governor Cuomo in his Executive Budget is a sensible one – and one that must be passed if we are to have any hope of bringing these costs under control in the future. At the same time, it rightly recognizes and protects existing pension benefits for current employees.”

“The skyrocketing increases in our current, unsustainable retirement program will not only threaten the financial viability of every local government, school district and the state itself, but in the long run, will destabilize and bring down the very retirement system that so many claim to be concerned about. It stands to reason, if those who are paying the bills can no longer afford to do so and are going broke in the process, it’s really only a matter of time before the retirement system itself collapses under its own mounting weight,” said Jamestown Mayor Samuel Teresi. “The Governor’s proposal is a solid and effective step in the right direction and needs to be enacted as soon as possible.”

“I strongly support Governor Cuomo’s pension reform legislation. Under this proposed reform, new employee contribution rates would increase, bringing much-needed relief to county governments like Rockland,” said Rockland County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef. “It is vital that the state government address the huge unfunded mandate liability of pensions, which have significantly increased costs to the 62 counties of New York.”

Founding members of New York Leaders for Pension Reform are:

Mayors

Albany: Mayor Gerald D. Jennings

Hornell: Mayor Shawn Hogan

Jamestown: Mayor Samuel Teresi

New York City: Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg

New Rochelle: Mayor Noam Bramson

Ogdensburg: Mayor William D. Nelson

Plattsburg: Mayor Donald M. Kasprzak

Rochester: Mayor Thomas S. Richards

Syracuse: Mayor Stephanie Miner

Utica: Mayor Robert A. Palmieri

Watertown: Mayor Jeff Graham

White Plains: Mayor Thomas M. Roach

County Executives and Legislative Leaders

Albany: County Executive Daniel P. McCoy

Dutchess: County Executive Marcus J. Molinaro

Erie: County Executive Mark Poloncarz

Genesee: Legislature Chair Mary Pat Hancock

Monroe: County Executive Maggie Brooks

Nassau: County Executive Edward P. Mangano

Oneida: County Executive Anthony J. Picente, Jr.

Onondaga: County Executive Joanne M. Mahoney

Orange: County Executive Edward A. Diana

Rockland: County Executive C. Scott Vanderhoef

Suffolk: County Executive Steve Bellone

Westchester: County Executive Robert P. Astorino

Wyoming: Chairman of the County of Board of Supervisors Douglas Berwanger

The NYPD apparently spied on Muslims in Newark as well. When told of this fact, Mayor Corey Booker responded, "Wow."

Mayor Bloomberg defended the NYPD's spying of Muslim students.

The Daily News slams the president of Yale University for objecting to the practice, saying, "smart people can be pretty naive."

The convention industry is skeptical about the proposed Aqueduct convention center, fearing that it is too far from Times Square.

A State Supreme Court judge ruled that the Bloomberg administration could not impose a new, much tighter set of regulations on homeless people seeking shelter since they had hurried the implementation of those rules and violated their own rule-making procedures.

City and State publisher Tom Allon op-eds in favor of a two-tiered minimum wage that would vary based on age of employee.

The Post says that Christine Quinn's support of the lawsuit shows that she is not as business friendly as she suggests.

In a victory for hydrofracking opponents, a judge rules that individuals towns could ban the drilling process.

The Senate Republicans have paid a consultant with ties to Jack Abramoff 64% of their total campaign spending this cycle.

Two-thirds of the donors to SuperPACS have come from New York, a new study found. Reid Pillifant runs the numbers and disagrees.

Meanwhile, The Times takes a look at the new breed of super donor who have given more than $1 million to candidates.

The state Board of Elections has proposed greater disclosure for SuperPACS, but good government groups say that there are too many loopholes.

Tom DiNapoli took a quarter of his campaign cash from labor unions.

DiNapoli op-eds against a 401(k) style pension plan.

The manslaughter trial for  an Upper East Side crane collapse in 2008 began, with prosecutors saying that the crane operators cut corners in order to maximize profits.

Immigrant business owners receive little support from the city, writes Juan Gonzalez.

The Times profiles Central Park's diagnostician, whose constant testing of the park's soil keeps it looking green.

New York may ban the sale of shark fins.

A U.S. Judge was named to guide New York's redistricting efforts.

It's a new Chris Christie, who offers a bigger budget that cuts taxes.

Two western journalists were killed in Syria.

Barack Obama is preparing to offer a tax plan that would cut the corporate tax rate.

A new poll shows Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum tied in Michigan.

Mitt Romney is avoiding the press on the campaign trail.

And Obama is singing the blues.

“You see, when they fire their cannons at me, they don’t quite hit. They come up just short,” said Mr. DiNapoli, tracing an imaginary shot with his finger from the statehouse to where he stood, an office just out of reach of the governor’s supposed artillery.

Among the incoming ordnance are Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s plan to add a 401K-style sixth tier to the pension fund, a plan to take away some of the comptroller’s ability to audit government contracts, and the governor’s push for greater flexibility over governmental spending.

Despite being a Democrat, Mr. DiNapoli, has been fending off the state’s power class since he became state comptroller five years ago. This was after the then-comptroller, Alan Hevesi, had resigned en route to prison, and Gov. Eliot Spitzer, in the heaviest part of his steam-rolling phase, tried to convince the Legislature that it should abandon its legal prerogative to name a replacement in favor of a candidate recommended by a panel of former comptrollers. The Legislature, never much keen on abandoning its prerogatives, balked and then voted in Mr. DiNapoli.

He had the dual advantages of being close to Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver and beloved by his fellow lawmakers, who hailed their appointment of him as if it were the election of an assemblyman to pope. “Nice Guy Tom,” as he is known around Albany, was called a role model for their children, “as perfect as God has made anyone” in the words of one lawmaker, “Mr. Clean,” in the words of another.

But Mr. Spitzer was apoplectic.

He visited the districts of even Democratic lawmakers to denounce them before their constituents for going back on their word and naming someone who in his view was manifestly unqualified for the job just because of they liked him. Mr. Spitzer went up to lawmakers and asked them if they would support someone who had “never done this before. Never invested a penny. Never made an asset allocation decision. Don’t know a swap from a derivative,” and allow that person to invest their pension money.

In a press conference immediately after Mr. DiNapoli was named comptroller, the governor called the proceedings “an insider’s game of self-dealing that unfortunately confirms every New Yorker’s worst fears and image of all that goes on in the Legislature of this state.”

Lawmakers, he said, had asked “not who was best qualified among the 19 million New Yorkers for this job, but rather, who among us will receive as a virtual gift this job that we control?”

“There was a lot of hostility early on,” said Mr. DiNapoli, in his typically understated manner. Five years later, he sounded still a bit taken aback by all the furor. He said he had been a big supporter of Mr. Spitzer’s and that there had even been rumors that he would join his administration. He said Mr. Spitzer personally lobbied him to run for an open State Senate seat, but in the end he became a symbol for all that the governor wanted to purge from the Capitol.

“[Mr. Spitzer] was riding high at that point so a lot of the editorials going back that far were against me,” Mr. DiNapoli said.

And they stayed against him when Mr. DiNapoli went before the voters of the state for the first time in 2010. Then, he ran against Harry Wilson, a Republican and wealthy former hedge fund manager who had served on President Obama’s auto industry task force. The comptroller’s office was still being investigated by then Attorney General Cuomo for pay-to-play allegations that occurred under Mr. Hevesi’s watch, and Mr. Cuomo refused to endorse or campaign alongside Mr. DiNapoli. Mr. Wilson outspent Mr. DiNapoli two to one and garnered the endorsement of practically every editorial board in the state.

He was bolstered by his old colleagues in the Legislature—Speaker Silver introduced him to a group of Chinatown retirees as “one of us”—and, mostly, his allies in the labor movement, who contributed a quarter of all his campaign funds. (The average statewide for unions was 8.5 percent of total contributions, according to Bill Mahoney, an analyst at the New York Public Interest Group.)

In a nail-biter of an election night, he declared victory at 2 o’clock in the morning with a four-point lead over Mr. Wilson, and told those still left at the ballroom in the Sheraton in Midtown, “From the bottom of my heart, I thank my brothers and sisters in labor.”

Now, five years after getting plucked from obscurity to be one of only four statewide officials, The Nicest Guy in Albany, someone so conflict-averse that current and former staffers say he eschews staff meetings, finds himself under sustained assault by a governor with stratospheric approval ratings. During a time when Governor Cuomo is manhandling his opposition and has both Democrats and Republicans competing over who is better aligned with his agenda, Mr. DiNapoli finds himself in the unlikely role of Chief Cuomo Speedbump. And he is doing it mostly alone.

At times the animosity has turned ugly and personal. In August, Fred Dicker, the influential New York Post columnist who seems to have a direct line to the Cuomo administration, reported that administration officials referred to Mr. DiNapoli as “CB,” for “Chipmunk Balls,” for “his alleged unwillingness to help the governor battle spendthrift lawmakers.”

Asked his reaction to that column, Mr. DiNapoli pretended for a moment not to know who Mr. Dicker was, and then added, “My first office I ran for was homeroom representative in the seventh grade. I didn’t win that race. I did go on, however, to be elected president of my high school and I ran for the board of education twice. There isn’t anything anybody is saying today that isn’t too different from high school schoolyard comments.”

In an interview, Mr. DiNapoli tried to swat away the onslaught, as if it in fact weren’t so much like incoming cannonballs as like incoming spitballs.

“The tradition of this office is to not be in the partisan battles and to discuss the issues with a more long-term view and try not to get into the day-to-day warfare on particular bills,” he said. “At times the press, or other elected officials are always trying to throw us into that role. I realize there is a fine line between being totally above it all and being relevant, but I try very hard not to act like a member of the State Legislature because I am not.”

Indeed he is not. But then, even lawmakers aren’t acting like lawmakers these days. Democrats and Republicans alike have been embracing the Cuomo agenda, leaving Mr. DiNapoli in the lonely and difficult position of opposing a governor with sky-high approval ratings. Perhaps they’ve read the writing on the walls of the state’s editorial pages. Mr. DiNapoli has been pummelled for being labor’s mouth piece and trying to scare pensioners.

The deep-pocketed business lobby lined up against him too, conducting a sustained assault via press releases on his attempts to slow down Mr. Cuomo’s pension reform efforts.

Mr. DiNapoli responded with uncharacteristic snark: “I haven’t seen such a coordinated attack since Francesca was voted off Survivor,” he said in a statement.

Mr. DiNapoli said that the issues were being distorted in the mind of the public: the problem wasn’t that public-sector workers have secure pensions—it is that they are the only ones who do.

“I am concerned with some of the rhetoric about public employees versus taxpayers,” he said. “Last time I checked, public employees were taxpayers as well. So to kind of do this either/or appeal may have a certain rhetorical appeal, but it is just not accurate.”

The running assumption both within and without the Cuomo administration is far more sinister. Although most statehouse politicos preface their remarks by saying how much they personally like Mr. DiNapoli, they say he is increasingly viewed as a “shill” for the unions and they estimate the percentage of his campaign funds that came from public-sector unions vary from half to three quarters. (In fact, according to Mr. Mahoney of NYPIRG, the figure is somewhere closer to 12 percent.)

“Everyone I talk to says the same thing,” said one Albany lobbyist. “It is inconceivable that he would adopt this position in the face of mild efforts to reform pensions in New York when the pensions aren’t fiscally stable.”

Others suggest that Mr. DiNapoli’s efforts against Mr. Cuomo are even more Machivellian—that he is doing the bidding of Mr. Silver and his old colleagues in the Assembly, taking the fight to the governor because they who are up for re-election in November cannot.

“When he was quiet the complaint was nobody knows him. Well now he is getting noticed and making noise,” said former assemblyman Michael Benjamin. “I assume he wants to run for re-election. I know you are not supposed to make fascist analogies, but Mussolini was popular, but it doesn’t mean his policies were good for the Italian people. Shelly picks his spots. He knows when to thread the needle and when not to. He will oppose Cuomo when the issue is appropriate and the cards are in his favor.”

“The governor is certainly the 800 pound gorilla in the room. We have to give the governor credit for really being the force that really moves state governnment,” said David Weprin, a Queens Assemblyman. “You have the Assembly Democrats that basically have been supportive of state pensions and governmental employees and a lot of those types of issues, and Tom does come out of the Assembly, so that might be some of his background.”

Mr. DiNapoli, though, isn’t beyond leaving a few marks on his own. He noted that he too was elected statewide, that he too represents the state’s 18 million residents, just as Mr. Cuomo does, and that “I am not here because I come from a long line of wealthy people, or politically connected people. My parents were working-class folks on Long Island.” Got that, Son of Mario?

He notes that there is very little he can do to slow down Mr. Cuomo. When the governor recently told Mr. Dicker that Mr. DiNapoli was “handcuffing” him, Mr. DiNapoli wondered if he had to respond with straight face.

“Ultimately I don’t have a vote in any of this. I can’t slow down any of it. I can raise issues in a thoughtful way.”

Indeed, all Mr. DiNapoli really can do is take to the microphones and beat the drum against Mr. Cuomo. It is perhaps the role he least seems to relish.

“I hope people keep in mind that a lot of the frustration about Albany was that it seemed to be focused on the politics of personal destruction, severe partisanship, and personal attack and not dealing thoughtfully with the issues. I hope we don’t revert to that. I am going to do my best not to be drawn into those sorts of battles. That was never my style. Everybody always says ‘Nice Guy Comptroller,’” he said leaning forward. “Well, I am. You don’t say bad things about people, even if you may think them now and then.”

dfreedlander@observer.com

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