Buffalo, NY (WBEN) As Democrats vote on who should be the candidate in the comptroller’s race in November, some are wondering if the office should be appointed instead.
Erie County Comptroller Kevin Hardwick says the office should be important to voters. “The state comptroller, obviously, is the chief financial officer for the state of New York. One of his prime responsibilities is opining on the state budget, and especially on revenue sources, but more importantly, he is the trustee of the state’s pension funds, so all of the teachers, all of the firefighters, all of the public employees of every stripe, they rely on him for investing their pension funds and getting a return, so that when they retire, they’ll have their, their money available for them,” says Hardwick,
Former Erie County Comptroller Stefan Mychajliw agrees. “Billions of their tax dollars are being managed, and is the responsibility of the New York State Comptroller, whether it’s managing the multi billion dollar pension fund that again is under the purview of the New York State Comptroller, or most important, being the watchdog, the independent watchdog of Albany politicians,” says Mychajliw…