Submitted by Mark Alesse, Feb 9, 2007 15:47

Editor, Your editorial on the comptroller selection process was completely, and surprisingly, wrong. Now that a completely unqualified Assemblyman, Tom DiNapoli, has been chosen to be state Comptroller by Speaker Sheldon Silver, the chances are that this will be a long and contentious session in Albany, but so be it. At least the Governor is fighting for us. In choosing DiNapoli, Assembly Democrats set the tone for relations with the Governor, affirmed their spineless devotion to Silver, and told the voters what they really think of them. But Silver may have sealed his own fate in going to war with Governor Spitzer and the people of New York. Silver may be all powerful in Albany, but thanks to the demographic changes of immigration, he is now a virtual outsider in his own largely asian and hispanic Assembly district in the Lower East Side. If reform Democrats run an asian businesswoman or a hispanic community leader in a primary against Silver, he'd lose his seat. Until Silver and Bruno are gone, there will be no real reform of state government, and struggling communities will continue to bear the brunt of a dysfunctional legislature. The question is, how many of the City's legislators voted with Silver and Bruno against good government? People should know. Mark Alesse Mark Alesse worked on small business and economic-development issues as a legislative analyst for both the Senate and Assembly and a lobbyist for 25 years, until his retirement in 2006.

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