Dinapoli Joins Kington Democrats for Auerbach Fundraiser

KINGSTON – Ulster County Comptroller Elliott Auerbach held an outdoor riverside fundraiser in Downtown Kingston Wednesday evening, attended by over 100 supporters.

Auerbach, a Democrat and Ellenville native, remains undefeated since the comptroller position was created and essentially unopposed this year for re-election. Nevertheless, his college classmate and statewide counterpart, Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, made a special appearance and delivered keynote remarks.

“Many people don’t fully appreciate what it is that a comptroller does,” DiNapoli said. “When you have had the opportunity that Elliott has had, not only to serve as an elected comptroller, but to be the first one for this county, to really mold the office, create the vision, if he wanted to become state comptroller, he could do a great job moving up to that position.”

“I’m not looking to vacate the job anytime soon,” DiNapoli added with a laugh.   His responsibility “is to ensure the public’s money is well-spent, efficiently, effectively and economically,” Auerbach said.

“That is our role on a daily basis,” Auerbach explained, noting that the letters “mp” in the comptroller title stands for Money Police.

Another aspect of a comptroller’s bailiwick is ethics. Auerbach identified a loophole in the recently proposed campaign finance reform bill for Ulster County, concerning limited liability corporations. LLC loopholes currently allow money to be funneled into political campaigns anonymously, above the spending cap.

“Last year, we introduced a paper called Ethically Ulster, and campaign reform was a part of that,” Auerbach said.  “There are a number of different areas that we feel need to be addressed, in order to tighten up ethics, not just in Ulster County, but all throughout New York State.”

DiNapoli and Auerbach posed for publicity photographs with guests throughout the night, which included several of the up-and-coming Democratic hopefuls running for county legislature this year. Spotted at the soiree were Cathy Nolan, Lynn Eckert, Pamela Krinsky, plus incumbents Dave Donaldson and Jennifer Schwartz-Berky, along with many members of the county party delegation.