DiNapoli reaches a new crossroads

For those who are young and unfamiliar: Thomas DiNapoli, 72, of Great Neck Plaza, has been the New York State comptroller since 2007. He was first placed in the job in a bipartisan vote by the State Legislature after the late Alan Hevesi resigned as part of a plea bargain related to the use of state employees to take care of his ailing wife.

DiNapoli, a Democrat, has been elected four times since. He has been such a Long Island fixture for decades that it might have been a jolt to some when the Siena Research Institute poll last week found that just 33% of Democrats statewide say they'd vote to reelect him, with 23% preferring "someone else" and 35% declining to answer or saying they didn't know. By comparison, ticket mate Attorney General Letitia James has 65% in her party saying they will vote for her and only 13% giving no answer.

It is still too early to bet winners and losers, of course. The AG and comptroller races are secondary on the ballot to Gov. Kathy Hochul's reelection effort. But a big difference between them is that DiNapoli faces his first major primary challenge on June 23, from Drew Warshaw, 45, head of Enterprise Community Partners, a nonprofit involved in housing. And Raj Goyle, 50, a former Kansas legislator is in the fight, also touting progressive causes.

Warshaw's challenge is driving a left-versus-center primary debate that could sound a bit like last year's high-volume New York City mayoral race. In handling the state's massive pension system, for example, Warshaw says he "would cut out the Wall Street middlemen who are sucking value and lighting our taxpayer dollars on fire," from the investment process. He alleges that "DiNapoli's bankers" have "underperformed" for taxpayers.

Both Warshaw and Goyle — whom Warshaw failed to disqualify by challenging petition signatures — are demanding DiNapoli divest the retirement system from Palantir Technologies whose software underpins enforcement by ICE.

Questioned recently by an activist at a public appearance in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, as shown on a TikTok video, DiNapoli said that in his job, "I have to make the best decisions from a financial perspective." By phone on Wednesday, DiNapoli elaborated to say Palantir holdings represent a passive investment in index funds.

That said, DiNapoli voices concern about Palantir's relationship with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and would press for reconsideration.

More controversially for Long Island Democratic primary voters, the challengers seek to have the pension funds divest from Israel bonds. Warshaw, who's Jewish, published a piece in the liberal Jewish Forward last month explaining his position as a moral objection to the continuing war conducted by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

But DiNapoli, who has firmly opposed investing in firms that back the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement against Israel, said his actions are not meant as an endorsement of that nation's current administration any more than holding U.S. Treasury notes is done to support President Donald Trump.

Labor union support has always been key for DiNapoli. This week the New York State AFL-CIO announced its endorsement for the comptroller, with Mario Cilento, the organization's president, declaring: "Tom DiNapoli has consistently acted in the best interest of working people as Comptroller."

DiNapoli is cautiously optimistic about winning another term. But in the 2010 election, when he defeated Republican nominee Harry Wilson 51%-46%, he underperformed other Democrats on the ballot. If he wins the primary, this November DiNapoli will face 53-year-old Republican biotech entrepreneur Joseph Hernandez, who is a newcomer to New York politics — which has a way of packing surprises.

Columnist Dan Janison's opinions are his own.

By Dan Janison

dan.janison@newsday.comDanJanison

Dan Janison is a member of the Newsday editorial board.