Republican candidate for state comptroller Joseph Hernandez said he’ll go after out-of-control fraud and abuse.<\/p>\n
Democratic incumbent Tom DiNapoli said he already does.<\/p>\n
“Tom has not done anything for the last 20 years,” Hernandez said during Thursday’s debate on Spectrum News.<\/p>\n
“Your words are just rhetoric,” DiNapoli shot back. “I have a proven track record.”<\/p>\n
The pattern would repeat throughout the debate, with DiNapoli pointing repeatedly to his record.<\/p>\n
“If you really believe in the state of New York, why aren’t you investing in New York?” Hernandez said. “I intend to do that.”<\/p>\n
DiNapoli countered: “You try to sound like you’re coming up with a great idea to invest in New York companies. We do that already.”<\/p>\n
When it came to policy, DiNapoli said some issues were outside the scope of his job, like the debate over prediction markets. The state has recently filed suit against both Kalshi and Polymarket.<\/p>\n
“I don’t have a legal opinion on whether or not that constitutes gaming,” DiNapoli said.<\/p>\n
But the differences were clear. Hernandez, a Cuban immigrant who comes from a background in biotech and finance, is bullish on artificial intelligence and made it clear he opposes Gov. Kathy Hochul’s data center moratorium.<\/p>\n
“We can’t just put a moratorium in place and basically just hit the brakes for a year,” Hernandez said. “This technology’s moving so fast, a year is a lifetime in this technology sector.”<\/p>\n
Things grew testy when Hernandez raised questions about DiNapoli’s campaign contributions.<\/p>\n
“You received $850,000 from law firms that represent the pension fund \u2014 law firms that have made billions of dollars out of the pension fund,” Hernandez said.<\/p>\n
DiNapoli dismissed any suggestion of pay-to-play.<\/p>\n
“If you are accusing in any way that any action was taken in response to that, you better come up with the evidence. You’re very loose with your words,” he said.<\/p>\n
“His problem is nobody’s donating to him,” DiNapoli added. “And I know that bothers him.”\u00a0<\/p>\n
While the debate largely steered clear of national politics, DiNapoli did warn of the fiscal impacts of some of President Donald Trump’s policies, while Hernandez borrowed a popular right-wing line of attack, accusing DiNapoli of supporting socialism.<\/p>\n
“This is a political agenda that Tom has rolled out, on the issues of DEI, on the issues of green energy,” Hernandez said.<\/p>\n
DiNapoli, who’s held the office since 2007 and is running far ahead in the polls and in fundraising, responded in a familiar tone: “Joe, you don’t know what you’re talking about, once again.”<\/p>\n