Councilman John Liu, the leading contender for comptroller, is so tight with the Working Families Party that some insiders fear his election would hand the left-wing party and the unions backing it the run of the city’s second most important office — and access to big bucks from the pension fund.
“I would certainly be troubled by someone that closely associated with the unions,” said one former top official in the comptroller’s office.
Supporters of Mayor Bloomberg are known to be concerned about the possibility of a Liu victory.
The race for comptroller will for all practical purposes be decided in a runoff Tuesday between Liu (D-Queens) and fellow Councilman David Yassky (D-Brooklyn).
Liu is considered the heavy favorite because he finished first in last week’s four-way, low-turnout Democratic primary and because he has the backing of the well-organized Working Families Party.
The party has a close relationship with the disgraced ACORN group and has been accused of trying to circumvent campaign finance rules.
Veteran political analyst Jerry Skurnick estimated that as few as 150,000 to 175,000 voters — a dismal 5 percent of the Democratic electorate — will turn out for the runoff.
That would make the clout of the WFP more critical than ever — and Liu’s debt to it as large as could be.
A former city official said there’s good reason for voters to have doubts that Liu would safeguard the public purse.
The official said that when the city was trying to move private bus lines in Queens over to the MTA in 2004, Liu sided with the owners and drivers against the city, which was bearing the cost of the takeover.
“He was putting more pressure on the city to settle,” the official said. “At the end of the day, he was negotiating against the taxpayer.”
Liu responded that he had no issue with the deal except that it took three years to pull it off, leaving riders in the lurch.
The comptroller’s responsibilities range from oversight of an $85 billion pension portfolio to setting “prevailing wage” rates for city employees in trades that have counterparts in the private sector.
The comptroller also has to approve all contracts, including those for consultants that one major union — District Council 37 — has charged are taking jobs away from their members at the Department of Education.
Dan Levitan, a WFP spokesman, said Liu hasn’t hired its political-consulting affiliate for his campaign.
But Dick Dadey, executive director of Citizens Union, which has endorsed Liu, conceded that he’ll be under the microscope if he wins.
“Because John’s being supported by the Working Families Party, he’ll be under increased scrutiny to act in the public interest and not in response to a special interest,” said Dadey.
Liu told The Post, “I have not always agreed on every single issue with every single union. The fact of the matter is they value my objectivity and I will be objective in my analysis and conclusions on behalf of the people. I work for the people of New York City.”