Metro

Party promoter

John Dorsa

John Dorsa

BOOST:Comptroller John Liu’s (left) appointment of John Dorsa (right) may violate the City Charter, watchdogs say. (
)

Comptroller John Liu has promoted a politically connected Democratic Party official from Queens as one of his top pension bosses — a move that government watchdogs say could be a violation of city rules.

John Dorsa, a state committee representative to New York’s Democratic Party and a co-founder of the Democratic club on Liu’s home turf in Flushing, has been quietly appointed to associate director of pensions in the Comptroller’s Office.

Liu also tapped Dorsa to serve as one of his representatives, or designated trustees, to the city’s largest pension board, the New York City Employees Retirement System.

The powerful board sets pension policy.

Dorsa’s dual roles as a pension boss and a Democratic Party official raise questions about whether he and Liu are complying with the City Charter, which bars city policy-makers from simultaneously holding party leadership positions.

“No elected official, deputy mayor, deputy to a city-wide or boroughwide elected official, head of an agency, or other public servant who is charged with substantial policy discretion . . . may be a member of the national or state committee of a political party,” Section 15 of the charter states.

Government-watchdog groups said the promotion looks fishy and at the very least violates the spirit of the City Charter.

“The promotion raises questions of appropriateness,’’ said Baruch College political-science Professor Doug Muzzio. “It’s rewarding a Democratic Party official with a lot of responsibility and cachet.”

Before Liu took over the Comptroller’s Office in 2010, Dorsa was a senior pension investment analyst.

Shortly after becoming comptroller, Liu visited the Dorsa-founded William J. Clinton Democratic club. He and other members greeted the comptroller, a former local councilman and club member, like a hero, according to press accounts.

Dorsa’s presence is felt throughout Queens.

His dad, Joseph, who passed away in 2008, was a Queens Supreme Court justice. His mom, Mary Ann, and brother, Joseph, are Democratic district leaders.

City agencies are required to submit an annual list of top policy-makers to the Conflicts of Interest Board. Liu’s office did not list Dorsa last year, though his promotions were made after the submission.

Dorsa has listed his position as “NYS Democratic Party committee member” on his annual financial disclosure forms.

Dorsa, who is paid $97,344 a year, declined requests for comment.

Liu defended Dorsa’s promotion.

“John has worked at the Comptroller’s Office for nearly a decade, is one of four alternates on the pension benefit board, and has voluntarily and consistently filed with COIB since he was hired in 2002,’’ said Liu spokesman Michael Loughran.

“His title change was absent a salary increase and reflective of his hard work over the past nine years. Anyone attempting to insinuate otherwise is devoid of the facts.”

The appointment comes as pension reform is expected to be fiercely debated in Albany and in city government in 2012.