What does the Comptroller do?

Brian Morton argues that the recent antics of Comptroller William Donald Schaefer have overshadowed the office itself, and that the election campaign has, as a result, focused more on personality than on what the Comptroller actually does. Indeed, a look at the duties of the Comptroller reveals that it is, on the face of it, an unlikely locus of political drama, the resonance of tax collection in the American psyche notwithstanding.

However, I wonder if it might not be a good thing for the next Comptroller to become more than just an administrator (or a media sideshow), and take more ideological stances. Not in the sense of abusing the office in service of a political agenda, as we have seen often in the federal government these past five years, but legitimately using the powers of the Comptroller to influence policy. Peter Franchot, for example, says that he will fight for various progressive causes, such as expanding health care coverage and protecting the environment. And since the Comptroller, unlike the Treasurer, is elected by the people, it would make sense for the former to act in a more populist style when it come to the state's finances.

I don't know how exactly the Comptroller's office could influence policy at the level that Franchot talks about, (which would seem to be more the province of the General Assembly and the Governor), but it would certainly have the proper bully pulpit by virtue of the Comptroller's seat on the Board of Public Works. And, perhaps, he (or she) could foster a more constructive dialogue than the man currently holding the office.