Piles of files
FOIL boxes in Comp’s office since 14

ALBANY COUNTY — The Democrat challenging the incumbent comptroller has made a campaign issue of his not answering her request to see his audits.

But the comptroller said yesterday that the requested boxes of audits have been sitting in his office since Aug. 14.

Boxes filled with 128 audits requested by the Patricia Slavick campaign have been compiled for weeks, but no one has come to pick them up or look through them, according to Comptroller Michael Conners.

Slavick’s campaign manager, Donald Csaposs, who filed the Freedom of Information Law request along with Daniel Hornick, said yesterday they didn’t know the audits were ready and that they have not been contacted by either Conners’s office or the county clerk who processes the requests.

Slavick’s campaign workers sent three Freedom of Information Law requests to the comptroller’s office in July. Csaposs said that he was contacted by the county clerk at the end of July and told that he would have information on or before Aug. 15, but says that was the last time he spoke with anyone about the requests.
"I have never received any communication from the comptroller’s office," Csaposs said yesterday.
A copy of an Aug. 14 e-mail sent to Linda Donato in the County Clerk’s Office from Conners’s office confirms that the request was completed. The e-mail also states, "Please have Mr. Csaposs contact me to set up a mutually agreeable time to review the items. Thanks."
Conners’s office confirmed yesterday that the County Clerk’s Office received the e-mail "only minutes" after it was sent.

Csaposs said he never received any such e-mail or confirmation, either written or by telephone, that his FOIL request was completed.
"I didn’t think it was my place to call every two days and say, ‘Did you get anything" Did you get anything" Did you get anything"’" said Csaposs. Slavick agreed with her manager.
"I haven’t been notified of this," Slavick said yesterday of the audits in Conners’s office. "But typically, when a FOIL request is sent, there is some response in five days and then there is either an answer or a reason why the request was denied within 20 days."

The county clerk’s office could not be reached for comment before The Enterprise went to press on Wednesday evening.

Conners said that it was not his office’s responsibility to contact his rival’s campaign once he told the county clerk that the material was ready.
"If you’re really interested in getting some information, why wouldn’t you check up on it for several weeks"" Conners asked. "This manipulation of FOIL is a campaign tactic."

Slavick reiterated that she wasn’t aware of any correspondence between any of the parties involved and appeared surprised by the news.
Calling the audits sought by Csaposs a "substantial waste of resources," Conners said taxpayer money was wasted on answering a FOIL request that was not even accessed. Both Slavick and Csaposs maintain they were never contacted by the county.
As for the campaign at hand, Conners said he has run a "clean campaign" despite several letters written to The Enterprise editor written by his rival’s campaign manager, Csaposs, in recent weeks that he described as "personal attacks."

Conners said that Slavick appeared to be running against him more for political reasons rather than issues.
"This run is nothing but political retribution for running against Breslin," Conners said. "Their campaign has been against my political past"they tried to make an issue where none existed."

Conners unsuccessfully ran against state Senator Neil Breslin in 2004 and irked many fellow Democrats in the state and county parties.

Slavick’s manager, Csaposs, contends that their campaign has been focused on the issues at hand and not political rivalries.
"Mr. Conners is expecting the power of incumbency to carry him into another term"We see no need for last-minute desperation," Csaposs said of the Sept. 18 primary. "And [Slavick] won’t be seen on the street corner holding a sign."

As for a debate between the two candidates, that’s also debatable.

Conners said he has asked to debate Slavick on at least two different occasions, but the Slavick campaign denies this ever happened.
"That assertion is a flat-out lie," Csaposs responded. "He has never communicated with Patricia Slavick whatsoever." Continuing, Csaposs said it is too late to arrange a debate and that if Conners wanted one, "He would have said something a month ago."
"This is last-minute grandstanding," Csaposs concluded.
When asked, Slavick said she was not contacted by Conners for a debate, but that, if she had been contacted earlier about a possible debate, she "would have taken it into consideration."
Conners said his auditing practices are solid and he is confident going into next week’s primary. He concluded by saying, "If you’re interested in a debate, what are you doing tonight or tomorrow""