The state comptroller's office says a fresh team of auditors has been assigned to review the Uster County jail construction project. Among the political class whose, careers may hang on their findings, the reaction has been surprisingly ecumenical.
You'll recall that the comptroller, a Democrat, after some prodding from local Dems, sent down auditors to scour the overdue jail. Dems told me they were impressed with how quickly the out-of-towners grasped the essentials of
the highly,complex project.
The comptroller's numbers-crunchers were less adept at local politics, as well as their own department's rides of engagement- Their last meeting in Kingston took place at Democratic headquarters with Legislators Peter Kraft, D-Glenford, Tracey Bartels, D-Gardiner, Rich Parete, D-Accord, past chairman John Parete and retired jail warden John Blydenburgh invited for technical input.
Comptroller Alan Hevesi, or some- body pretty far up the chain, blew a gasket when word reached Albany about what looked like a party caucus on the state's dime. The comptroller may be a rabid Democrat, but he has made every effort to position his department as bipartisan, objective and fair. A Democratic skull session at party headquarters to examine what many consider a
Republican debacle didn't fit any of that criteria.
Democrats were left to wonder whether Hevesi, dragged reluctantly into this quagmire, would ever return. Republicans leaped on the opportunity to shift focus from the way the jail project has been managed to politics, which is about the only way the GOP can dodge the jail bullet in November.

Majority Leader Mike Stock, R- Woodstock, might have been a Iittle over the top in calling for the resignation of the three aforementioned Democrats from the Jail Oversight Committee he chairs, but the strategy was clear. In one fell swoop, Stock casy doubt on the motives of local Democrats and the investigators. Hevesi recognized the latter in quickly yanking his original auditing team.

Off last month's debacle, you can bet auditors won't be holding any closed-door sessions at Democratic headquarters in Kingston.Ever one to follow an advantage,Stock last week inquired about whether the auditors were coming back soon.
"We had hoped to have some definitive answers before election, something on the table. Now, we don't know when they're coming back," Stock told me.
Translation: We Republicans have nothing to hide. Bring it on.
Democrats, through some incredible stupidity, lost this skirmish, but the jail still looms large for Republicans. Auditors should be back on the job soon according to Jennifer Freeman of Hevesi's office. On the other hand,
there may not be a public report before Election Day, if only because of a 30-day waiting period for all parties to review the comptroller's findings before formal release.
Did the four-week break in the action blunt what Democrats consider their main campaign issue? If so, they really have no one to blame but themselves.

NOTES - John Parete (sometimes called "Papa Smurf"), father of Legislators Rob Parete, D-Boiceville, and Rich Parete, D-Accord,admits that arranging and attending the ill-fated audit meeting was a mistake, but insists his presence was necessary. "I don't think anybody knows more about the jail than I do," he said. He may be right.
No word on where the auditors have been reassigned, but at least they still have their jobs. I'd look for two button- down types with laptops and red faces somewhere west of Horseheads. ...

The jail, bid at $72 milion, augmented by S13 million in overruns, with maybe another $15 million in claims, has been a financial disaster, but like the Titanic, it has had a positive ripple effect. Basically, it's forced every public
official with a major building project to guard the bottom line.