Nick Reisman is reporting for State of Politics that New York Republicans on Feb. 28 designated Paul Rodriguez as their candidate for state comptroller, in support of his bid to challenge incumbent Tom DiNapoli in November. Rodriguez in his acceptance speech pledged to be a "champion for the taxpayers" if elected. He last ran for office in 2021, when he was the GOP's New York City comptroller candidate. Rodrigeuz also vowed to shift the policy of DiNapoli's office to leverage the state pension's billions of dollars to achieve change from private-sector firms New York invests in. "The state pension fund should not be used to virtue signal and certainly should not be used to destroy industries like natural gas," Rodriguez said. DiNapoli has served as state comptroller since 2007 when he was selected by state lawmakers to replace Alan Hevesi. DiNapoli has since become the longest-serving Democratic official in the state. Read the full story at nystateofpolitics [dot] com.