Some people write on their hands, put a note on their fridge, or scream into their cellular phone to remind them to pay the power bill. Comptroller John Liu has New York City's second-most popular tabloid to do the reminding, and yesterday the Post broke a story that the embattled presumptive mayoral candidate owed ConEd $500 and the Tax Department $943; both invoices were left over from his campaign for the Comptroller's office. But reached at his 45th-birthday party/fundraiser last night, Liu said he was grateful for the heads up. "I want to thank The Post for that story," he told the paper. "If, in fact, we do owe that amount, we'll pay it right away."
Despite a widening federal probe into his allegedly shady campaign finances and his abandonment of his pledge to only take $800 per campaign donor, the Post reports that the fundraiser was attended by the "Who's Who of the city's labor movement and political establishment." UFT President Mike Mulgrew, PBA chief Patrick Lynch, Peter Vallone Sr. and Bronx councilman Larry Seabrook—who recently dodged fraud charges, were also there. So pretty much just like the Portlandia premiere party!
Liu even was in good enough spirits to acknowledge the probe at the party, as Mulgrew recounted to a reporter that he joked, "My name recognition is definitely moving up." No word on whether Liu had the staff of Chili's clap each time someone handed him a check for $4,950.
