What Does a Comptroller Actually Do?

In this adorable little video spoofing Jay Leno's awkward man-on-the-street interviews, a faceless microphone wanders the streets of New York inviting random people to display their ignorance. "Do you know," the man behind the mic wants to know, "what a comptroller does"? (Best tentative answer: "Maybe control the city's computers?")

David Yassky, who ran for the office in New York City four years ago, eventually turns up to fill us all in, for which we are eternally grateful this week (even if he didn't end up getting that job). We've been batting around this same question for the last two days, since former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer, who left office five years ago amid a prostitution scandal, announced he would resurrect his political career with a bid for this municipal office few people completely understand.