Nassau County Clerk Maureen O'Connell (R) faces a potential stumbling block in her bid to replace Michael Balboni in the state Senate as an audit of the clerk's office nears release.

A special election on February 6 between O'Connell and Legislator Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington) will fill the 7th District seat vacated by Balboni when he was appointed state homeland security chief earlier this month. On January 12, Nassau Comptroller Howard Weitzman (D), one of three finalists vying for the open state comptroller job, completed an audit of the county clerk's office that is said to be critical of O'Connell's management performance. Weitzman says the report has not been released because O'Connell and her office have declined to respond to it.

O'Connell defends her record, saying Weitzman's audit is politically motivated. She says Weitzman is simply trying to get in the good graces of the governor, who will select the new state comptroller. It is unclear if the report will be released before the election without a written response, but Johnson says the public has a right to know what's in it.

The two candidates will debate the issues on News 12 Long Island on Thursday, February 1 at 8:30 and 11:30 p.m.

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