Joe Morelle must think he has a pretty good shot at becoming the state's next comptroller.

Last week, the state assemblymember from Irondequoit announced that he was stepping down as chair of the Monroe County Democratic Committee. In a letter e-mailed to party members and in a statement on his website, he cited his candidacy for comptroller as the reason for the move.

The letter highlights a list of his accomplishments as party chair, but most Dems are probably more interested in looking forward, not back at Morelle's tenure. This year brings the promise of bruising City Council primary battles. Morelle has restored a measure of party discipline, which might've softened those disputes had he stuck around. With a weaker chair, the party could return to the divisiveness that has often prevailed here.

If Morelle gets the comptroller job, in addition to selecting a new chair the party will have to fill his assembly seat.

Brighton Supervisor Sandy Frankel is one prominent politician who might be interested in the seat. And some city politicians may be as well. The Democratic committees included in that district --- in Brighton, Irondequoit, and parts of the city --- will choose a replacement. But the district is carved up in such a way that the Irondequoit committee will likely have the controlling voice.

That means that the two county legislators representing Irondequoit --- Stephanie Aldersley and former party chair Ted O'Brien --- will likely be the frontrunners, if they're interested. If O'Brien returned to chairing the party, that could leave Aldersley with an easy victory for the assembly seat.

Of course, that hinges on Morelle getting the nod for comptroller. Governor Eliot Spitzer has appointed a panel to recommend as many as five candidates; that process begins January 23. The decision will be made by a joint meeting of the assembly and the senate. And since Democrats are in the majority, the highest ranking Democrat in the legislature, Sheldon Silver, will have a lot of influence.

Morelle is reputed to be close to Silver, but several other assemblymembers want to be comptroller, too. Paradoxically, one of Morelle's strengths as a politician could be one of his weaknesses in the abbreviated race for comptroller: he's versatile. A lot of politicians are good at raising money or at strategizing, or they've made their mark in a particular policy arena. Morelle's pretty good at all of it, which means he's qualified for a lot of other plum jobs.

Morelle's name has been floated for a lot of different posts. In the past, that included assembly majority leader and state party chair (both of which have now been filled). More recently, it has included chair of the assembly's campaign committee and the upstate economic development czar that Spitzer has promised. On the one hand, it's good news for Morelle that his name is being mentioned for so many top jobs. But that could also mean it'll be easy for his fellow legislators to assume that there'll be another place for him if they give the comptroller job to someone else.