By N. Clark Judd

Pension funds, audits, procurement through government contracts — none of it bores John Liu. The city councilman and comptroller hopeful says he’s been spending his days lately telling people about how glamorous, or at least important, the city’s chief fiscal officer’s job really is.

“Part of the campaign is not only raising awareness of the candidate but also of the office,” said Mr. Liu, a naturalized citizen from Taiwan who now represents Flushing in the City Council, in an interview at The Riverdale Press offices. “So I’ve tried to do that as much as I can.”

In politically active Riverdale, the city comptroller’s race will likely be the closest one for citywide office on the Sept. 15 Democratic primary ballot. Mr. Liu and the other top contender for the post, Melinda Katz, also a City Council member, have both appeared in Riverdale. The two are neck-and-neck in the polls, with a recent WABCsponsored poll placing Ms. Katz just one percentage point ahead of Mr. Liu among likely voters. Ms. Katz has the endorsement of the local Benjamin Franklin Reform Democratic Club, widely regarded as a vote-getting powerhouse, and Rep. Eliot Engel, one of its members; Mr. Liu has big unions, including 1199 SEIU, which has several thousand members in the Riverdale/Kingsbridge area, and Rep. Charles Rangel. In the contest for the Ben Franklin nomination, Ms. Katz defeated Mr. Liu only after a runoff.

With the city likely to face tough fiscal times in the next four years, the position has perhaps grown in importance. The comptroller is responsible for managing billions in the city’s pension funds and signs off on every expenditure the city makes — from contracts given out by mayoral agencies to cash handed over at the discretion of City Council members. Candidates have hung their hats in part on a promise to stand up to Mr. Bloomberg as the city’s chief financial officer.

While Ms. Katz has the local endorsement, Mr. Liu enjoys a comfortable lead in fundraising, and says he also boasts considerably higher name recognition than other candidates.