Betsy Gotbaum advocates publicly.Photograph by Patrick McMullan

Can we now expect a parade of pols coming out post-Hevesi to reimburse the state or city for every time they sent an aide out to get them a latte? Walk through Albany or pass through City Hall and listen for the sounds of elected officials rifling for receipts in dusty desk drawers.

Public advocate Betsy Gotbaum is the latest officeholder to utter the phrase, "Jeeves, what exactly did I pay you for that bird-watching excursion we took last spring?" Gotbaum (who astonishingly looks like all the Osbournes rolled into one person) wrote the city a $1,900 check three days ago to pay a driver for trips outside of Manhattan between 2002 and 2005.

1,900 big ones. Ouch. We're getting dangerously close to Ethics Commission inquiries for any assistant county clerk who left the office lights on over the weekend.

O'Dumb'eter: Betsy's Car $$ [NYP]