After serving briefly as Chairman of the New York Republican County Committee, and an unsuccessful race for New York State Senate in 2002, Governor George Pataki appointed Eristoff Executive Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance. In September 2003, Eristoff was nominated and confirmed as Commissioner of Tax and Finance. In his role as chief executive of the second-largest state revenue administration, Commissioner Eristoff oversaw a budget in excess of $400 million, managed over 4,600 employees, and was responsible for $77 billion in annual state and local revenues. He was a national leader in state- and national-level data sharing initiatives to support compliance programs; stabilized a multi-year $100 million IT project to build an integrated tax system; oversaw a landmark tax shelter amnesty initiative; and implemented project portfolio management and performance-based budgeting programs.