As the clock ticks closer to city primaries on Tuesday, September 10, The Courier would like to provide you, the reader and the voter, with a fair, detailed guide of who is running. Here is a list of the city comptroller primary candidates, who they are, what they stand for and what they want to continue to do if they go on to the general election in November.
Name: Eliot Spitzer
Party: Democrat
Current Position: Former New York Governor
Personal Information: Eliot Spitzer began as a prosecutor of organized crime before becoming New York State attorney general in 1998. During his time as attorney general, Spitzer cracked down on the largest firms on Wall Street. In 2006, Spitzer became governor where he helped fully fund New York City schools and reformed state health care delivery to guarantee larger access for working families.
Issues/Platform: As attorney general and governor, Spitzer held Wall Street, big corporations, government and special interests accountable for their actions. He hopes to continue doing the same as comptroller.
Name: Scott Stringer
Party: Democrat
Current Position: Manhattan Borough President
Personal Information: Born and raised in Washington Heights, Scott Stringer graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In 1992, he was elected into the New York State Assembly, representing Manhattan’s Upper West Side. In 2006, he became Manhattan Borough President where he has raised concern on issues ranging from government waste and mismanagement to creating economic opportunity for New York’s middle class. Stringer has also worked hard for equal rights and opportunities for all New Yorkers. He was one of the first co-sponsors of a 1995 bill to provide marriage equality, he passed landmark legislation protecting victims of domestic violence and helped establish a Manhattan Family Justice Center. Stringer’s Bank On program helped more than 12,000 “unbanked” people in Manhattan sign up for bank accounts and participate in the city’s economy.
Issues/Platform: According to Stringer, in order for our economy to grow, the city must have a five borough transportation plan to connect residents to developing jobs and housing centers. Stringer has also outlined a plan to create a New York City infrastructure bank for mass transit in order to put the MTA on a stronger financial ground and allow capital projects to expand and update the area’s massive transportation network. He has promoted the integrity and professionalism of the pension fund and has worked to create more comprehensive risk assessment and management and further diversify pension investments to ensure the fund’s long term sustainability. Scott has also created initiatives to promote greater transparency and accountability in the City budget process and to give New Yorkers a stronger voice in how government spends their tax dollars.
Editor’s Note: Requests for information from the candidates’ campaigns were not received as of press time, therefore this information was retrieved from the candidates’ campaign websites
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