New York City Comptroller
Encyclopedia
The Office of Comptroller
Comptroller
A comptroller is a management level position responsible for supervising the quality of accounting and financial reporting of an organization.In British government, the Comptroller General or Comptroller and Auditor General is in most countries the external auditor of the budget execution of the...

 of New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

is the chief fiscal officer and chief auditing officer of the city. The comptroller is elected, citywide, to a four-year term and can hold office for three consecutive terms. The current comptroller is Democrat
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 John Liu
John Liu
John Chun Liu is a New York City elected official, currently serving as New York City Comptroller. Liu previously served on the New York City Council representing District 20...

, formerly a member of the New York City Council
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...

. Liu was elected on November 3, 2009.

Duties

The comptroller is responsible for auditing the performance and finances of city agencies, making recommendations regarding proposed contracts, issuing reports on the state of the city economy, marketing and selling municipal bonds, managing city debt, and serving as managing trustee of the public employees pensions funds. As managing trustee, the comptroller presides over the boards of the funds, along with managing assets. Overall fund governance is with boards of the individual funds.

History

The office was created as an appointive office in 1801, and in 1831, the Comptroller became head of the department of finance. In 1884 the office became elective, and in 1938 the comptroller became head of a separate, independent department of the City's government.

Until it was found unconstitutional in 1989, the Comptroller served on the eight-member New York City Board of Estimate
New York City Board of Estimate
The New York City Board of Estimate was a governmental body in New York City, responsible for budget and land-use decisions. Under the charter of the newly amalgamated City of Greater New York the Board of Estimate and Apportionment was composed of eight ex officio members: the Mayor of New York...

, which was composed of the Mayor of New York City
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...

, the Comptroller and the President of the New York City Council
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...

, each of whom was elected citywide and had two votes, and the five Borough president
Borough president
Borough President is an elective office in each of the five boroughs of New York City.-Reasons for establishment:...

s, each having one vote.

If vacancies should simultaneously occur in the offices of Mayor of New York City
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...

 and New York City Public Advocate (formerly President of the City Council
New York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...

 or Board of Aldermen), the Comptroller would become Acting Mayor.

These have been the three offices elected city-wide, so traditional practice has tried to balance a winning three-candidate ticket among the City's different ethnic, religious and political interests (and, more recently, between the sexes). But, while there is a delicate interaction between the campaigns for the three offices, the actual election results can sometimes differ quite markedly. (For examples of three such municipal tickets, see the article about Alan Hevesi).

2009 election

The Democratic
Democratic Party (United States)
The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...

 nominee in the 2009 general election, John Liu
John Liu
John Chun Liu is a New York City elected official, currently serving as New York City Comptroller. Liu previously served on the New York City Council representing District 20...

 won 76% of the citywide vote on Tuesday, November 3. The Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...

 nominee, Joseph Mendola, won 19.3%; the Conservative
Conservative Party of New York
The Conservative Party of New York State is an American political party active in the state of New York. It is not part of any nationwide party, nor is it affiliated with the American Conservative Party, which it predates by over 40 years....

 nominee, Stuart Avrick, 2.5%; and others 2.3%.

Comptrollers of the City of New York since Consolidation (1898)

  • 1898-1901 Bird S. Coler
    Bird Sim Coler
    Bird Sim Coler was an American politician. He established himself as a stockbroker in New York City, became prominent in municipal and State politics, and served as first Comptroller of Greater New York in 1897-1901. In 1902, he was the Democratic nominee for Governor of New York, but lost to...

  • 1902-1905 Edward M. Grout
  • 1906-1908 Herman A. Metz
    Herman A. Metz
    Herman August Metz was a German-American businessman and politician who served as U.S. Representative from New York.-Life and business career:...

  • 1910-1917 W. A. Pendergast
  • 1918-1925 Charles Lacy Craig
  • 1926-1932 Charles W. Berry
  • 1933 George McAneny
    George McAneny
    George McAneny was Manhattan Borough President from 1910 to 1913.-Biography:He was born in 1869 in Greenville, New Jersey and attended Jersey City High School and worked as a journalist after graduation. He became executive secretary of the New York Civil Service Commission then secretary of the...

  • 1934 Arthur Cunningham
  • 1935 Joseph D. McGoldrick
  • 1936-1937 Frank J. Taylor
  • 1938-1945 Joseph D. McGoldrick
  • 1946-1953 Lazarus Joseph
    Lazarus Joseph
    Lazarus Joseph was an attorney, six-time New York State Senator from 1934 to 1945 , and New York City Comptroller .- Career :...

  • 1954-1961 Lawrence E. Gerosa
    Lawrence E. Gerosa
    Lawrence Ettore Gerosa was an Italian-American politician who served as New York City Comptroller from 1954–1961....

  • 1962-1965 Abraham D. Beame
  • 1966-1969 Mario Procaccino
    Mario Procaccino
    Mario Angelo Procaccino was a lawyer, comptroller, and candidate for mayor of New York City.Procaccino was born in Bisaccia, Italy. When he was nine years old, his family relocated to the United States, and despite poverty, he graduated from City College and Fordham Law School, becoming a lawyer...

  • 1970-1973 Abraham D. Beame
  • 1974-1989 Harrison J. Goldin
    Harrison J. Goldin
    Harrison Jay Goldin is a lawyer and former New York politician. He served as New York City Comptroller from 1974 to 1989. He was a member of the New York State Senate from 1966 to 1973 and ran in the 1989 Democratic Primary election for Mayor of New York...

  • 1990-1993 Elizabeth Holtzman
    Elizabeth Holtzman
    Elizabeth Holtzman is an American lawyer and former Democratic politician, pioneer woman officeholder, four term U.S. Representative , two term District Attorney of Kings County , and New York City Comptroller .Her role on the House Judiciary Committee during the Watergate scandal drew national...

  • 1994-2001 Alan G. Hevesi
  • 2002-2009 William Thompson
    Bill Thompson (New York)
    William Colridge Thompson, Jr. , known as Bill or Billy, was the 42nd Comptroller of New York City. Sworn into office on January 1, 2002, he was reelected to serve a second term that began on January 1, 2006. He left office on December 31, 2009, having been succeeded by John Liu...

  • 2010-2013† John Liu
    John Liu
    John Chun Liu is a New York City elected official, currently serving as New York City Comptroller. Liu previously served on the New York City Council representing District 20...



† (first term)
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