Voters Guide: The frontrunners gunning for comptroller

Scott Stringer is running for comptroller on the Democratic and Working Families party lines.

BACKGROUND:
Stringer, 53, was born and raised in Washington Heights, Manhattan, and lives on the Upper West Side with his wife, Elyse Buxbaum, and their two young sons. He graduated from John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He served in Jerrold Nadler’s state Assembly office and was elected to Nadler’s seat in 1992, serving in the Assembly until 2005. He ran unsuccessfully for public advocate in 2001 and was elected Manhattan borough president in 2005.

ISSUES:
Stringer said he wants to act as a “steward” of the city’s pension funds, which total $140 billion in assets, and put risk-management protocols in place to improve returns. He seeks to work with pension-fund trustees and other offices through coalition building. He wants to consolidate the city’s five pension funds into one. He has said he will use the comptroller’s Bureau of Law and Adjustment to determine where the bulk of claims against the city originate and reduce the number of stop-and-frisk claims against the NYPD.

John Burnett is running for comptroller on the Conservative, Republican and School Choice party lines.

BACKGROUND:
Burnett, 44, attended Andrew Jackson High School in Queens, New York University and Cornell University, where he earned his master’s degree in business administration. He grew up in East New York, Brooklyn and Queens Village. Before running for comptroller, which his campaign says he’s doing full time, Burnett worked on Wall Street, where he did auditing and corporate compliance work. Burnett lives in Harlem and has a daughter. His campaign did not respond to questions about Burnett’s marital status.

ISSUES:
Burnett wants to consolidate the five pension funds for municipal workers to save money on administrative fees. He says he’s far more experienced at conducting audits and managing money than his opponent, Scott Stringer, who has served in government nearly his entire career. He also wants to increase the number of city contracts that go to businesses owned by minorities and women.

OTHER COMPTROLLER CANDIDATES:
Julia Willebrand, Green Party
Hesham El-Meligy, Libertarian Party
John Studer, Socialist Workers Party
Richard Bozulich, War Veterans Party