Democratic Queens Assemblyman David Weprin (D-Richmond Hill, Fresh Meadows) announced on Monday that he is officially running for NYC Comptroller in 2021. Weprin, a lifelong Queens resident and the only candidate for comptroller from the borough, said that he was running because the city needs to protect hard working New Yorkers as the city stares down years of economic recovery due to the pandemic.
The son of a Cuban-immigrant UFT member mother and Brooklyn-born father, Weprin said the city needs to stand up for working and middle-class New Yorkers. All New Yorkers deserve leaders who will prioritize their needs and get the city out of the dual fiscal and health crises, Weprin said. He will focus on protecting seniors, pensioners, working and middle-class families and immigrants.
“We have not reached the end of the public health crisis created by COVID-19. When we do, the economic damage will be like nothing the city has ever seen before,” said Weprin. “I’m running to be our next Comptroller to ensure that as we build back, the city’s budget is not balanced on the backs of working and middle-class New Yorkers. As the only candidate with the experience we need in our City’s Chief Financial Officer and Fiscal Watchdog, I will deliver meaningful results to protect New Yorkers.”
Weprin has municipal financial experience since he balanced the city’s budget as Chair of the City Council’s Finance Committee for eight years. He guided the city’s finances through the post-9/11 recession and the 2008 recession. Previously in his public service career, Governor Mario Cuomo appointed him to serve as the Deputy Superintendent of Banks and Secretary of the Banking Board for New York State, where he was a watchdog of nearly $2 trillion, regulating more than 3,000 financial institutions and financial service firms in New York State, including international banking institutions, mortgage brokers, and mortgage bankers.
“David Weprin is smart, experienced and will always put New York City and its people first. I have known and worked with David for many years and hold him in high regard for his expertise on budget and finance issues, said Queens Assemblymember Catherine Nolan (D-Sunnyside, Ridgewood, Long Island City, Queensbridge, Ravenswood, Astoria, Woodside, Maspeth, Dutch Kills, Blissville). “As former chair of the education committee in the NYS Assembly I know David’s commitment to children and their families. He is the right person to help our city at this time of crisis.”
Beyond his comprehensive public finance experience, Weprin has authored some of Albany’s most progressive legislation, including laws that have helped seniors, children, low-income families, veterans and small businesses. He authored the Adoptee Bill of Rights, the Religious Garb Bill protecting religious minorities, and in one of the most gratifying moments of his career, David served as a key vote and supporter of New York’s successful passage and enactment into law of Marriage Equality.
“From his plan to protect the health and safety of NYCHA residents to the work he will do to ensure the Department of Education is using our tax dollars to deliver high quality education for our children, David Weprin has shown that he has the right qualifications to be our next City Comptroller,” said Brooklyn Assemblymember and Chair of the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force Maritza Davilla (D-Brooklyn).
As comptroller, Weprin said he will:
- Fight tooth and nail to protect our retirees and pensioners, and ensure their retirement is protected.
- Make sure New Yorkers living on fixed incomes never have to choose between paying their rent, buying groceries or affording their medication.
- Fight to build affordable housing using the City’s $229 billion investment portfolio to partner with the private sector to incentivize affordable housing construction that would have previously been unprofitable to build.
- Fix the MTA’s fiscal house, while also fighting for more public transportation options for the New Yorkers who need them the most.
- Ensure a thorough and continuous auditing and investigating of NYCHA to ensure the health and safety of residents and the proper use of tax dollars.
- Use the powers of the Comptroller’s Office to ensure the Department of Education is giving our children the best possible education, from the cutting-edge technology they need to succeed to making sure our schools reflect the City’s true diversity.
- Help small businesses grow and succeed, creating a Red-Tape Reduction Commission and eliminating stifling fees, fines and regulations.
- Eliminate the roadblocks to success standing in the way of too many of the City’s ethnic and racial minorities.
- Create a New American, Diversity & Inclusion Task Force to examine and correct the shortcomings regarding access to capital and financial services for underserved communities.
- Push to implement policies aimed at reducing the negative effects of climate change, especially in communities that were hard hit during Hurricane Sandy.
Weprin has already earned the endorsements of a diverse group of the city’s leading elected officials and labor organizations.
“I am proud to endorse my friend and colleague David Weprin to be our next City Comptroller. David’s experience, dedication to New York and commitment to all families are exactly what we need right now, and he will lead our city out of this crisis,” said Manhattan Assembly Member Rebecca Seawright (D-Manhattan).
The New York State Court Officers Association also gave their support.
“Assembly Member Weprin is a longtime champion of organized labor and the responsible public finance official we need as our next Comptroller,” said Dennis Quirk, President of the New York State Court Officers Association. “The New York State Court Officers Association is proud to endorse his campaign because we’ve seen up close his work as the Deputy Superintendent of Banking, in the City Council as Finance Chairman, and in the State Assembly. We’re confident that with David at the helm, the City’s finances will be in an exponentially better position for our members and all New York City’s residents.”
Weprin received endorsements from Assemblymembers Vivian Cook, Jeffrion Aubry, Michael DenDekker, Richard Gottfried, and Councilmembers Barry Grodenchik, Peter Koo, Karen Koslowitz. Assembly Member-Elect Jenifer Rajkumar, Congressman Tom Suozzi, former New York State Attorney General Oliver Koppell, and activist Liz Abzug, former Deputy Commissioner of Operations for New York State’s Human Rights Enforcement Agency also gave their endorsements.
Weprin is currently Chair of the New York State Assembly’s Committee on Correction, where he has championed critical legislation reforming our criminal justice system. He also served on the New York City Council from 2002-2009, where he was Chair of the Finance Committee.
Weprin is a graduate of Jamaica High School, SUNY at Albany, and holds a law degree from Hofstra University. A father of five children, and grandfather of six, David and his wife, Ronni, live in Holliswood, Queens.
[This article was originally posted on our sister site, Queens County Politics.]
