David Weprin kicks off bid for city comptroller

Queens Assemblymember David Weprin announced his candidacy for city comptroller Monday. Photo via Weprin’s Office

By David Brand

Veteran Queens lawmaker David Weprin has formally announced his bid for city comptroller, more than a decade after first running to become New York’s chief financial officer.

Weprin, an assemblymember and former councilmember from Holliswood, said his financial policy experience sets him apart in the four-candidate race to replace Comptroller Scott Stringer.

He serves on various finance and banking committees in Albany and previously chaired the City Council’s Finance Committee. In the 1990s, he oversaw nearly $2 trillion in investments and monitored more than 3,000 banks and financial service firms as deputy superintendent of banks and as secretary of the state’s Banking Board under Gov. Mario Cuomo.

“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,” he said. “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.”

He said he intends to use the city’s $229 billion investment portfolio to incentivize affordable housing development and cited a specific plan to create a “New American, Diversity and Inclusion Task Force” to foster access to capital and financial services for immigrants and New Yorkers of color.

Weprin previously ran for comptroller in 2009, finishing fourth in the Democratic primary won by fellow Queens lawmaker John Liu. Liu went on to win the general election later that year.

Weprin rolled out several endorsements Monday, including support from Manhattan Assemblymembers Richard Gottfried and Rebecca Seawright, Queens Councilmembers Peter Koo and Karen Koslowitz and New York State Court Officers Association President Dennis Quirk.

He filed his campaign with the Board of Elections in 2019 and had raised more than $172,500 by the most recent financial disclosure deadline in July. 

The comptroller field also includes Bronx State Sen. Brian Benjamin, Brooklyn Councilmember Brad Lander and Brooklyn State Sen. Kevin Parker. Manhattan Councilmember Helen Rosenthal filed to run last year but has said she will no longer pursue the office.

Lander led the fundraising with $652,421 as of July 15.