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Democratic Queens Assemblyman David Weprin, citing the need to protect hardworking New Yorkers as the City stares down years of economic recovery due to the pandemic, today announced he is officially running for NYC Comptroller in 2021.
A lifelong Queens resident, son of a Cuban-immigrant UFT member mother and Brooklyn-born father, Weprin further cited the need to stand up for working and middle-class New Yorkers and that right now, all New Yorkers deserve leaders who will prioritize their needs and get us out of the dual fiscal and health crises facing the City of New York. Weprin will focus on protecting seniors, pensioners, working and middle-class families and immigrants. Weprin is the only candidate running for Comptroller from Queens.
“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 David Weprin, candidate for NYC Comptroller. “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 is the only candidate running for Comptroller with the necessary municipal financial experience, having 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 Weprin 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.
As Comptroller, David Weprin 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, including:
“David Weprin is a champion of middle-class families. I have known him for over twenty years and I am excited to endorse him to be the next New York City Comptroller,” said Congress Member Tom Suozzi, who represents part of Queens.
“In the State Assembly, David Weprin has been a strong ally in the fight for the New York Health Act,” said Manhattan Assembly Member and Health Committee Chair Richard Gottfried. “He recognizes not just the health benefits but the clear financial benefits of single payer health care for New Yorkers. His record shows he has the understanding and values we need in a New York City Comptroller.”
Brooklyn Assembly Member and Chair of the Puerto Rican/Hispanic Task Force Maritza Davilla said, “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.”
“David Weprin has made working New Yorkers and recent immigrants a top priority for years,” said Queens Assembly Member-Elect Jenifer Rajkumar. “He has always worked to build a more inclusive, vibrant New York and I know he will do so as our next Comptroller.”
“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.
“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 Assembly Member Catherine Nolan. “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.”
“As someone who has spent his career fighting to improve the lives of some of our most vulnerable New Yorkers, reform the criminal justice system and provide opportunity for immigrants, I know that I have a partner in David Weprin,” said Queens Assembly Member and Speaker Pro Tempore Jeffrion Aubry. “And as our next Comptroller, I know David Weprin will continue this fight to lift up all New Yorkers, and improve the lives of those just looking to earn a living, raise a family and call New York their home.”
Queens Council Member Peter Koo said, “David Weprin will be the partner that our communities need in the Comptroller’s Office. He has a plan to help small businesses on Day 1 and has already done so much to assist local, independent restaurants, giving them a much-needed lifeline when we reopened partial indoor dining. David Weprin will always fight for us.”
“David Weprin has spent his entire career in public service fighting for seniors and those in need,” said Queens Council Member Karen Koslowitz. “David has made it his commitment to fight to protect pensions and the needs of seniors and that’s why I am supporting him for Comptroller.”
“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.”
Queens Assembly Member Michael DenDekker said, “I’ve known David Weprin a long time and fighting for the everyday New Yorker has always been his priority. As the Chair of Consumer Affairs in the Assembly, that was my priority as well, and so I know that New York City consumers need a champion in the Comptroller’s office. That champion is David Weprin.”
Weprin has also earned the endorsements of Queens Assembly Member Vivian Cook, Queens Council Member Barry Grodenchik, 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.
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.
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, one of the most vital committees on the Council.
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.
