Bill Thompson (New York politician)

William C. Thompson Jr.
Bill Thompson campaigning
New York City Comptroller
Incumbent
Assumed office January, 2002
Preceded by	Alan G. Hevesi
Personal details
Born	(1953-07-10) July 10, 1953 Brooklyn, NY
Nationality	American
Political party	Democratic
Spouse	Elsie Thompson
Children	Jennifer Thompson
Residence(s)	Harlem, New York City
Alma mater	Tufts University

William C. Thompson, Jr. (born July 10, 1953) currently serves as the 42nd New York City Comptroller. Sworn into office on January 1, 2002, he was reelected to serve a second term that began on January 1, 2006. Thompson is the presumptive Democratic nominee as well as the Working Families Party nominee for New York City Mayor. .

Early Life and Career

Thompson was born and raised in New York City. He is the son of Elaine Thompson, a New York City public schoolteacher, and William C. Thompson, Sr., formerly a judge on New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division. Thompson attended Midwood High School, a public school in Brooklyn, and graduated from Tufts University in 1974. In the early 1990s, Thompson moved to the private sector, becoming a senior vice president at an investment bank, where he helped municipalities manage their finances and fund capital projects.

Political career

Upon his graduation from Tufts, he worked as an aide to a Brooklyn congressman. Later, he became the youngest Brooklyn Deputy Borough President. As Deputy Borough President, he helped to shape policies in housing, health care and the economy. Following the Crown Heights riots, Bill worked to fix the racial divide that had paralyzed Brooklyn.

Thompson was later appointed Brooklyn’s representative to the New York City Board of Education in 1994. Two years later, he began the first of five consecutive terms as its President. As Board of Education President, he worked for a more centralized management of the public school system that eventually led to mayoral control. Thompson also fought for better after-school programs, improved teacher quality, and an expanded arts curriculum.

New York City Comptroller: 2002-Present

Bill Thompson

As the city’s chief financial officer, he manages a staff of more than 700 professionals with a budget of $68 million.

Thompson has worked to diversify the pension portfolio from primarily public equities into private equity, real estate and other asset classes. Since 2003, the funds have grown at a pace of 12.33 percent a year, outperforming its actuarial return assumption of 8 percent. In addition, during Thompson’s tenure, assets managed by minority- and women-owned firms have increased from less than $2 billion to over $6 billion.

Thompson has called on American firms in the pension portfolio – including Halliburton, General Electric and Aon – to document the impact of their businesses on the environment. He has insisted that companies doing business in Northern Ireland embrace the goal of equal opportunity in employment and has supported the effort to prohibit workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation.

Since Thompson took office, these funds have been reinvested back into New York City, leading to the creation and rehabilitation of more than 20,000 units of affordable housing, the development of thousands of square feet of commercial space, and investments related to creating clean and renewable sources of energy.

In 2003, Thompson led the effort that led to the deposit of $200 million in city funds to establish new bank branches in traditionally underserved neighborhoods, enabling more New Yorkers to open checking accounts and apply for business loans and mortgages. Thompson has developed a number of community service and education programs to help New Yorkers deal with the challenges of the economic crisis. These programs include consumer banking days (regular events that take place in every borough and feature workshops addressing savings and credit issues), predatory lending reforms and general investment strategies.

2009 Mayoral Campaign

Thompson is the presumptive Democratic nominee forNew York City Mayor opposing incumbent mayor, Michael Bloomberg. On July 9, 2009, Thompson was endorsed by the Working Families Party.

In addition, Thompson has earned the endorsements of Rev. Al Sharpton, Sen. Chuck Schumer, Fernando Ferrer, Congressman Anthony Weiner, Congressman Charlie Rangel, Ruben Diaz Jr., and several others. Many believe President Barack Obama will endorse Thompson in the coming weeks.

On July 21, 2009, the Comptroller's office released a report suggesting that the Bloomberg administration had falsely inflated graduation rates in city schools. Thompson's report did not demonstrate any conclusive evidence of manipulation, but Thompson criticized Bloomberg's managerial style as creating incentives for school's to graduate unqualified students. The New York City Department of Education released rebuttal to Thompson's allegations. NBC news released an article titled, "It's On: Thompson Slams Bloomberg on Education," which indicated the mayoral race may be a lot closer than many have expected despite Bloomberg's wealth.

See also

• New York City Comptroller
• New York City mayoral election, 2009

External links

• Official New York City Comptroller Website
• Official Bill Thompson Campaign Website