MAYORAL CANDIDATE
Scott Stringer
As NYC's Comptroller, Stringer is responsible for monitoring the city's fiscal health by identifying waste, fraud, and misuse of power in local government. Additionally as Comptroller, Stringer has worked to ensure city agencies are helping New Yorkers. He started his career as a NY State Assemblyman in 1983, and eventually was elected to Manhattan Borough President in 2005. After almost 10 years, Stringer went on to win the election to become NYC's comptroller in 2014, a position he still holds.
What Stands Out: Stringer has dedicated his career to NYC politics, holding various positions with the NY government. Throughout his career, Stringer has been a liberal presence in NY politics, consistently advocating for progressive policies since the 1980s. Stringer is widely considered to have been an effective Comptroller, and he claims his role of keeping NYC fiscally healthy and understanding how the city spends its money is crucial experience given the financial hole COVID has caused. As Comptroller, Stringer was tasked with overseeing and growing NYC's 240 billion dollar pension fund, and he started the first major divestment from fossil fuel companies to address climate change. Given that his job as comptroller was to audit NYC's agencies and monitor their effectiveness, Stringer claims he already knows NYC's system inside-out and can start making a change from "day 1." There is some controversy surrounding Stringer with a recent allegation claiming that when running for Public Advocate 30 years ago, that he sexually assaulted a volunteer who worked for his campaign. Stringer denies the accusation and said that he welcomes an investigation into the matter.
SHORT ANSWERS
On COVID: "Our next mayor will oversee a massive recovery effort that will require policy, management, and coalition-building skills, and a commitment to building back a stronger, fairer economy. I believe I have the skills, experiences, and vision to do that, uniquely."
On Healthcare: "We need to expand models of culturally competent care for all New Yorkers, including new immigrants and regardless of immigration status. As mayor I will make sure that everyone, in every neighborhood, is connected to quality, affordable healthcare."
On Criminal Justice: "I will appoint a commissioner who understands NYPD isn’t autonomous and cannot act with impunity; strip the NYPD of final say on discipline, empowering the CCRB with authority; and redouble resources to investigate and prosecute other claims, including racial profiling."
On Housing: "We need to stop pretending that private developers are going to deliver the housing we need and build a new generation of social housing that is permanently protected from speculative market forces and actually affordable to working people."
Learn more about his policies here: https://stringerformayor.com/plans/