Democratic supporters of Harry J. Wilson (R-C-I), a nationally recognized restructuring expert and candidate for New York State comptroller, have established "Democrats for Wilson," a coalition of business and political leaders, including numerous loyal and longstanding Democrats, who are crossing party lines to endorse Harry Wilson in the name of the fiscal health and well-being of New York State. Serving on the executive committee of "Democrats for Wilson" are its chairman Orin Kramer, Chairman of the New Jersey State Investment Council and former advisor to President Clinton and Governor Cuomo; Jonathan Trichter, its Executive Director and Wilson Campaign Senior Policy Adviser, who up until Harry has only worked for Democratic candidates; Patrick Schaefer, a law partner in Brooklyn and the former Executive Director of the New York State Democratic Party; Danny Strong, Emmy-nominated and award winning screenwriter of "Recount", the historical film about the 2000 U.S. Presidential Elections; John Crotty, a former NYC Housing Development Corporation executive and Bloomberg administration Director of City Legislative Affairs; Reverend Calvin Rice, pastor of the New Jerusalem Baptist Church, located in Jamaica, New York; Christopher McNickle, author of the signal book on citywide elections, To Be Mayor of New York, along with numerous articles on ethnic history and politics; Jennifer Bergenfeld, a lifelong Democrat, attorney and New York University professor of business ethics; John Ciafone, an attorney and executive director of the Aldos Independent Democratic Club in Astoria, New York; and Tony Perez Cassino, who founded the Northwest Bronx Democratic Alliance andserved on the Mayor's 2010 Charter Revision Commission.
*Committee in Formation
Members of Democrats for Wilson also include everyday Democrats, including but not limited to the following:
Dave Hochman, a consultant in technology-based economic development. He is also the director of the Business Incubator Association of New York State, an organization which works with start-up businesses as well as with policymakers on matters concerning the development of incubator businesses.
Judy Lederer, a lifelong Democrat and former Co- chair of the Educational Council of District 37
Jason Winocour is a partner and social and digital media practice leader at Hunter Public Relations. Mr. Winocour has over 20 years of experience in media relations and public relations in the government and not-for-profit sectors.
Richie Habersham, a lifelong Democrat, former New York City School teacher and community activist in Harlem
Allan Tessler, lifelong Democrat and resident of Tarrytown
John Farrelly, a recent Fordham University graduate and the New Media Director for the College Democrats of New York in 2008
Helen Conlin, lifelong Democrat and Cabaret singer from Greenwich Village
Lois Manning, retired and a long-time Greenwich Village resident
Linda Lawrence, a lifelong Democrat and New York State Real Estate Broker
Robert Elson, a lifelong Democrat and longtime Upper West Side resident
Posted by Team Wilson on 10/25 at 12:19 PM in
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New York marked another low in Albany history earlier this month when former state Comptroller Alan Hevesi pleaded guilty to a felony corruption charge as part of an ongoing inquiry into "pay-to-play" under his regime. Hevesi traveled the world on the dime of money management firms that had been awarded contracts to manage pension fund investments.
Hevesi resigned the comptroller's post in 2006, after pleading guilty to charges he used government workers to chauffer his ailing wife. Thomas DiNapoli, a veteran Democratic assemblyman from Long Island, was elected by his peers to serve the remainder of Hevesi's term. The selection was heavily criticized because DiNapoli had not a lick of experience in financial management.
As it turned out, DiNapoli has been a fine shepherd of the office, which oversees the state's $125 billion pension fund. On Nov. 2, however, New Yorkers have a real opportunity to elevate the office even further, by picking Republican Harry Wilson as the next comptroller.
Wilson's mission
Wilson wants to transform the comptroller's office into the leading instrument of reform in New York state. That activist approach is bolstered by his well-polished resume — Wilson has lengthy experience in the world of corporate reorganization, having worked at some of the nation's leading financial houses. If elected, he would be one of the few Republican leaders in a capital dominated by Democrats.
Wilson is a native of blue-collar Johnstown who earned degrees at Harvard and now lives in Scarsdale. After a career in finance that included stints at Goldman Sachs, the Blackstone Group and Silver Point Capital, Wilson played a critical role in the Obama administration's restructuring of General Motors, which now appears to be on the road to recovery, preserving a vital pillar in American manufacturing, and tens of thousands of jobs.
Every comptroller has the power of the audit at his disposal; DiNapoli and his predecessors have used it to shine the light on excess and chicanery in school districts and municipal governments from one end of the state to the other. Wilson told the Editorial Board he would take matters further, using the audit to make the case for real structural reform of the government, identifying fraud, waste and otherwise unnecessary spending.
Overseeing the fund
With regard to the state pension fund, which provides benefits to more than 1 million retired and current state employees, Wilson asserts that thorough accounting is essential to avoid a massive shortfall he says could lead to a "tax catastrophe" for New Yorkers. Despite a report from the Pew Center earlier this year that New York is one of only four states nationwide that can fully fund its current pension obligations, Wilson worries that the fund underperforms other states' and that poor accounting practices may be to blame. That assertion was bolstered by a recent report from Wilshire Associates, a consulting firm that assessed public-employee pensions. Wilshire found that New York's fund lags its peers in terms of rate of annual return and other measures.
Wilson said he would embark on a long-term restructuring of the fund based on a more conservative investment philosophy and the creation of a new pension plan for new hires — Tier VI — that would lessen the burden of state-employee benefits on taxpayers. Many state lawmakers have been touting a Tier VI model that would look more like 401(k), or a defined-contribution plan, rather than the prevailing defined-benefit model. A growing number of private employers have abandoned traditional pension plans.
Wilson also advocates the creation of an independent investment committee to advise the comptroller. He sees such a panel as one way to prevent abuses of New York's sole-trustee system for managing the pension fund.
DiNapoli, whose service has been commendable, has taken critical steps toward reform. He has banned pay-to-play political contributions, barred lobbyists from participating in the fund's investments and done a serviceable job protecting its assets from a spendthrift Legislature. Still, in our estimation, Wilson's real-world experience and innovative, activist approach make him the better choice going forward.
Posted by Team Wilson on 10/24 at 01:41 PM in
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Our recommendation: Harry Wilson for state comptroller
New Yorkers who are anxious for substantive state government reforms should not overlook the race for state comptroller.
Citizens should take notice of Republican Harry Wilson, who quarterbacked the turnaround at General Motors and possesses the financial know-how to put the state on firmer fiscal footing. For that, he's earned the endorsement of the Democrat and Chronicle for the Nov. 2 general election.
Wilson is running against incumbent Democrat Thomas DiNapoli, who was appointed by the Legislature two years ago when Alan Hevesi resigned in disgrace. Just a few weeks ago, Hevesi pleaded guilty to a felony corruption charge. Fortunately, DiNapoli was cleared in the probe.
DiNapoli has done a good job in many ways. He instituted reforms such as banning pay-to-play practices with investment advisers. He conducted audits of every school district, including Rochester's, uncovering questionable practices and pushing districts to stop stockpiling huge reserves instead of reducing taxes.
But given that New York desperately needs to root out wasteful spending, and that a key role of the comptroller is to grow smartly the state's $125 billion pension, Wilson's credentials are much stronger than DiNapoli's.
Wilson's most compelling attribute is his outstanding track record for turning around companies while working on Wall Street. He took early retirement, but after reading of GM's plight, he volunteered to be part of President Barack Obama's turnaround team, and was the only Republican chosen.
Wilson led a group that audited GM's entire operation and designed a restructuring plan that took out $10 billion in costs. He developed a reputation for being tough and relentless but also gregarious. He promises to do a top dollar review of all state spending to determine how to rein it in, and to do it in six months as he did at GM. New York could benefit immensely from such due diligence.
Wilson also has a strong background in finance, with a Harvard MBA. His experience with investing would add much-needed expertise. In light of the malfeasance in the Hevesi reign, Wilson suggests having an independent board of investment experts advise him. That proposal, however, needs to be better thought through to prevent cronyism.
Also attractive is that Wilson has not held public office before and comes from humble roots in Johnstown.DiNapoli, on the other hand, served in the state Assembly for 20 years. This page has encouraged the comptroller to use his bully pulpit to greater advantage to call for reform. It's disappointing that he continues to resist that role, perhaps for fear of offending Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver, who was a major force in his appointment.
Wilson, on the other hand, shows no such qualms about speaking out. New York needs that crusading spirit.
Posted by Team Wilson on 10/24 at 01:31 PM in
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Today, we endorsed Harry Wilson for New York State Comptroller.
In order to tackle New York's financial crisis, we need an experienced, strong-willed and insightful state comptroller. Unshackle Upstate believes that Harry Wilson has the skills and experience to help get our state back on track. His experience with struggling companies will help him tackle our faltering government. The pension system is tanking, there are millions of dollars of wasteful spending and the current Comptroller has shown no willingness to fix the issues. We need an outsider like Harry Wilson to overhaul this office.
In accepting the endorsements, Wilson said, "I am pleased to receive the endorsement of a pro-taxpayer group like Unshackle Upstate. New York State needs a top-to-bottom audit of every dollar spent. As comptroller, I will conduct the most comprehensive forensic audit of state spending ever seen - much like I did with General Motors - to root out waste and inefficiencies in government and recommend ways to provide services more efficiently. New York must reduce its tax burden on families and businesses to attract jobs and economic activity here again. The Office of the State Comptroller has been serially underutilized; I will make the office a thorough and proactive agent for fiscal reform in New York."
Wilson is challenging incumbent Thomas DiNapoli, who has held the office since 2007 after he was appointed by the Legislature to replace Alan Hevesi.
Today's announcement is our first statewide endorsement. Unshackle earlier announced endorsements in 24 legislative races.
Unshackle Upstate has been sounding the alarm on critical financial issues such as the unacceptable levels of public employee benefits and the unsustainable increases in state spending. Given the magnitude of the state's fiscal problems, we felt it was critical to come out and support Harry Wilson. Unlike his opponent, who is deeply connected to Albany's status quo, Harry Wilson will be a steadfast advocate for New York's taxpayers.
Join Unshackle Upstate in supporting Harry Wilson for New York State Comptroller.
Brian Sampson
Executive Director Unshackle Upstate
Posted by Team Wilson on 10/22 at 12:45 PM in
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We received a lot of great news this weekend. Harry now has the endorsement of The New York Times and NY Daily News. These two endorsements add to the growing list of major newspapers supporting his campaign, that already includes the New York Post.
Take a look at what they have to say:
“It is rare for someone of Mr. Wilson’s talents and expertise to compete for one of the most important and least glamorous jobs in state politics." -The New York Times (10/15/10)
"Give the job to Harry Wilson. Superbly qualified, and brimming with cogent, ambitious plans, Wilson is by far the best choice for these times." -NY Daily News (10/17/10)
"New Yorkers who care about the state's finances, economy -- and their own pocketbooks -- should back Wilson." -New York Post (9/28/10)
Harry is humbled by these great endorsements and it goes to show that his message of fiscal responsibility and transparency is ringing loud and clear with the voters of New York.
Posted by Team Wilson on 10/18 at 02:09 PM in
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Wilson’s talents and experience are superbly suited to the job
In the first public debate for state comptroller, the two candidates clarified the choice facing voters. Incumbent Thomas DiNapoli repeatedly characterized his opponent, Harry Wilson, as “a wizard of Wall Street.” The challenger disparaged Mr. DiNapoli as “a creature of Albany.”
For the job of investing the $125 billion state pension fund and auditing state spending, we'll take the wizard.
From humble beginnings, Mr. Wilson became an academic star, earning Harvard degrees on scholarships, then making a fortune in finance. As the only Republican on President Barack Obama's auto task force, Mr. Wilson played a key role in returning General Motors to profit.
Mr. Wilson, 38, has demonstrated a knack for fixing troubled companies by improving management practices and company culture. State agencies, Medicaid and other programs, and school districts would benefit from his expertise. Unlike typical Republican candidates, Mr. Wilson does not claim that tax cuts will solve our problems—he says that solving our problems would allow for tax cuts. He is no slave to political ideology.
Voters following the race should look past the name-calling, which plays on legitimate public antipathy toward Wall Street and Albany. Not all hedge fund partners are reckless swindlers destroying the economy. Not all Albany politicians are corrupt schemers bankrupting the state.
Mr. DiNapoli, appointed by Assembly colleagues to succeed disgraced comptroller Alan Hevesi in 2007, has been trying to do the right thing. His reforms—such as banning middlemen from arranging deals with the pension fund—have aimed to insulate his office from the kind of corruption that brought down his predecessor. Mr. DiNapoli initially rejected campaign contributions above $10,000, though he abandoned that limit when his fundraising faltered. And he has dutifully warned of risky budgeting by his former colleagues, despite supporting such practices as a legislator.
However, there is nothing in Mr. DiNapoli's background to suggest he is cut out to be comptroller. Mr. Wilson's talents and experience, in contrast, are superbly suited to the job. His financial acumen would let him lead rather than be steered by the staff that manages the pension fund.
Mr. DiNapoli is fond of warning that “Hedge Fund Harry” would hand the pension fund to his “Wall Street buddies,” but in fact Mr. Wilson proposes to do the opposite—to move assets into fixed-income and low-cost index funds over time. It is Mr. DiNapoli who favors the riskier strategies that enrich financial firms. His warnings about Mr. Wilson are disingenuous and hypocritical.
Mr. Wilson promises to be a greater check on Albany's fiscal abuses than past comptrollers have been. He would refuse to sign off on imprudent borrowing and other legerdemain that lawmakers use to disguise dishonest budgeting. Critics say comptrollers lack such power, but we're eager to see what Mr. Wilson can do.
Harry Wilson has the courage, talent and independence to invest responsibly, and the skill to excel at the other elements of the job. We strongly endorse him for state comptroller.
Posted by Team Wilson on 10/17 at 06:32 PM in
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New York needs a controller who knows what he's doing.
New York needs a controller who can rescue the office from the hash made of it by the corrupt Alan Hevesi and the underqualified Tom DiNapoli.
New York needs a controller who can be a force for reinventing state government, in the process lifting dead weight from taxpayers' shoulders.
Give the job to Harry Wilson. Superbly qualified, and brimming with cogent, ambitious plans, Wilson is by far the best choice for these times.
Charged with safely growing New York's $125 billion pension fund, the next controller must have the ins and outs of money management down cold. Wilson fits the bill perfectly, having prospered at four of the world's smartest investment houses.
Charged with rescuing New York from insolvency as the state's chief fiscal officer, the next controller must lead the way toward streamlining Albany. Wilson proved his turnaround skills in helping to run the Obama administration task force that rescued the U.S. auto industry.
Charged with ferreting out waste as chief auditor, the next controller must follow the money and report back without fear or favor. On this score, Wilson is the ultimate Capitol outsider: a self-made man with zero ties to the corrupt old guard.
Newcomer to politics that he is, Wilson would apply fresh, astute ideas to banish the same-old, same-old ways of doing business.
Most importantly, his strategy for serving as sole trustee of the pension fund is dead-on right.
He would shock Albany - and New Yorkers at large - by presenting a truthful accounting of the retirement system's costs, along with the means to meet the expenses without raising taxes.
He would shift investments away from the fantasy of scoring outsized returns on risky bets, a move that would save hundreds of millions of dollars that flow to private advisers at little or no gain to the retirement system.
He would establish an independent board to scrutinize the wisdom and propriety of handing pension money over to anyone.
He would document why New York must shift to providing 401(k)-style retirement savings accounts to newly hired workers.
Wilson, a Republican, is challenging DiNapoli, a Democrat. The winner will serve beside the incoming governor, presumably Andrew Cuomo. Most tellingly, Cuomo has declined to endorse fellow Democrat DiNapoli.
To do so would be to severely undercut Cuomo's central thrust - that he will be the leader who finally defeats the Albany special interests to usher in a new day of taxpayer-friendly, merit-based governing.
Clearly, Cuomo knows that DiNapoli was ill-prepared to serve when pals in the Assembly appointed him to serve out Hevesi's term after Hevesi was revealed to be a crook.
DiNapoli had one qualification: He had affably bided his time as a member of the Assembly for nine terms. He had never managed so much as a mom-and-pop store - nor did he have the slightest bit of financial experience.
You wouldn't have hired DiNapoli to handle a dime of your retirement savings, let alone $125 billion.
And you still wouldn't, because his performance fell beneath low expectations.
As but one example: DiNapoli's returns on pension investments have lagged behind those of other large public retirement systems, costing the fund hundreds of millions of dollars.
Wilson is not just an alternative. He's an excellent alternative. So who is the guy?
The son of Greek immigrants, Wilson grew up in Johnstown, a city of 8,000 west of Albany. His roots are working-class. His father was a bartender; his mother operated a sewing machine.
President George H.W. Bush named Wilson a presidential scholar when Wilson was a senior in high school, a distinction earned by only 141 students that year. Subsequently, Wilson graduated from both Harvard College and Harvard Business School. Then he made his mark at the top ranks of New York's financial industry.
In 2009, Wilson volunteered for the task force established by President Obama when General Motors and Chrysler verged on liquidations that would have thrown hundreds of thousands out of work and further pounded the economy.
The lone Republican in the group, Wilson was key to restructuring GM so the company is now competitive and will likely prove a profit-making investment for taxpayers. New Yorkers need him to do the same for this state.
Posted by Team Wilson on 10/17 at 11:52 AM in
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New Yorkers will soon elect the first comptroller since Alan Hevesi disgraced the job. Almost four years ago, Mr. Hevesi was replaced by Thomas DiNapoli, who was picked by fellow Democrats in the State Legislature.
Mr. DiNapoli, who started with little experience or knowledge of finance, has been a worthy caretaker. New Yorkers, however, have a chance to choose someone who knows finance and is not beholden to the Democrats in control in Albany.
That person is the Republican candidate, Harry Wilson, who helped turn around General Motors last year.
Mr. DiNapoli has made some helpful changes in the comptroller’s office in an effort to shield the $125 billion pension fund from political influence. He has also repeatedly warned about problems in the state budget. But he adopted a questionable plan from the pension fund, and he has failed to push hard enough to create public campaign financing for the comptroller’s office.
It is rare for someone of Mr. Wilson’s talents and expertise to compete for one of the most important and least glamorous jobs in state politics.
Mr. Wilson went to Harvard Business School and worked for Goldman Sachs, the Blackstone Group and Silver Point Capital. Mr. DiNapoli tries to make that résumé sound tainted, but the investment and management skills exhibited with General Motors are just what are needed for New York’s financial and ethical blight.
Mr. Wilson promises to strengthen ethics rules, make better audits of state agencies and drastically reduce the $350 million a year in investment fees paid for the state’s pension fund.
Posted by Team Wilson on 10/16 at 01:01 PM in
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The Albany insiders are running scared and will do almost anything to keep us from auditing the books and bringing transparency to Albany. Below you can read a new editorial by the NY Daily News that outlines the false attacks against my campaign.
Tom twists the truth: DiNapoli wages weasel campaign against challenger Harry Wilson
Thursday, October 14th 2010
Desperate times produce weasel measures, as Controller Tom DiNapoli now proves.
Facing a tough race to keep the job he was handed by the Legislature, DiNapoli is sliming GOP opponent Harry Wilson with distortions and disinformation.
Also, DiNapoli has refused without any justification to comply with Freedom of Information requests filed by Wilson - while declaring he's for transparency in government.
Also, DiNapoli is ducking debates with Wilson, never mind that he has called for requiring candidates to face off three times.
His weasel quotient is stunning.
He alleges that Wilson, an investment professional, profited from the subprime debacle.
The truth is that Wilson's former firm held a $35.5 million stake in a single ubprime lender for a few months in 2007 and lost money. The truth is that, under DiNapoli's management, the state pension fund had more than $4 billion in companies involved in subprime lending - including the outfit in which Wilson's firm had invested.
Funny, DiNapoli leaves out that part.
In attack ads, DiNapoli accuses Wilson of wanting to "privatize" the state pension system and alleges Wilson was "forced out" of employment over bad investments. Both allegations are false.
What's true is that DiNapoli's investment record has fallen far short of the average for large public pension funds.
Funny, he left that out, too.
Just yesterday, DiNapoli scathed Wilson for attending a party to celebrate the publication of "Overhaul," a history of how the government rescued the car industry.
The author is former investment banker Steven Rattner, who led the effort. Wilson was in attendance because he was a key member of the team that saved General Motors.
DiNapoli attacked because Rattner had also been implicated in the pay-to-play scandal in the controller's office of convicted felon Alan Hevesi.
What DiNapoli left out was that the General Motors bailout was a job DiNapoli never could have handled. As for keeping company, he also left out that he has a track record of sitting down - in the controller's office - for meetings with Albany insiders gunning for pension fund investments.
And one of those people was Rattner. Funny, the weasel left that out, too.
Posted by Team Wilson on 10/15 at 02:16 PM in
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To help encourage job creation, Harry Wilson and Suffolk County Legislator Ed Romaine recently held a forum with 100 small business leaders to discuss how New York can make state government more small business friendly.
Posted by Team Wilson on 10/12 at 11:02 AM in
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