In The News

Wilson for state comptroller

Oct 17, 2010

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.