Incumbent New York State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli is facing two Democratic opponents in this year’s June 23 primary.
Former affordable housing nonprofit leader Drew Warshaw and former Kansas legislator Raj Goyle are attempting to oust DiNapoli from his nearly 20-year tenure as comptroller. Early voting in the primary begins June 13.
Here’s what to know about the candidates.
Who is Tom DiNapoli?
DiNapoli has held the position since 2007 after first being selected for the role after the state’s previous comptroller, Alan Hevesi, pleaded guilty to defrauding the state and resigned. He has beaten Republican opponents four times since then. Most recently, he was re-elected by more than 14 points in 2022.
Since becoming the state’s comptroller, DiNapoli has grown the state’s pension fund, recovered millions for taxpayers and audited every school district in the state on a rotating basis, according to his campaign website.
Born and raised on Long Island, DiNapoli currently resides in Nassau County and received his higher education from two New York universities — Hofstra and The New School. He represented the state’s 16th Assembly District from 1986 until he became comptroller and was a long-time member of the Assembly’s Ways and Means Committee.
Who is Drew Warshaw?
Warshaw, a New York City native, was most recently the co-CEO of Enterprise Community Partners, a national nonprofit that fosters the development of affordable rental homes.
Previously, he held the chief of staff role for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, served on the Board of Directors of social service agency Union Settlement, worked at the Center for American Progress and was a staffer for former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
According to his campaign website, Warshaw plans to cut taxes, create an affordable housing fund and divest from fossil fuel companies and foreign bonds.
Warshaw released a report late last year asserting the state’s $291 billion retirement fund for state and local government employees has underperformed under DiNapoli, forcing New Yorkers to spend $59 billion more in property and income taxes than they should have over those 18 years to meet pension obligations.
DiNapoli’s campaign responded by saying the report contained mistakes and “is proposing a plan that would risk the retirement of more than a million working families, retirees, and public employees.”
Warshaw received his higher education from two New York universities — Cornell and Columbia Business School — and currently lives with his wife and two sons in lower Manhattan.
Who is Raj Goyle?
Goyle grew up in Kansas but his parents immigrated originally to Rochester, New York from India. After graduating from Duke University and Harvard Law School, Goyle served four years in the Kansas Legislature and ran for Congress in 2010.
He has experience with the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, Public Citizen and the ACLU and co-founded a legal technology company in 2014 before selling it several years later. Goyle also founded Phone Free New York, which championed the cell phone ban in the state’s schools, and chaired the 5BORO Institute.
Some of his goals, if elected, include fighting utility rate hikes, divesting from fossil fuels and foreign bonds and investing in affordable housing, according to Goyle’s campaign website.
Goyle currently lives with his wife, two daughters and both grandmothers in lower Manhattan.
Who is the Republican candidate running for NY comptroller in November?
Joseph Hernandez is the sole Republican candidate challenging DiNapoli in this year’s state comptroller race. Hernandez, who came to the U.S. at 7 years old as a Cuban refugee, currently serves as the founder and senior managing partner of private investment firm Blue Water Venture Partners LLC.
He’s previously held roles at several health care-related companies, including Merck & Co., and has degrees in neuroscience, molecular genetics and microbiology, finance and entrepreneurship, chronic disease epidemiology and biostatistics and public health.
If elected, Hernandez says he will protect taxpayers by strengthening the state’s pension fund, holding state government accountable through auditing state agencies and public authorities, and investing in New York, according to his campaign website.
This story has been updated to clarify candidate details.
Emily Barnes covers state government for the USA TODAY Network-New York with a focus on how policy and laws impact New Yorkers’ taxes, communities and jobs. Follow her on Instagram or X @byemilybarnes. Get in touch at ebarnes@usatodayco.com.
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: These are Tom DiNapoli’s Democrat challengers in NY comptroller’s race
Reporting by Emily Barnes, New York State Team / Rockland/Westchester Journal News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Emily Barnes, New York State Team | USA TODAY Network
