William C. Thompson, Jr.
New York City Comptroller
William C. Thompson, Jr. became New York City’s 42nd Comptroller on January 1, 2002. He was re-elected in November 2005 and began his second term on January 1, 2006. A lifelong resident of Brooklyn, Thompson is the son of a judge and a public school teacher. He is the proud product of the New York City public school system.
Thompson has used the powers of his office to aggressively safeguard the City’s finances, seeking out savings and rooting out waste. His audits of City agencies have uncovered more than $193.6 million in savings, including more than $22 million in Medicaid reimbursements unclaimed by the Department of Education and almost $4 million in fines uncollected by the Taxi and Limousine Commission. Also, under Thompson’s watch, the amount of money collected for damage done to City property rose dramatically.
Thompson has earned a reputation as a tough advocate for New Yorkers. He has stood on the side of working people seeking a living wage and fairness on the job. He led the fight to protect the City’s Meals-On-Wheels program, an invaluable lifeline for many frail elderly. Thompson’s battle against the proposed bus and subway fare hikes forced the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to open its books to the public. He alerted New Yorkers that the Federal government was failing to make good on its promise of aid in the wake of the September 11th terrorist attacks. Thompson challenged the City’s inequitable plan to reduce trash collection in some boroughs and was a leader in the successful campaign to fully reinstate the City’s recycling program. Through his Community Action Center, Thompson has helped more than 40,000 New Yorkers with problems regarding City services.
As custodian and investment advisor to all five of the City’s pension funds, Thompson manages a combined portfolio of more than $105 billion. In this role, Thompson has invested hundreds of millions of dollars in affordable housing and commercial real estate in New York City, helping increase housing and job opportunities within the five boroughs. He has demonstrated a serious commitment to fostering opportunities for women- and minority-owned firms to conduct business with New York City, with a particular focus on capital market activities. Under his leadership, the amount of New York City Pension Fund assets managed by women- and minority-owned firms has more than tripled to approximately $3.7 billion.
The Comptroller has spearheaded the creation of the largest Emerging Managers program in the United States. With the approval of the New York City Pension Funds, the Comptroller authorized a $175 million allocation to a groundbreaking Emerging Managers program targeting first-time funds, particularly those managed and owned by women and members of minority groups.
Thompson has been a leader among institutional investors in advancing important corporate governance and corporate social responsibility reforms such as the repeal of the classified structure of corporate boards and the annual election of directors, the establishment of a board protocol for addressing shareholder proposals that win majority votes, a prohibition against workplace discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, the adoption of stronger standards of director independence for members of key board committees, as well as the adoption of standards for the protection of the environment and human rights globally.
He gained a national reputation for his efforts to stop corporations - Halliburton, General Electric, ConocoPhillips, Cooper Cameron, and the Aon Corporation - from engaging in business with countries that are identified by the U.S. State Department as state sponsors of terrorism.
Thompson also worked with leaders of the financial services industry in bringing about reform at the New York Stock Exchange.
Thompson graduated from Tufts University, where he currently serves as a member of the Board of Trustees. He graduated from Brooklyn’s P.S. 161, Andries Hudde Intermediate School and Midwood High School. In 1998, Thompson was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Mercy College.
Following his work for a Brooklyn congressman and his service as the borough’s youngest-ever Deputy Borough President, Thompson was appointed to the New York City Board of Education in 1994. Two years later, he began the first of five consecutive terms as its President. During that period, Thompson led a reform agenda that resulted in improved student achievement and greater public accountability. Thompson also served as a Senior Vice President for Public Finance at an investment banking firm in the early 1990s.