1St General Election Debate — Comptroller 1 DEBATE PARTICIPANTS
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GENERAL ELECTION DEBATE COMPTROLLER Sunday, October 18, 2009, 11:00 am WABC-TV Father Joseph P. Parkes, S.J. The Campaign Finance Board is a nonpartisan, Chairman independent city agency that serves the public Art Chang interest by enhancing the role of New York City Richard J. Davis residents in the electoral process. Through Katheryn C. Patterson its administration of the Campaign Finance Mark S. Piazza Program, created in 1988, the CFB educates Board Members voters about the candidates and enables more citizens to compete for city office. The Amy M. Loprest Program amplifies the impact of New Yorkers’ Executive Director small contributions by matching them with public funds, reducing the possibility and Shauna Tarshis Denkensohn the perception of corruption associated with Deputy Executive Director large contributions and unlimited campaign Sue Ellen Dodell spending. General Counsel The CFB accomplishes its mission by: Elizabeth Bauer Chief of Administrative Services • Providing accessible, real-time public disclosure of campaign finances in city Daniel Cho elections. Director of Candidate Services • Administering the voluntary Campaign Eric Friedman Press Secretary Finance Program, which sets spending limits and provides public matching Peri Horowitz funds to eligible candidates. Director of Special Compliance & Policy Assurance • Enforcing the Campaign Finance Act uniformly and without bias. Diana Lundy Chief of Data Operations • Publishing and distributing the nonpartisan New York City Voter Guide. Kenneth O’Brien Director of Systems Administration • Coordinating the Debate Program for citywide candidates. Julius Peele Director of Auditing & Accounting Elizabeth A. Upp Director of Communications Peggy A. Willens Director of Management Analysis & Operations TABLE of CONTENTS The Office of Comptroller . .1 Debate Participants . 2 – 3 Moderator . .4 Panelists . .5 Sponsors . 6 – 7 CFB Debate Program . 8 – 9 Debate Schedule . back cover THE OFFICE OF COMPTROLLER The Comptroller is the city’s chief financial officer . The Comptroller’s responsibilities include: keeping the Mayor and the City Council informed about the city’s financial condition; making recommendations about the operations, fiscal policies, and financial transactions of the city; auditing city agencies and investigating all matters concerning the city’s finances; registering and auditing contracts; issuing and selling city bonds; managing the city-held sinking funds and other trust and pension funds; and performing analysis to eliminate waste and fraud in city operations . The Comptroller earns an annual salary of $185,000 . General Election Candidates John C. Liu Salim Ejaz PLEASE NOTE: Other candidates may be on the ballot. Contact the Board of Elections for a complete list of all the candidates on the ballot. 1st General Election Debate — Comptroller 1 DEBATE PARTICIPANTS John C. Liu As Chairperson of the Council’s Transportation Committee, John has focused public policy on the critical role transportation plays in economic development and job creation . He has also enacted legislation to improve pedestrian safety and ease congestion . John has rooted out waste in spending at city agencies such as the MTA, TLC and DOT . As a member of the Education Committee, John has fought to raise standards in our public schools and invest City resources wisely . He is a product of a public school education . John attended the Bronx High School of Science and Binghamton University, where he earned his degree in Mathematical Physics . John’s legislation includes: • Equal Access Bill (Local Law 73 of 2003) – Mandates language services in City agencies that provide health and human services; • Price-Gouging by Gas Stations Bill (Local Law 38 of 2006); and • School Zone Engine Idling Bill (Local Law 5 of 2009) – Limits engine idling near schools to one-minute . John Liu is the first Asian Pacific American to hold a city- wide legislative office in New York City . Prior to serving in the City Council, John managed a team of pension Actuaries at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP for fourteen years . John and his wife, Jenny, live in Flushing, Queens, with their son Joey . Reprinted as supplied by the candidate. 2 New York City Campaign Finance Board Salim Ejaz Salim Ejaz, with a vast array of professional qualifications and 40 years of high quality accounting and auditing experience, is superbly qualified to be the next comptroller. He is not only a CPA, but also a Cost and Management Accountant and a Chartered Secretary . Salim is the only candidate with relevant government auditing and accounting experience, having worked as Director of Field Audit in Nassau County for the past 12 years . He exposed waste and losses of over $ 500 million . His audit efforts were instrumental in stemming continued hemorrhaging of about $100 million annually . His audit of the legal department which handled lawsuits for property tax claims revealed stunning losses of $ 430 million in a period of 6 years . He exposed gross incompetence in the Assessment Review Commission, where mismanagement was causing a loss of $70 million per year . Salim’s performance record of exposing waste of $ 500 million is unmatched and unparalleled . Salim worked for 7 years as Audit Manager/Director in a division of General Mills, a Fortune-100 company. He can therefore boast of a well rounded private and government experience . Reprinted as supplied by the candidate. 1st General Election Debate — Comptroller 3 MODERATOR MODERATOR: An award winning reporter and anchor for Eyewitness News at 5:00, Diana Williams joined WABC-TV in 1991 . She has covered stories ranging from the troubles in Northern Ireland to the illegal immigrant crossings along the Mexican border . Diana began covering politics while working in Boston during Michael Dukakis’ failed run for President . Since joining Channel 7, Diana has anchored WABC-TV’s coverage of all presidential elections, including the Republican National Convention in 2008 . Diana hosts Channel 7’s weekly political roundtable Eyewitness News Up Close, focusing on important issues with news makers and power brokers . Among her guests have been such political luminaries as New York Senator, now Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton and former New York Mayors Ed Koch and Rudy Giuliani. Reprinted as supplied by the sponsor. 4 New York City Campaign Finance Board PANELISTS PANELIST: Dave Evans joined WABC-TV in 1999 as Political Reporter for Eyewitness News, and has covered every presidential, gubernatorial and New York City mayoral race since then . He traveled extensively in 2008 covering the historic presidential primary race, including the campaigns of Hillary Clinton, Rudy Giuliani and, ultimately, the election of Barack Obama as our 44th President . Evans has worked in Washington and Albany, covering everything from the democratic takeover of Congress to this year’s gridlock in the New York State Senate . Reprinted as supplied by the sponsor. PANELIST: Mariela Salgado, a native of Chile, is currently a reporter for “Noticias Univision 41” . She has also co-anchored for “Noticias Univision 41 Al Despertar”, and “Noticias Univision 41 a las 6 PM y a las 11 PM” . She began her career in journalism with an internship for Telenoticias Spanish cable news station in 1995 . Three months later she was already an assignment desk editor and in that same year she became a producer and entertainment reporter . Mariela Salgado received a Bachelor of Arts degree in broadcast journalism at Florida International University (FIU) and has been distinguished by the Golden Key Honors Society . Reprinted as supplied by the sponsor. 1st General Election Debate — Comptroller 5 SPONSORS WABC-TV has been the leader in local news and entertainment programming in the New York City area for more than 60 years . Channel 7 Eyewitness News is the most watched local news in New York and the United States, with a long and successful history of sponsoring primary and general election debates for New York and New Jersey campaigns . WABC-TV’s web site, 7online .com, provides viewers a chance to be part of our news coverage . This election year, our online audience will play a crucial role in the debates by providing us with questions for candidates on issues that matter to them . Reprinted as supplied by the sponsor. WXTV Univision 41 is a Univision owned and operated television station serving more than four million Hispanics in the New York area . WXTV Univision 41 and sister station WFUT TeleFutura 68 command 70% of the viewing of all Spanish-language stations in the New York market, among Hispanic Adults 18-49 . WXTV Univision 41 began its operations on August 4, 1968 and this year is celebrating a 41–year commitment of connecting Hispanics in the tri-state area to their culture and resources through top quality programming and public outreach efforts . Reprinted as supplied by the sponsor. 6 New York City Campaign Finance Board On April 19th, 1965, 1010 WINS changed formats, turning off the music and turning on all-news . Forty-four years later, the station proudly proclaims that “more people wake up to 1010 WINS than to any other station in the nation.” 1010 WINS enjoys one of the most recognized brands in the news business by staying true to its core mission: “working together to inform our listeners and improve our community ”. Today, more than 2.7 million people tune to 1010 WINS for news, weather, traffic and more. The radio station is also heard online at 1010 WINS.com, and in High Definition on FM HD. 1010wins.com reaches more than one million unique monthly visitors, generates 12-million monthly page views and is one of the top media sites in the tri-state area . Reprinted as supplied by the sponsor. The League of Women Voters of the City of New York is a nonpartisan organization whose purpose is to promote informed and active citizen participation in government . The League neither supports nor opposes candidates or political parties . The League is supported by public-spirited individuals, businesses and organizations . The League maintains a website (www.lwvnyc.org), a Telephone Information Service, and publishes many citizen and voter information guides .