NEW YORK—Scott Stringer walked away with an easy election night victory with 79.9 percent of the vote as of 10:49 p.m. against Republican opponent John Burnett Tuesday night to become the next comptroller for New York City.
Stringer replaces current Comptroller John Liu, who unsuccessfully ran for mayor. Liu, whose campaign was marred by a campaign finance scandal, which saw his former campaign treasurer go to jail, was defeated in the primary.
Stringer faced former Gov. Eliot Spitzer in a brutal primary race that made national headlines. Spitzer, who resigned from the governor’s office in 2008 after he was found to have solicited a prostitute, pumped more than $10 million of his own fortune to best Stringer. He was unsuccessful, but the campaign gave Stringer unmatched publicity, boosting his name recognition for the general elections.
Stringer defeated first-time candidate Burnett who had the fiscal chops to handle the role of comptroller. Burnett’s lack of political prowess and limited fundraising were his ultimate demise.
As the fiscal steward of the city, Stringer has promised to improve returns on the $140 billion pension fund and reduce the administrative costs.
The comptroller is also tasked with auditing agencies and programs to uncover fraud and waste. Stringer said he would create the Hurricane Sandy Audit Bureau, which would monitor the federal aid coming to the city.
