A Proven Record of Fiscal Stewardship
Since 2007, DiNapoli has safeguarded and grown the state pension fund, keeping it among the strongest in the nation. His office has conducted thousands of audits exposing waste, fraud, and inefficiency, saving taxpayers millions. He created Open Book NY, giving New Yorkers a clear window into how their tax dollars are spent. And during the turbulence of Trumpera federal policies, DiNapoli used the tools of the Comptroller’s office to protect workers, retirees, and local governments from fiscal shocks.
This is the work of someone who understands the job — and performs it with integrity and discipline.
A Debate That Clarified the Stakes
The primary debate underscored the contrast between DiNapoli’s grounded approach and the sweeping, often unrealistic visions of his challengers.
Drew Warshaw, formerly of Enterprise Community Partners, and Raj Goyle, a former Kansas state legislator who later founded and sold a legaltech company, both offered platforms better suited to legislative or executive offices. Their proposals — from reshaping immigration enforcement to overhauling housing policy — simply fall outside the legal authority of the Comptroller.
DiNapoli stayed focused on the actual responsibilities of the office. At one point he noted that his opponents “ascribe powers… like you’re the president, the head of the UN and the Pope,” a line that resonated because it was accurate. The Comptroller is the state’s fiscal watchdog — not its immigration authority, housing agency, or legislature.
Warshaw’s most memorable moment came when he ripped off his shirt middebate to reveal an “ICE OUT” Tshirt. His platform — severing all state ties with ICE, raising taxes on the wealthy, and turning the Comptroller’s office into an activist vehicle — may energize some voters, but it stretches far beyond what the office can legally do.
Goyle argued the office has been “asleep at the switch,” blaming DiNapoli for affordability issues, utility costs, and housing shortages. He criticized DiNapoli for not preventing the 2012 pension tier changes, despite the fact that the Comptroller does not legislate pension tiers. His agenda, while ambitious, is misaligned with the role he’s seeking.
The Real Choice for Democrats
The debate distilled the race into a simple question: Do we want a Comptroller who understands the job — or one who wants to reinvent it into something it isn’t?
DiNapoli offers stability, competence, and a long record of protecting taxpayer dollars. His challengers offer expansive agendas that belong in different offices. With broad bipartisan support — including endorsements from the state Democratic Party, Governor Hochul, Attorney General Letitia James, and the NYS AFLCIO — DiNapoli remains the adult in the room and the right choice for Comptroller.