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Stark Says Her Case is Clear
City’s finance commissioner says she is qualified, and Legislature should take “historic opportunity” to appoint her

By Edward-Isaac Dovere

Martha Stark, the city’s finance commissioner, is one of the three finalists picked by the independent screening panel to replace Alan Hevesi as state comptroller. On Feb. 2, she spoke with City Hall about why she thinks she is qualified, why she think the diversity she would add to the statewide government is important, the concerns she has had with the process and what she thinks about the 2009 race for city comptroller (and which Council member has been particularly interested in knowing).

City Hall: Why do you want to be comptroller?
Martha Stark: The first reason is it’s an opportunity to serve a broader audience than I do now. The City of New York, as big as we are, I also wanted to have an opportunity to do good for the state. I think of myself as a good public servant who thinks of the interest of New Yorkers... This is a unique opportunity to prove how to do the job in the best way possible, and I think I bring some good skills to bear in that... I sit on five pension funds and chair two of them, I manage the city’s treasury, and also care a lot about service.

CH: Had you ever thought of running before?
MS: A couple people have spoken to me over a number of years about the skill set that I have and that I have a charismatic personality... As early as 1993, when I was selected as a White House fellow, a couple of the panel members said I should run for comptroller.

CH: For city comptroller?
MS: They didn’t say... Several people have been encouraging me to run for city comptroller in the upcoming election in 2009, and I’ve been sort of thinking about it, and concerned about maybe I would do this, and this just again given that, given the overlap between what the finance commissioner does and the comptroller’s skills, this seemed like a unique opportunity... I’m a kid from Brownsville, Brooklyn. And I’ve said this jokingly, the last time I ran for office was senior class pres at Brooklyn tech high school. And I did win.

CH: What would you do with the office if you are picked?
MS: If I were to be comptroller, first and foremost I’d want to make sure that we maximize the investments on the return on the pension fund. I have some ideas about audits and want to make sure that they not just reveal wrongdoing, but they also don’t be put on the shelf by government managers... I’m results-oriented, with my mind set on how people can do things to get the best results.

I would like to definitely take a look at – lots of people have written about this recently, how to make sure that the authorities are properly complying with the new public authority law.

I think one of the more important things is that, as the manager of a large organization, I know how difficult this has been for the employees. So trying to get them reengaged, not that they’re not engaged now.

CH: What would you have done differently from what Alan Hevesi did while in office?
MS: I think he did a pretty good job as it relates to investment returns and the like. I think he’s done a pretty good job in that regard. I think that if it were me over the last four years, I would have stepped up the way that we did audits to make sure that they were very much tied to where money is spent. I think you have to do audits across the spectrum, but I think that I would have shared best practices across the state... More stuff on some of the pub authorities.

He had good staff people, and I would like to think that I would have done a better job than he, but I think he’s done a very good job. I think he’s built a strong foundation.

CH: Have you spoken to any of the staff about the job?
MS: A couple of them called me and said if you’d like to speak to us about anything that’s going on, we’d be happy to share background information... I didn’t initiate those calls.

CH: Should Hevesi have resigned?
MS: I feel like that’s not my decision to make under the circumstances. I think that he made a tremendous mistake and violated some sense of public trust, and within his conscience decided to step down, and I respect that decision... He stood by his wife in ways that were very important, but he shouldn’t have used a state car to shuttle her back and forth... He was elected by the public again, and maybe the facts weren’t all out there, but maybe they were, and the public decided they wanted him to be their comptroller.

CH: How do you feel about the way the process to replace him has proceeded so far?
MS: Here’s what I believe. I believe that the Constitution vests the authority in the Legislature. I think that’s important. That does not mean that you don’t cooperate with the other people in government.

It seemed to me that the Legislature struck a deal with the governor and decided that they wanted to have a panel. This panel was empowered, and they thought that they were allowed to do “up to five people.” ... What’s clear to me is that the people who are vested with this decision need to believe that the process was fair. I want them to believe the process was fair. If they don’t believe that the process was fair, my concern is that it undermines whoever might get this job... I’m very concerned that if the Assembly doesn’t agree that this was the process, that it’s actually going to make the job very difficult for the comptroller to do.

CH: Should it have been concluded by now?
MS: I really wish it could be resolved. If I had my druthers, I don’t understand why folks haven’t gone back to the panel and said, “give us the next two on the list,” unless the panel was saying everyone else was not qualified... The Senate Finance Committee was there, the Assembly committee was there. No one asked them for their list. .. The Black, Latino and Asian Caucus interviewed candidates, and no one asked them for their list of five.

CH: Have you spoken to Mayor Bloomberg about your interest in being comptroller?
MS: I’ve actually spoken to the mayor. Needlessly to say, just out of courtesy, you talk to your boss when you’re looking at a new job.

CH: Are you surprised he not been more vocally supporting you?
MS: He most certainly does not think it’s his decision to make, and I think that he stayed out of it for that reason. And the second part is I think he loves having me as his finance commissioner. I think he’s of two minds... It’s really completely fine with me.

CH: Some think that the comptroller pick should be made with some deference to concerns about adding diversity to the statewide elected officials. As an African-American, lesbian woman applying for the job, do you think that should be the case?
MS: I’m going to say yes to that question. We’ve always been told that when you have equally qualified people — and this panel said the three finalists are all equally qualified — then you ask yourself, “is there some greater goal to be achieved from making this appointment. There’s never been a female comptroller, and a person of color other than Carl McCall.

Is there something to be gained from that? Certainly there is, to send a message to our young people that you work hard, you can get appointment to a statewide office. That in and of itself isn’t why I should be selected. I should be selected because I could do the best job and can step into it pretty quickly without a steep learning curve.

You have an opportunity to make history here. Is that worth it? I would say yes. But it’s not the only reason I should be selected.

CH: If picked, would you run again in 2010?
MS: I would definitely run in 2010. You know, unless I did a lousy job. I wouldn’t, but if I did, I would certainly look and say “this job I wasn’t even able to do it.” .. But I think I’d do a fantastic job.

CH: Should the provisions for how to handle a vacancy for statewide office be changed?
MS: Here’s what I think. I don’t want to change process just for the sake of changing process. I think people were thoughtful when they vested this with the Legislature. That’s because each of those legislators represent a part of this state. I would love for them to focus in on what the people want, how they voted in the election and why the chose Alan Hevesi, and what matters to them.

The dilemma in special elections is that though they’re great, the turnout is pretty low.

I’m less concerned with the mechanism to get this person to play this role, and more concerned with the results. I am concerned with the length of the time it’s taken to make this decision.

CH: Have you read Spitzer’s executive budget proposal?
MS: Yes. I can’t tell you every line of it, but I’ve definitely read pieces of it. I’ve read it because it also has an effect on my job as commissioner of finance.

CH: From what you know, what’s your reaction to it? MS: I think it’s ambitious and a good plan. Again, I have to say I’ve read it more in the context of New York City’s finances because that’s the role I’m in right now, and would read it a little bit differently, more broadly if I were comptroller.

I’m really glad that there are some loophole closing on the tax side. They took on an issue that we’ve been jumping up and down about that has to do with hotel intermediaries and we’re very excited about that. Still kind of concerned about the funding for the city taxpayers.

The city’s taxes are a combination of property taxes and income taxes, and the STAR program seems to be about property taxes, where the city doesn’t often get its fair share.

CH: If this bid does not work out, will you be running for city comptroller in 2009?
MS: You know I haven’t decided that. But this process has made it clearer and clearer to me how qualified I am to be a comp. I’ve said to everyone that I love my job, but we’ll see what happens. If I do, Council Member [David] Weprin, he’ll be upset. Every time I seem him, he asks me if I’m running for city comptroller.

He’s probably out there lobbying for me to get picked as state comptroller.