UFT Likes Liu For Comptroller, Citing Stance on Education

JOHN LIU: To scrutinize DOE no-bid deals.

The United Federation of Teachers threw its weight behind John Liu for City Comptroller Sept. 1, with President Michael Mulgrew praising him as someone "committed to strong public school communities" who "recognizes the importance of oversight, transparency and fiscal responsibility."

The Queens Councilman, a former accountant who served on the City Council's Education Committee, was the UFT's pick because of his "solid record on education issues" and "pivotal" background in finance, Mr. Mulgrew explained. "[Mr. Liu] has been a forceful voice in the fight to protect important safety-net services from devastating budget cuts," he continued.

Teachers a Key Influence

Mr. Liu said that while the endorsement "means a great deal politically, no question about that," it also "means a great deal to me personally." He praised "Teachers who guided me all my life" through the city's public school system, in which his son is now enrolled.

"It is the Teachers that have made our schools succeed in this city for so long," he continued. "After I win this election, I will start the real fight. . . I will work hand in hand with the UFT to address the many issues that linger out there."

One that he was vocal about was the proliferation of contracting-out of services in the Department of Education, including a rise in the number of contracts that do not go through standard bidding processes.

Mr. Liu said that with the passage of a revised mayoral control law last month, the Comptroller's Office had more defined observation powers over the DOE.

An overdue Power

"It finally gives the authority for the New York City Comptroller to review contracts at the DOE, the agency that has the single largest budget item in the city," he said. "Imagine that—the independently elected fiscal watchdog of the city actually being able to look at those contracts finally."

Praising the new system as "mayoral control, but now with a true system of checks and balances," he vociferously pledged to "review those nobid contracts that inevitably go to companies outside of New York City. . . that don't necessarily produce a clear result, that don't even have a clear purpose in the first place."

Mr. Liu, who also has the endorsements of District Council 37, Transport Workers Union Local 100, the Uniformed Firefighters Association and the Working Families Party, is currently polling a close second behind Queens Councilwoman Melinda Katz, with the Democratic primary taking place Sept. 15. Also in the race are Brooklyn Councilman David Yassky and Council Finance Committee Chairman David Weprin.

Mr. Liu, the Council's first Asian- American member, recently came under fire for a campaign ad in which he claimed that at the age of seven, he had worked in a garment-industry sweatshop with his mother in the city, a claim his mother initially refuted, telling the Daily News she had worked at home.

When asked about the speculation over Mr. Liu embellishing his life story, Mr. Mulgrew said, "I think the Councilman has made that abundantly clear, as well as his family members, and the rigorous process that we do here. . . clearly produced the best result." He declined to discuss whether the issue came up in the union's screening process.