Liu Lightens Up on Mayor, Pledges to Work With Him

JOHN C. LIU: Ready to tackle budget ‘crisis.’ A kinder, gentler John Liu?

When the Queens City Councilman was running for the Democratic nomination for City Comptroller, he vowed that he would be tough on Mayor Bloomberg, whom he criticized heavily for changing the Term Limits Law without a referendum. A day after the election, he rebuffed the Mayor’s request for a meeting, saying he didn’t have the time.

Now, the Comptroller-elect may be changing his tone slightly.

“I hope to work closely with him when I think he’s on the right track,” he said of Mr. Bloomberg during an interview Nov. 10 at City Hall. “When I think certain things could be done better, I will not hesitate to chime in.”

Will Examine Contract Process

Mr. Liu had been scurrying around lower Manhattan that afternoon, between a Council hearing, another meeting and an interview with Chinese state television. He said that his transition team was working hard to have him ready to address several issues when he takes office Jan. 1.

“We’ve got an impending budget crisis that hopefully will not be exacerbated by actions taken in Albany,” he said. “I intend to streamline the pension investment process, overhaul bond underwriting and take a close look at how we let out contracts in this city, with an eye towards giving the first opportunity to the skilled and committed workforce we already have in the city.”

District Council 37, which along with much of the municipal labor movement supported Mr. Liu in a primary with three other Democrats, has complained that the city is spending $9 billion on contract work that could be done in-house.

“We need to save money,” he said.

Mr. Liu said of bond underwriting, “When the city goes out in the capital markets to borrow money to fund our capital projects, the way bonds are underwritten right now seem to require a thorough examination with an eye towards improving the process and increasing the net proceeds of these bond sales to the city.”

On the minds of many public-sector retirees is the health of the pension funds Mr. Liu will oversee as Comptroller.

“The portfolios have taken a hit in the last 12 months, although there seems to be a slight uptick in their performance,” he said. “I will use my experience as a pension actuary to strengthen the fund performance and help restore confidence among our city’s retirees.”