Thomas Peter DiNapoli (born February 10, 1954) is an American politician serving as the 54th and current New York State Comptroller since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he was appointed by a bipartisan majority of the New York State Legislature to the position of comptroller on February 7, 2007. He was then elected Comptroller by New York's voters in 2010, 2014, 2018 and 2022. In his 2014 victory, he led the statewide ticket with the most votes. He was easily reelected to a third term in November 2018, receiving 64.9% of the vote. In 2022, he secured his fourth term in office, receiving 57% of the vote. He is the second longest-serving comptroller in New York State History.
DiNapoli previously served as a New York State Assemblyman for the 16th district in northwestern Nassau County, first elected in 1986. He served 20 years in the Assembly. During his tenure, he chaired the Environmental Conservation Committee, the Local Governments Committee, and the Governmental Operations Committee.
He is a resident of the village of Great Neck Plaza, New York.
Early life and education
DiNapoli was born to Nicholas Peter DiNapoli and Adeline (Abbondandelo) DiNapoli, named after his paternal grandfather Thomas Peter DiNapoli. DiNapoli, raised in Albertson, has been active in politics since he was a teenager, when he ran for and won a position as a trustee on the Mineola Board of Education. At the age of 18 in 1972, he was the youngest person in New York State history elected to public office. He served on the school board for 10 years.
In 1976, DiNapoli graduated magna cum laude from Hofstra University with a bachelor's degree in history. After college he worked for New York Telephone and AT&T. In 1988, he received a master's degree in human resources management from The New School University's Graduate School of Management and Urban Professions.
New York Assembly and politics
DiNapoli worked as an aide for Assemblyman Angelo F. Orazio. He also served as a District Representative for Congressman Robert J. Mrazek. DiNapoli was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1987 to 2007, sitting in the 187th, 188th, 189th, 190th, 191st, 192nd, 193rd, 194th, 195th, 196th and 197th New York State Legislatures. He represented the 16th District, located in Northwest Nassau County. DiNapoli was later also elected as Chairman of the Nassau County Democratic Committee. In 2001, he lost the Democratic nomination for Nassau County Executive to Thomas Suozzi, who later won the election. In 2006, DiNapoli was a candidate for lieutenant governor, but dropped out of the race after Attorney General Eliot Spitzer, the party's frontrunner for governor, chose Senate Minority Leader David Paterson as his running mate.
State Comptroller
Appointment
Alan Hevesi resigned in disgrace in December 2006. On February 7, 2007, in a joint session of the New York State Legislature, DiNapoli was elected as New York State Comptroller in a vote of 150-56.
Service as Comptroller
In lieu of a transition committee, DiNapoli established a commission to review the Comptroller's office. The commission was headed by former Mayor of New York Ed Koch and financial expert Frank Zarb. Also included in this commission were Nassau County Executive Tom Suozzi, Chancellor of Syracuse University Nancy Cantor, and New York City Comptroller William Thompson. In March 2007, as one of DiNapoli's first public statements as Comptroller, he warned Governor Eliot Spitzer that his proposed budget had levels of spending were at an "unsustainable rate". DiNapoli stated that, at the rate proposed by Spitzer's budget, there would be a $13 billion deficit in three years' time.
As Comptroller, DiNapoli makes periodic, public reports on a variety of issues affecting state, local, and charitable agencies. In March 2010, he reported that non-profits had been hurt by the recession as well as by delays in state contracts. The following month, he gained a reputation as a critic of the State's budget deficit. He "has proposed major reforms in the state budget process". He unveiled a package of proposed reforms to the budget process in March 2010. Key parts of his plans are for "governors to identify plans to erase budget deficits in future years", to cap state debt, and to require excess surplusses to be deposited into the "rainy day fund".