The real comptroller surprise

Eliot Spitzer may be Scott Stringer’s worst nightmare, but he could be a dream come true for John Burnett.

Who? A 43-year-old African-American with nearly a quarter-century experience on Wall Street, Burnett is also running for city comptroller — as a Republican.

Spitzer has brought an explosion of public attention to the race for comptroller. Good: It’s arguably the second most important office in city government and shouldn’t be handed to someone in a walkover. Maybe now we’ll have a conversation about the job — and job qualifications.

Until Sunday, Manhattan Borough President Stringer was looking at that walkover, with an unimpeded path to the Democratic nomination. This being New York, any Republican would be ignored and Stringer would be set.

But Spitzer’s entry upsets that plan. Now there will be discussion, there will be debates. The public will learn about pension funds, auditing city agencies and approving city contracts.

The seventh child of Southern migrants who met in New York, he was born in rough East New York (which he calls “Vietnam”) before the family moved to Queens Village. He now lives in Harlem.

Burnett was, he says, “an ‘oops’ baby.” Pregnant at 43, his mother faced complications: “Her doctor told her that if she had me she would die and I would die (this was 1969). My parents made the decision to have me.

“The way I look at it, most people aren’t given a shot after they’re born; I wasn’t given a shot before I was born.”

John Burnett: GOP candidate for New York City Comptoller.

FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION, BURNETT IS THE REAL ROLE MODEL FOR BLACK AMERICANS:

* His parents grew up in the Jim Crow South — James in Durham, NC, and Mary in Savannah, Ga. Their experiences informs Burnett’s mantra of “No excuses” — “How can I say, ‘This is difficult,’ when my father had it 10 times as hard?”

* His father Starting out as a dishwasher, his dad did his job super fast so he could watch the cook. He learned to cook himself and eventually became the chef for an entire hospital. Even after becoming a Pentacostal pastor, he continued as a chef because he didn’t believe in living off his congregation.

* Burnett enrolled in the Borough of Manhattan Community College, Burnett quit because he wasn’t learning anything.

* With no degree, he still talked his way into a margin-analyst position at Dean Witter.

* In eight years, he rose to a “compliance” position which immersed him in SEC, NYSE and state securities regulations. He then moved to Smith-Barney for another eight years, as manager of the Global Markets compliance division.

* Still working full-time, he went back to school at night earning a BS degree in Leadership and Management from NYU, then an MBA from Cornell.

* HIS INVESTMENT PHILOSOPHY FOR NYC FUNDS:
He’d bring a common-sense, no-nonsense approach to city investment: “I believe in investing in an ethically and socially responsible manner [within reason] . . . If [say, green energy] is . . . earning at a comparable rate as other investments, sure I’ll support it. If it’s only yielding a small percentage, say 2 percent and I need it to earn eight, my dollars aren’t going there. That would be a violation of my fiduciary responsibilities in favor of doing something nice and social.”

> BURNETT IS THE REAL ROLE MODEL FOR BLACK AMERICANS:

He’s a real role model for ANY American.

“[It] would be a violation of my fiduciary responsibilities in favor of doing something nice and social.”

He gets it.

Let’s see if the NY voters get it.

NO! He can't be qualified.

First of all, if he is a Republican, then he isn't really black!

Second of all, if he is a Republican, then he isn't really qualified to promote the graft and corruption of the Big Apple!

Sheesh! Do I have to constantly explain the facts to you?

Yes, I agree with your statement about being the “best qualified Republican”. That should be enough.

But Democrats will attack him anyway, and use his race against him. Watch — it’ll become an issue the Democrats will use to distract black voters from supporting Burnett.

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