Paul Rodriguez
Paul Rodriguez is running for New York State comptroller
PAUL RODRIGUEZ
REPUBLICAN
BACKGROUND:
- Rodriguez, 53, lives in Brooklyn.
- He has 25 years of experience in global financial markets on Wall Street and in advising small businesses.
- He was born in Queens and lived in Puerto Rico for 10 years and used his fluency in Spanish to work throughout Latin America and Europe.
- He attended Northwestern University and earned a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Georgia and had an economics fellowship at Stanford University.
- He unsuccessfully ran for Congress in 2004 against Rep. Nydia Valesquez. He managed a multi-million fundraising campaign for the Archdiocese of New York.
ISSUES:
- Rodriguez says he is a political outsider who will professionalize the comptroller’s office.
- He said he will serve as a better watchdog on state spending.
- He said he will work to lower the cost of living in New York State by reducing government spending and by attracting employers to a more business-friendly environment.
- He said he will use the office to combat “play-to-play” in which some elected officials have favored campaign contributors with state contracts.
- He said the pension must be invested without being influenced by political popularity or activism by the comptroller.
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