Fiscal Accountability and Government Waste Drive Comptroller Campaign

0:00 Speaker 1 Well, Election Day is almost like 30 days away. What is today is Joseph Hernandez, and he’s a Republican candidate for New York State Comptroller. I just happened to see the debate a couple of days ago between Tom DiNapoli and Joseph Hernandez. And Joseph, welcome to WABC. And tell us the differences between you and Tom and what you

0:27 stand for and what he stands for and why you think you could do a better job.

0:32 Speaker 2 Well, thank you for having me, John. I really appreciate the opportunity. But I think. You know, we had a great discussion and debate earlier with Tom, and I think the things were very clear. We differentiated ourselves. I mean, I think he is somebody who’s been there for 20 years, has been, in my opinion, institutionalized.

0:54 You know, Tom has never really had a real job in his life. He’s been a career politician, has been a consulate for 20 years. So he’s institutionalized. I bring a different perspective. I bring a business perspective. I bring somebody who’s been on Wall Street and I built 12 companies.

1:08 I brought a number of them public. I know about accountability. I know about, you know, rooting out inefficiencies and processes. And I know how to do audits. And I think the story is very different. You know, we come from different worlds. And, you know, I think I highlighted my differences compared to his. And I would argue that I

1:27 think I won the debate.

1:28 Speaker 1 I really do.

1:29 Speaker 2 And I think that’s the consistent message here across the board.

1:32 Speaker 1 So I guess now the voters have to make a decision. I mean, a lot of people know Tom DiNapoli for a long time. He’s been there for like 20 years. And you’re very qualified, too. So how do the voters decide? Yeah, yeah.

1:51 Speaker 2 Look, I mean, look, I think you have to look at the numbers. The numbers never lie. Look, I come from a financial scientific world. You know, I have a degree in biostatistics. Numbers are the truth tellers in the process.

2:03 And I think if you look at Tom’s record, you know, he’s been there. You know, our state budget when he when he came into power was one hundred and $ 120, $ 140 billion. Now it’s $ 277 billion, John. I mean, if we were a country, we would be number 13th on the expenditure ranks. We spend more money than Israel, more

2:21 money than Sweden, more money than Poland, more money than Greece. And we’re a state. We don’t even have armies and navies around the world or embassies to support. So, you know, look, he’s overseeing a government that’s been bloated. You know, we have a debt obligation at the state level of $ 210 billion.

2:38 Most people don’t even know this. We pay $ 1. 3 billion in principal and interest a month. before we pay a police officer, before we pay a teacher, before we pay Vero. And, you know, I think we’re in a fiscal crisis. And Tom has been, it’s been on his watch that we’re in this situation. And the comptroller has an obligation to

2:56 make sure that we hold government accountable. We have crazy fraud and abuse in our system. Our Medicaid is one of the largest in the nation, $ 124 billion. 35% of the people in the state are on Medicaid. This is Tom’s watch. And I think people are ready for No.

3:13 Speaker 1 I understand that, Joseph. I understand that. But I saw the debate and and he I thought his responsibility is just to control his responsibilities to make the most you can on return on investment for your for your portfolio.

3:30 Speaker 2 Well, look, he’s got two major roles. The comptroller has two major roles. One is audit to make sure the government is being run efficiently and effectively and honest. I think he’s failed that miserably. Last year, we only had nine cases being prosecuted on Medicaid fraud. Why? We have the largest budget in the nation on Medicaid. That doesn’t

3:48 sound realistic to me. That’s the one thing. But in terms of returns, if you look at the pension funds, The pension fund, where he claims that last quarter the fund did really well, it did 6.2% return, which is not mediocre, by the way. But when you look at how the S & P did, when you look at

4:04 how NASDAQ did, you know, NASDAQ performed 21% return. The S & P was 15% return. You know, the reality is the fund did not perform to where it should be, at the levels it should be. And for every dollar we pay out in pension benefits, which last year we paid about $ 17. 5 billion, 75 cents of that dollar comes

4:20 in return. The rest of that money comes from taxpayers. So, look, he hasn’t done a great job. I could do a better job. I think it’s time for a change. Trump has been there for a long time. He’s been furniture in Albany. We need somebody who’s going to stand up for the taxpayers. And I’m that guy.

4:38 Speaker 1 Joseph Hernandez, thank you for coming on this Sunday morning. And good luck in what you do. We always wanted taxpayers to do a great job. Thank you so much.

4:50 Speaker 2 Thank you, John. I appreciate the opportunity. God bless. Cheers.