‘Coalition of Politically Active Indian-Americans’ endorses Bill Mulrow, Democratic Party designee for the post

NEW YORK : Bill Mulrow, the Democratic Party designee for the Sept. 10 primary for New York comptroller, has sought support from the South Asian community in his election bid. Addressing a gathering at Bombay Palace restaurant on Aug. 8, Mulrow said he himself was an immigrant and that he “would be the best person for the post as he would keep the sensitivities and needs of the immigrant in mind while manning the second most powerful position in New York state after the governor.”

“I feel so much of a close relationship with the Indian community, the Bangladeshi, the Pakistani and the Caribbean communities because we share something in common. I am the son of immigrants.”

The meeting was organized by the ‘Coalition of Politically Active Indian-Americans.’ Known hotelier Sant Chatwal, Dr. Bhupinder Patel and Dipak Nandi were the co-chairpersons for the event. In May, Mulrow became the Democratic Party designee for the primary by winning over 50 percent of the vote at the New York State Democratic Convention.

He has also been endorsed by some of the state’s more powerful unions, including District Council 37, New York City’s largest municipal employee union representing 125,000 members and 50,000 retired persons in all levels of city government.

He faces Alan Hevesi at the primary. The winner will face Republican John Faso in the November election. The current comptroller, Democrat H. Carl McCall, is quitting the post after nine years to run for governor this year.

Mulrow is a Wall Street executive who has been in financing for over two decades. Currently, he is a senior vice president with Gabelli Asset Management Company, a leading investment management firm with $25 billion in client assets. With a working class family background, but a high-powered education, Mulrow, 46, has so far raised $3.5 million.

Addressing the gathering on Aug. 8, Mulrow said: “The comptroller is the sole trustee of the $112-billion Common-Retirement Fund, one of the world’s largest pension funds. He is the chief financial officer of the state’s entire budget, about $90 billion, and the chief auditor of New York State. So it is a critical office at a critical time,” he said. “You can tell from my background that I bring substantial private sector skills to this task. I have been in the financial services sector for a couple of decades,” the Democratic Party designee said.

He continued: “I feel so much of a close relationship with the Indian community, the Bangladeshi, the Pakistani and the Caribbean communities because we share something in common. I am the son of immigrants. Both of my parents came here in the late 1940s from Ireland, and like most immigrants, came with no money or no education. But they did have a desire to work hard, and build a better life for their families, just as you see every other immigrant group coming to America today, trying to do the same thing.”

Mulrow went on to add: “I grew up in a five story-walk-up apartment building in Bronx. My mother waited on tables in a restaurant like the one we are in tonight, and my father worked with his hands as a machinist. So I have learned the values of what it is like to come here and create a life. And through good parents, and having a good education to be able to go to Yale and Harvard on scholarships made all the difference in my life.”

While replying to questions, Mulrow said he would appoint a member of the South Asian community to a top post if elected comptroller.

Chatwal, in his brief speech, requested community members to ensure the victory of Mulrow as comptroller.