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FEBRUARY 2006

William C. Thompson, Jr.:
A First-Class Leader On His Second Term

By Joan Baum, Ph.D.

Though The New York Times noted in its report on the Mayor’s January 26th  State of the City address that William  C. Thompson, Jr. had been reelected with 92 percent of the vote, the admirable Comptroller of The City of New York wondered why this fact was even mentioned two months after the fact, when he ran virtually unopposed in a race without a Republican or Independent candidate. In his own inaugural address, given January 1, he spoke of being “deeply honored” at being given another opportunity to serve. Such modesty, genuine as it is rare, reflects why the Comptroller is so popular: he is direct, gracious, modest, thoughtful.  Brooklyn born and bred, William Thompson speaks with affection of his native Bed Stuy, where he still lives, and of his family—especially his father, Judge William Thompson, who swore him in, and his mother, who had been a schoolteacher for many years (she taught at P.S. 262, he instinctively recalls, without being asked). Both parents were great influences on his choice of career.  His  father was the first African American elected official to serve in the New York State Senate and  this fact caused his son to turn to politics rather than government when he entered Tufts University after graduation from Midwood High.  But it was the rough and tumble of an actual campaign that confirmed Thompson’s direction. As a teenager he worked on the mayoral campaign of Kenneth Gibson in New Jersey. This was in the late ‘60s; years later, Thompson would become Brooklyn’s youngest Deputy Borough President (under Howard Golden).

William Thompson tried  the private sector for a while, working for a Wall Street firm, but when he became a member of the Board of Education in 1994, something clicked. He loved it, and his life in public service took shape. Two years later, he was unanimously elected president of the board. The school system then, having endured 20 dubious years of decentralization, was ready, he felt, for a strong chancellor to take charge, and Thompson is particularly pleased with his role in getting legislation passed in Albany to that effect. Again, with no ego in evidence, he says only that he helped create an environment for reform, “his proudest achievement.” Administrative change meant that he could—and did—concentrate on bringing school districts together, focusing more on teacher quality, bringing the arts back into the curriculum, moving on after-school programs. He gives good grades to the Department of Education, which in one year, can point to improved scores and a continuation of tougher requirements. If the Comptroller has reservations about education policies it is concern that there be containment of the rush of the last four or five years to make outcomes, in the form of standardized testing the sole standard of success.

Of course, the “activist” 42nd Comptroller of New York City, out to “find new, creative ways to save the taxpayers money,” is not the Schools Chancellor, though it would seem only natural that someone who had been at the helm of public education in the city for so many years would not have an opinion on current initiatives. He surely realizes that his own programs are integrally related to education and turn on common themes —collaboration, innovative uses of technology, new investments and commitment to include more women, African Americans and Latinos in major roles to “keep our city strong.”#

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