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.”#
