City Comptroller John Liu has sided with the Republican contenders for mayor and opposed the proposal for an inspector general. Credit: Michael Loccisano/Getty Images
City comptroller and mayoral candidate John Liu said he opposes the idea of an inspector general for the NYPD, reversing his position on the proposal.
“The more I think about it, the less sense it makes,” Liu told the Wall Street Journal. “I don’t support it.”
Liu has reversed his position on the issue in less than a week, the Journal reports. The comptroller’s campaign told the Journal last week in an email that he supports the proposal for an inspector general.
He said Monday that he believes an inspector general would be a “distraction” and that the real problem is the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk policy, which he promises to abolish.
City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, another candidate for mayor, endorsed the bill last week.
Liu’s new stance puts him on the side of Mayor Michael Bloomberg and the Republican candidates for mayor. The other major Democratic contenders – Quinn, Public Advocate Bill DeBlasio and former Comptroller Bill Thompson – support the bill.
