Queens City Councilmember John Liu and Brooklyn City Councilmember David Yassky will meet again in two weeks to determine who will be the Democratic Party nominee for the city’s top fiscal officer.
Liu and Yassky finished first and second in the race for City Comptroller. However, neither candidate finished with the necessary 40 percent of the vote, forcing the Sept. 29 runoff.
With 100 percent of the votes counted, the unofficial tally had Liu with 133,986 or 38.02 percent of the vote and Yassky with 107,474 or 30.50 percent of the vote.
Queens City Councilmember Melinda Katz finished third with 72,043 or 20.44 percent of the vote while City Councilmember David Weprin, also of Queens, finished with 38,917 or 11.04 percent of the vote.
Yassky spokesperson Danny Kanner said the two candidates are headed for a competitive runoff where there will be a clear difference between the candidates.
“David Yassky has a concrete record of accomplishment and a clear vision to root out waste and get the city’s economy back on track,” said Kanner.
Neither a Liu spokesperson nor Liu were available at press time, but the two candidates have shown an ability to get out barbs at each other in debates leading up to the primary night.
Among the differences pointed out during recent debates were issues involving discretionary funding and member items.
The city comptroller’s main functions include going over city contracts, looking for budget waste and handling city pension money.
