Edward Regan
Edward V. "Ned" Regan was a Republican politician and college president, originally from upstate New York. He was elected to the office of Comptroller of New York in 1978. Before him, Arthur Levitt held that position for 24 years. Regan resigned that position on May 7, 1993 before completing his current term.
Prior to becoming comptroller, Regan served as County Executive of Erie County. He also served as a councilman in Buffalo.
He was the state's and its local governments' auditor and accounting standards setter. He was the sole trustee of the state's $100 billion pension fund. In promotion of debt reform, he had called New York's borrowing practices the "worst in the country". He was succeeded by Carl McCall.
Regan was investigated by law enforcement officials after the disclosure of a memo written by members of his staff, one of which pointedly said, "Those who give will get." Regan denied any impropriety.
Regan occasionally talked of running for governor, but never did so. Regan was Chairman of the Municipal Assistance Corporation for New York City in the 1990s. The corporation was set up in the 1970s to assist with the financial recovery of New York City following the city's fiscal crisis and near bankruptcy.
In the early 1990s, he served as a member of the US Competitiveness Policy Council and ably led its efforts on Corporation Governance.
After leaving the comptroller's office, Regan served as a board member of numerous business ana nonprofit organizations. He was President of Baruch College in New York from 2000 to 2004. After retiring from the Baruch presidency, Regan became a professor in the graduate center of the City University of New York. He served as a Trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation and is a consultant to the Chairman of the Financial Accountin Standards Board (FASB) on matters of the convergence of GAAP with international accounting standards.
For several months in 2005 and 2006, he was the first Chairman of the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority, which was set up by the state in to oversee the county's finances and make recommendations to the county government on financial affairs. The authority, considered a "soft" control board, was created in response to the Erie County fiscal crisis of 2005.
In January 2007, he served on the search committee for a new State Comptroller, following the resignation of Comptroller Alan Hevesi. The other search committee members were former State Comptroller Carl McCall and former New York City Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin. The committee recommended a short list of New York City Finance Commissioner Martha Stark, Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weizman and businessman William Mulrow to the State Legislature for consideration.
Regan is of the Hobart Class of 1952 at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and a cum laude graduate in 1964 of the SUNY School of Law.