Who
Formerly the longtime State Assemblyman for the Upper West Side, Stringer is now the Manhattan Borough President, or the "Mbeep" as he refers to himself.
Backstory
Stringer has been involved in politics since he was a junior high school student: He was 12 when he hit the campaign trail on behalf of his cousin, firebrand congresswoman Bella Abzug, and by the age of 17, the Washington Heights native was a student representative to the Manhattan borough president's office. After attending the John Jay College of Criminal Justice, Stringer went to work in the office of Assemblyman Jerry Nadler. When Nadler headed off to Washington to replace Ted Weiss in Congress, Stringer ran for his seat. He spent more than a decade as a member of the Assembly before staging a bid to become the city's public advocate in 2001. He was handily defeated by Betsy Gotbaum, but he soon turned his attention to the Democratic borough president seat, which was being vacated by C. Virginia Fields. Stringer beat out nine other Democrats in the 2005 primary, including the hyper-ambitious councilwoman Eva Moskowitz, before sailing to victory in the general election.
On the job
Borough presidents were political powerhouses until a 1989 Supreme Court ruling transferred most of the responsibilities they once had (budget and land use issues, mostly) to the City Council. And yet the job—which was once occupied by Robert F. Wagner and David Dinkins—is considered by the political establishment as a stepping stone to higher office. (It didn't turn out that way for Stringer's predecessor, C. Virginia Fields—she ran one of the most error-prone mayoral campaigns in city history in 2005 and lost.) Since his appointment, Stringer has championed quality-of-life issues like affordable housing, the public health aftermath of Sept. 11th, and parks—the sort of subjects that provide nice material for campaign talking points. And with Stringer already filling up his bank account for a 2009 race, many are assuming he's laying the groundwork to run for the mayor's office.
Keeping score
He collected $160,000 as borough president in 2007.
Personal
The single Stringer lives on the Upper West Side. Like fellow borough prez Marty Markowitz, Stringer shares his apartment with an African gray parrot, Otis.
