NEW YORK, NY July 09, 2009 —The Democratic primary for citywide elections for City Comptroller is about two months away, but the pressure is on for candidates to collect their petition signatures by next week. Since the current comptroller, Bill Thompson, is running for mayor, there's a field of candidates vying for his job.

WNYC's Bob Hennelly is checking in with the leading candidates, and has this snapshot of City Council member David Weprin.

REPORTER: Campaigns are a real mix of very public events and private meetings. For Queens City Council member David Weprin it is a private meeting that brings him to a side street in Lower Manhattan.

REPORTER: What are you doing now? Who are you going to see now?

WEPRIN: Well, first of all how did you know about this meeting?

REPORTER:: I have my ways...

WEPRIN: We're just going to an interview with the Communications Workers of America you know asking for their endorsement. They represent employees of the School Construction Authority as well as the Housing Authority and the Board of Education, Department of Education employees.

REPORTER: The stakes for this meeting are high. In an off-season election political strategists expect less than one in four eligible voters to vote. That means the support from organized groups like the unions is critical.

Weprin is connected. He was the former deputy banking superintendent, and his father was Assembly Speaker. His brother currently represents the 24th District in Queens in the Assembly.

WEPRIN: I am also very proud that I have former mayor David Dinkins, former Bronx Borough President Fernando Ferrer and former Brooklyn Borough President Howard Golden as co-chairs of the campaign.

REPORTER: So aside from a killer Roladex why should the 53 year-old Weprin be Comptroller?

WEPRIN: The difference really clearly is my background. My whole professional career has really been geared up for this office. I was Deputy Superintendent of Banking under Governor Cuomo. From there to a successful investment banking career for almost twenty years at senior positions and of course I have been chairman of the Finance Committee for eight years. We have balanced eight budgets.

REPORTER: People get what the mayor does. As for the City Comptroller not so much. Weprin has a plan to change that.

WEPRIN: I am committed to opening up five borough-wide offices throughout the entire city and basically make the office more relevant to the average person in the street.

REPORTER: Also on Weprin's radar: increasing accountability and transparency for city contracts with private service providers.

WEPRIN: It is particularly objectionable at the Department of Education where the contracting budget is over $2 billion alone.

REPORTER: Even the best organized candidate has to deal with setbacks. As Weprin goes inside to his closed door CWA audition his chief of staff asks if he has triple A. the battery in his Honda Accord has died in the driving rain storm. For WNYC, I am Bob Hennelly.

REPORTER: Next week we'll profile other leading comptroller candidates.