Edward Van Buren Regan (May 14, 1930 – October 18, 2014) was an American politician and public figure from

New York State New York, officially the State of New York, is a state in the Northeastern United States. It is often called New York State to distinguish it from its largest city, New York City. With a total area of , New York is the 27th-largest U.S. stat ...

. He was a member of the Republican Party. Regan's political career began on the

Buffalo Common Council The Buffalo Common Council is the legislative branch of the city of Buffalo, New York government. It is a representative assembly, with one elected member from each of nine districts: Niagara, Delaware, Masten, Ellicott, Lovejoy, Fillmore, Nort ...

. He rose to prominence as the third Erie County Executive during the 1970s. Regan then became

New York State Comptroller The New York State Comptroller is an elected constitutional officer of the U.S. state of New York and head of the New York state government's Department of Audit and Control. The New York State Comptroller is the highest-paid state auditor or ...

, and served in that role for nearly 15 years. He appeared on the Republican ticket in five statewide elections, more than any politician in the history of New York. From 2000 to 2004, Regan was president of

Baruch College Baruch College (officially the Bernard M. Baruch College) is a public college in New York City. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the college operates und ...

of the

City University of New York The City University of New York ( CUNY; , ) is the Public university, public university system of Education in New York City, New York City. It is the largest urban university system in the United States, comprising 25 campuses: eleven Upper divis ...

, where he also served as a professor.

Life

Born in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a city in Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey, known by its nickname as "The Queen City."

to William and Allison (née Van Buren) Regan, Edward Van Buren Regan was raised in

Utica, New York Utica () is a Administrative divisions of New York, city in the Mohawk Valley and the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The List of cities in New York, tenth-most-populous city in New York State, its population was 65,283 ...

. He attended

Nichols School Nichols School is a private, non-denominational, co-educational college- preparatory day school in Buffalo, New York, United States. The average enrollment is 570 students with an average Upper School grade/class size of 98 students. The average ...

, a prep school in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...

, graduating in 1947.McFadden, Robert D
"Edward V. Regan, Longtime New York State Comptroller, Dies at 84"
''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', October 18, 2014. Accessed October 19, 2014. "Edward Van Buren Regan was born in Plainfield, NJ, on May 14, 1930, the oldest of five children of William and Caroline Van Buren Regan. He attended primary school in Utica, N.Y., and graduated from the Nichols School in Buffalo in 1947 and from Hobart College in Geneva, N.Y., in 1952." He graduated in the Hobart Class of 1952 at

Hobart and William Smith Colleges Hobart and William Smith Colleges are Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts colleges in Geneva, New York. They trace their origins to Geneva Academy established in 1797. Students can choose from 45 maj ...

, where he was a member of

The Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society (), founded in 1825, was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraternity and was the first of the fraternities which wou ...

. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

as an intelligence officer from 1952 to 1953, then returned to Buffalo to help run his family's liquor business. He graduated '' cum laude'' from

University at Buffalo Law School The University at Buffalo School of Law (also known as State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, or SUNY Buffalo Law School) is a graduate professional school at the University at Buffalo. Founded in 1887 and affiliate with Niagara Univ ...

in 1964. Prior to becoming Comptroller, Regan served as County Executive of Erie County. He also served as a councilman in Buffalo. In 1970, he was defeated by the incumbent Comptroller Arthur Levitt Sr., but was elected

in 1978, and re-elected in 1982, 1986 and 1990. He remained in office until May 7, 1993 when he resigned. He was succeeded by

Carl McCall Herman Carl McCall (born October 17, 1935) is an American politician of the Democratic Party. A former New York State Comptroller and New York State Senator, McCall was the Democratic candidate for Governor of New York in 2002. McCall was the ...

who was elected by the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of New York: The New York State Senate and the New York State Assembly. The Constitution of New York does not designate an official ...

to fill the unexpired term. In 1988, Regan was investigated by law enforcement officials after the disclosure of a memo written by members of his staff, one of which pointedly said of campaign contributors that "Those who give will get." He denied any impropriety. Regan was briefly a candidate for the Republican nomination for

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor has ...

in 1982, but withdrew from the race. Regan was Chairman of the

Municipal Assistance Corporation A Municipal Assistance Corporation (MAC) was an independent New York State public-benefit corporation created by the State of New York for purposes of providing financing assistance and fiscal oversight of a fiscally-distressed city. Two MACs are ...

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, Regan served as a member of the US

Competitiveness Policy Council The Competitiveness Policy Council was an independent federal advisory committee chartered in 1988 to advise the president and the Congress on more effective policies to promote U.S. competitiveness. The council had a unique quadrapartite membersh ...

and ably led its efforts on Corporation Governance. After leaving the comptroller's office, Regan served as a board member of numerous business and nonprofit organizations. He was President of

in New York from 2000-04. After retiring from the Baruch presidency, Regan became a professor at the Graduate Center of the

. He served as a trustee of the Financial Accounting Foundation and was a consultant to the Chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) on matters of the convergence of GAAP with international accounting standards. For several months in 2005 and 2006, he served as the first chairman of the Erie County Fiscal Stability Authority, which was set up by the state in order 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 Alan G. Hevesi (born January 31, 1940) is a former American politician and convicted felon who served as a New York State Assemblyman from 1971 to 1993, as New York City Comptroller from 1994 to 2001, and as New York State Comptroller from 2003 ...

. The other search committee members were former State Comptroller

and former New York City Comptroller

Harrison J. Goldin Harrison Jay Goldin (born February 23, 1936) is an American lawyer and former politician. He was born on February 23, 1936, in the Bronx, New York City. He graduated as Science Valedictorian from the Bronx High School of Science in 1953, and ...

. The committee recommended New York City Finance Commissioner Martha Stark, Nassau County Comptroller Howard Weizman and businessman William Mulrow to the State Legislature for consideration, but the Legislature elected

Thomas DiNapoli Thomas Peter DiNapoli II (born February 10, 1954) is an American politician serving as the 54th and current New York State Comptroller since 2007. A member of the Democratic Party, he was previously the New York State Assemblyman for the 16th dis ...

instead. Regan was a faculty member at the City University of New York (CUNY), holding the title of "Distinguished Professor" at Baruch College and the Graduate Center, and also teaching at the Macaulay Honors College on the civic and economic issues affecting New York City. He was a consultant to the chairman of the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) working on a project with the International Accounting Standards Board (IASB) to create a global set of high-quality financial reporting standards. He was active in many civic organizations such as the

Council on Foreign Relations The Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) is an American think tank A think tank, or policy institute, is a research institute that performs research and advocacy concerning topics such as social policy, political strategy, economics, mi ...

, the Committee for Economic Development and the New York Economic Club.

Death

On October 18, 2014, Regan died at a hospital in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a New England town, town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast (Conne ...

at the age of 84. At the time of his death he had

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegeneration, neurodegenerative disease that usually starts slowly and progressively worsens. It is the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in short-term me ...

and lived in a retirement home in

Rye, New York Rye is a coastal suburb of New York City in Westchester County, New York, United States. It is separate from the Town of Rye, which has more land area than the city. The City of Rye, formerly the Village of Rye, was part of the Town until it r ...

Political campaigns

1970 NYS Republican ticket

*Governor: Nelson Rockefeller *Lieutenant Governor: Malcolm Wilson *Comptroller: Edward Regan *Attorney General:

Louis Lefkowitz Louis J. Lefkowitz (July 3, 1904 – June 20, 1996) was an American lawyer and politician. He served as the Attorney General of New York State for 22 years. He was a Republican. Early life and education Lefkowitz was born to a Jewish famil ...

*U.S. Senate:

Charles Goodell Charles Ellsworth Goodell Jr. (March 16, 1926January 21, 1987) was an American politician who represented New York in the United States House of Representatives from 1959 to 1968 and the United States Senate from 1968 to 1971. In both cases ...

1978 NYS Republican ticket

*Governor: Perry B. Duryea Jr. *Lieutenant Governor:

Bruce Caputo Bruce Faulkner Caputo (born August 7, 1943) is an American lawyer and politician from New York. He is most notable for his service as a member of the New York State Assembly (1973 to 1976) and the United States House of Representatives (1977 to 1 ...

*Comptroller: Edward Regan *Attorney General: Michael Roth

1982 NYS Republican ticket

*Governor: Lewis Lehrman *Lieutenant Governor: James L. Emery *Comptroller: Edward Regan *Attorney General: Frances Sclafani *U.S. Senate: Florence Sullivan

1986 NYS Republican ticket

*Governor: Andrew O'Rourke *Lieutenant Governor: E. Michael Kavanagh *Comptroller: Edward Regan *Attorney General:

Peter T. King Peter Thomas King (born April 5, 1944) is a former American politician who represented New York in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2021. A member of the Republican Party, he represented a South Shore Long Island district that i ...

*U.S. Senate: Alfonse D'Amato

1990 NYS Republican ticket

*Governor: Pierre Rinfret *Lieutenant Governor:

George Yancey George Alan Yancey (born September 8, 1962) is an American professor of sociology at the Baylor University, where he has taught since 2019. He is known for his research on anti-Christian attitudes in the contemporary United States, and the ways i ...

*Comptroller: Edward Regan *Attorney General: Bernard C. Smith

References

Sources

The campaign finance controversy, in NYT on March 9, 1989His resignation from Baruch, in ''The Ticker'' on February 2, 2004
{{DEFAULTSORT:Regan, Edward V 1930 births 2014 deaths New York State Comptrollers Politicians from Utica, New York Presidents of Baruch College New York (state) Republicans Erie County Executives Buffalo Common Council members Hobart and William Smith Colleges alumni