Call it the def comptroller jam. Last month former public finance banker Bill Thompson got an unusual boost in his quest to become New York City comptroller - from hip-hop impresario Russell Simmons. Together with Tracy Maitland, CIO of private equity firm Advent Capital Management, Simmons cohosted a fundraiser for the Democratic candidate at SoHo’s trendy Exhibit A gallery. The event featured a half-rap, half-poetry “slam” performance and attracted 200-odd Wall Street and entertainment types. “This is a very exciting evening,” the grateful Thompson told the sweaty crowd. He was an investment banker at George K. Baum & Co. in Kansas City and president of the New York City Board of Education before launching his campaign. At the fundraiser Thompson and his hosts took pains to explain the importance of the city comptroller, who oversees New York’s public employee pension fund. “When you control $85 billion, you get a lot of attention,” Maitland told the crowd. Later he told II: “Russell and I had talked about doing something for Bill for a while, because he is the only black candidate running for citywide office this year. That’s a big problem.”
