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

New York State New York, also called New York State, is a state in the northeastern United States. Bordered by New England to the east, Canada to the north, and Pennsylvania and New Jersey to the south, its territory extends into both the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. 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, North ...

. He rose to prominence as the third

Erie County Executive The County Executive of Erie County, New York, is the chief officer of the county's executive branch and manages the county business, including implementing policy, administering county services, and directing the executive staff. Executives have ...

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. Sixty-one individuals have held the office of State Comptroller si ...

, 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, United States. It is a constituent college of the City University of New York system. Named for financier and statesman Bernard M. Baruch, the colle ...

of the

City University of New York The City University of New York (CUNY, pronounced , ) 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 ...

, where he also served as a professor.

Early life and education

Born in

Plainfield, New Jersey Plainfield is a City (New Jersey), city in Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Nicknamed "The Queen City",

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

Utica, New York Utica () is the county seat of Oneida County, New York, United States. The tenth-most populous city in New York, its population was 65,283 in the 2020 census. It is located on the Mohawk River in the Mohawk Valley at the foot of the Adiro ...

. He attended

Nichols School Nichols School is a private, non-denominational, co-educational college-University-preparatory school, preparatory day school in Buffalo, New York, United States. The average enrollment is 565 students with an average Upper School grade/class s ...

, a prep school in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, 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'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'', 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 an economics major in the Hobart Class of 1952 at

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

, where he was a member of

Kappa Alpha Society The Kappa Alpha Society () is a North American social college fraternity. Founded in 1825, it was the progenitor of the modern fraternity system in North America. It is considered to be the oldest national, secret, Greek-letter social fraterni ...

. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

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

cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

'' 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 the law school of the University at Buffalo. Founded in 1887, and affiliated with Niagara University until 1 ...

in 1964.

Political career

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. Arthur Levitt Sr. (June 28, 1900 – May 6, 1980) was an American lawyer and politician who served as the 50th New York State Comptroller from 1955 to 1978. Early life Levitt was born into a Jewish family in Brooklyn in 1900, to parents Isra ...

, 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 nominee for Governor of New York in 2002. He was the firs ...

who was elected by the

New York State Legislature The New York State Legislature consists of the Bicameralism, two houses that act as the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York: the New York State Senate and the New York State Assem ...

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 ...

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.

Post-political career

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 George Hevesi (January 31, 1940 – November 9, 2023) was a convicted felon and American politician 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 Comptro ...

. The other search committee members were former State Comptroller

and former New York City Comptroller Harrison J. Goldin. 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 (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 (United States), Democratic Party, he was appointed by a bipartisan m ...

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 focused on Foreign policy of the United States, U.S. foreign policy and international relations. Founded in 1921, it is an independent and nonpartisan 501(c)(3) nonprofit organi ...

, 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. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it had a population of 63,518. It is the largest town on Gold Coast (Connecticut), Connectic ...

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

Alzheimer's disease Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease and the cause of 60–70% of cases of dementia. The most common early symptom is difficulty in remembering recent events. As the disease advances, symptoms can include problems wit ...

and lived in a retirement home in

Rye, New York Rye is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, within the New York metropolitan area, New York City metropolitan area. It received its charter as a city in 1942, making it the most recent such charter in the state. Its area of ...

Political campaigns

1970 NYS Republican ticket

*Governor:

Nelson Rockefeller Nelson Aldrich "Rocky" Rockefeller (July 8, 1908 – January 26, 1979) was the 41st vice president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977 under President Gerald Ford. He was also the 49th governor of New York, serving from 1959 to 197 ...

*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 New York State Attorney General, Attorney General of New York State for 22 years. He was a Republican. Early life and education Lefk ...

*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 Lewis E. "Lew" Lehrman (born 15 August 1938) is an American investment banker, businessman, politician, economist, and historian who advocates for studying American history using source documents. He received the National Humanities Medal in 200 ...

*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 Andrew Patrick O'Rourke (October 26, 1933 – January 3, 2013) was an American judge and politician from New York State. A Republican, he served as the County Executive of Westchester County, New York from 1982 to 1997. He was the Republic ...

*Lieutenant Governor: E. Michael Kavanagh *Comptroller: Edward Regan *Attorney General:

Peter T. King Peter Thomas King (born April 5, 1944) is an American former politician and novelist who represented New York (state), New York in the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives from 1993 to 2021. A member of the Repub ...

*U.S. Senate:

Alfonse D'Amato Alfonse Marcello D'Amato (born August 1, 1937) is an American attorney, lobbyist, and Republican politician who represented the state of New York in the United States Senate from 1981 to 1999. From 1995 to 1999, he chaired the Senate Banking C ...

1990 NYS Republican ticket

*Governor: Pierre Rinfret *Lieutenant Governor: George Yancey *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

Early life and education

Political career

Post-political career

Death

Political campaigns

1970 NYS Republican ticket

1978 NYS Republican ticket

1982 NYS Republican ticket

1986 NYS Republican ticket

1990 NYS Republican ticket

References

Sources

See also