Andrew Eristoff
Encyclopedia
Andrew P. Sidamon-Eristoff is a Republican Party politician from New York City
who currently serves as New Jersey
State Treasurer
under Governor
Chris Christie. He previously served as Commissioner of Tax and Finance
under New York State Governor
George Pataki
from September 16, 2003 until his resignation on November 3, 2006.
with honors in 1985. He received a juris doctor
degree with honors from Georgetown University Law Center
in 1989. In 2000, Eristoff earned an Advanced Professional Certificate in Information Technology
from New York University
. Known socially as Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff, he is the son of Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff and Anne Phipps Sidamon-Eristoff. His great-grandfather, Henry Phipps
, was a partner of Andrew Carnegie
. On his father's side, Eristoff is a descendant of the noble Georgian
family of Sidamon-Eristavi who immigrated to the U.S. following the Soviet invasion of Georgia
.
from 1993 until 1999, elected three times to represent an overwhelmingly Democratic district on Manhattan's East Side. In addition to focusing on quality-of-life issues (he wrote the Taxi Rider's Bill of Rights and a law to ban panhandling near automated teller machine
s, for example), Eristoff became the Council's leading expert on technology and was made Chairman of the Council's Task Force on Technology in Government, the first Republican to hold a chair in modern times. In 1999, Eristoff became New York City Commissioner of Finance under Mayor
Rudy Giuliani
. He served in that role until 2002, earning recognition for implementing new management strategies that leveraged technology and performance measurement to reduce costs, increase collections, and improve customer service.
After serving briefly as Chairman of the New York Republican County Committee, and an unsuccessful race for New York State Senate
in 2002, Governor George Pataki
appointed Eristoff Executive Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
. In September 2003, Eristoff was nominated and confirmed as Commissioner of Tax and Finance. In his role as chief executive of the second-largest state revenue administration, Commissioner Eristoff oversaw a budget in excess of $400 million, managed over 4,600 employees, and was responsible for $77 billion in annual state and local revenues. He was a national leader in state- and national-level data sharing initiatives to support compliance programs; stabilized a multi-year $100 million IT project to build an integrated tax system; oversaw a landmark tax shelter amnesty initiative; and implemented project portfolio management and performance-based budgeting
programs.
In January 2007, Eristoff applied to the New York State Legislature to be among the candidates screened to replace former New York State Comptroller
Alan Hevesi
. In 2008, Eristoff served as Manhattan Coordinator for McCain-Palin 2008
.
On January 14, 2010, he was nominated by New Jersey
Governor Chris Christie as State Treasurer
. Eristoff assumed the duties of Acting State Treasurer on January 19, 2010. The New Jersey Senate
confirmed his nomination on February 22 by a vote of 37-2. He was officially sworn in on March 2, 2010.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
who currently serves as New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
State Treasurer
New Jersey Department of the Treasury
The mission of the New Jersey Department of the Treasury is to formulate and manage the state's budget, generate and collect revenues, disburse the appropriations used to operate New Jersey state government, manage the state's physical and financial assets, and provide statewide support services to...
under Governor
Governor of New Jersey
The Office of the Governor of New Jersey is the executive branch for the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of Governor is an elected position, for which elected officials serve four year terms. While individual politicians may serve as many terms as they can be elected to, Governors cannot be...
Chris Christie. He previously served as Commissioner of Tax and Finance
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance is a core agency of the US state of New York. It is headquartered in Building 8/8A at the W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus in Albany....
under New York State Governor
Governor of New York
The Governor of the State of New York is the chief executive of the 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 and naval forces. The officeholder is afforded the courtesy title of His/Her...
George Pataki
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
from September 16, 2003 until his resignation on November 3, 2006.
Education and family background
Eristoff graduated from Princeton UniversityPrinceton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
with honors in 1985. He received a juris doctor
Juris Doctor
Juris Doctor is a professional doctorate and first professional graduate degree in law.The degree was first awarded by Harvard University in the United States in the late 19th century and was created as a modern version of the old European doctor of law degree Juris Doctor (see etymology and...
degree with honors from Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center
Georgetown University Law Center is the law school of Georgetown University, located in Washington, D.C.. Established in 1870, the Law Center offers J.D., LL.M., and S.J.D. degrees in law...
in 1989. In 2000, Eristoff earned an Advanced Professional Certificate in Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
from New York University
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
. Known socially as Andrew Sidamon-Eristoff, he is the son of Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff and Anne Phipps Sidamon-Eristoff. His great-grandfather, Henry Phipps
Henry Phipps
Henry Phipps, Jr. was an American entrepreneur and major philanthropist.-Biography:He was the son of an English shoemaker who emigrated in the early part of the 19th century to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania before settling in Pittsburgh. When a child, he was a friend and neighbor to Andrew Carnegie...
, was a partner of Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
. On his father's side, Eristoff is a descendant of the noble Georgian
Georgians
The Georgians are an ethnic group that have originated in Georgia, where they constitute a majority of the population. Large Georgian communities are also present throughout Russia, European Union, United States, and South America....
family of Sidamon-Eristavi who immigrated to the U.S. following the Soviet invasion of Georgia
Georgia (country)
Georgia is a sovereign state in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Located at the crossroads of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the southwest by Turkey, to the south by Armenia, and to the southeast by Azerbaijan. The capital of...
.
Political career
Eristoff served as a member of the New York City CouncilNew York City Council
The New York City Council is the lawmaking body of the City of New York. It has 51 members from 51 council districts throughout the five boroughs. The Council serves as a check against the mayor in a "strong" mayor-council government model. The council monitors performance of city agencies and...
from 1993 until 1999, elected three times to represent an overwhelmingly Democratic district on Manhattan's East Side. In addition to focusing on quality-of-life issues (he wrote the Taxi Rider's Bill of Rights and a law to ban panhandling near automated teller machine
Automated teller machine
An automated teller machine or automatic teller machine, also known as a Cashpoint , cash machine or sometimes a hole in the wall in British English, is a computerised telecommunications device that provides the clients of a financial institution with access to financial transactions in a public...
s, for example), Eristoff became the Council's leading expert on technology and was made Chairman of the Council's Task Force on Technology in Government, the first Republican to hold a chair in modern times. In 1999, Eristoff became New York City Commissioner of Finance under Mayor
Mayor of New York City
The Mayor of the City of New York is head of the executive branch of New York City's government. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property, police and fire protection, most public agencies, and enforces all city and state laws within New York City.The budget overseen by the...
Rudy Giuliani
Rudy Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
. He served in that role until 2002, earning recognition for implementing new management strategies that leveraged technology and performance measurement to reduce costs, increase collections, and improve customer service.
After serving briefly as Chairman of the New York Republican County Committee, and an unsuccessful race for New York State Senate
New York State Senate
The New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
in 2002, Governor George Pataki
George Pataki
George Elmer Pataki is an American politician who was the 53rd Governor of New York. A member of the Republican Party, Pataki served three consecutive four-year terms from January 1, 1995 until December 31, 2006.- Early life :...
appointed Eristoff Executive Deputy Commissioner of the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
New York State Department of Taxation and Finance
The New York State Department of Taxation and Finance is a core agency of the US state of New York. It is headquartered in Building 8/8A at the W. Averell Harriman State Office Building Campus in Albany....
. In September 2003, Eristoff was nominated and confirmed as Commissioner of Tax and Finance. In his role as chief executive of the second-largest state revenue administration, Commissioner Eristoff oversaw a budget in excess of $400 million, managed over 4,600 employees, and was responsible for $77 billion in annual state and local revenues. He was a national leader in state- and national-level data sharing initiatives to support compliance programs; stabilized a multi-year $100 million IT project to build an integrated tax system; oversaw a landmark tax shelter amnesty initiative; and implemented project portfolio management and performance-based budgeting
Performance Based Budgeting
Adopting public sector’s performance-based budgeting to the private sector using the CPM framework. In performance-based budgeting first the goals and objectives of organization or department are identified, then measurement tools are developed and the last step is reporting.-Introduction:Today,...
programs.
In January 2007, Eristoff applied to the New York State Legislature to be among the candidates screened to replace former New York State Comptroller
New York State Comptroller
The New York State Comptroller is a state cabinet officer of the U.S. state of New York. The duties of the comptroller include auditing government operations and operating the state's retirement system.-History:...
Alan Hevesi
Alan Hevesi
Alan G. Hevesi is a Democratic politician whoserved as a New York State Assemblyman from 1971 to 1993, as Comptroller of the City of New York from 1994 to 2001, and as State Comptroller for the State of New York from 2003 to 2006...
. In 2008, Eristoff served as Manhattan Coordinator for McCain-Palin 2008
John McCain presidential campaign, 2008
John McCain, the senior United States Senator from Arizona, launched his second candidacy for the presidency of the United States in an unsuccessful bid to win the 2008 presidential election. His candidacy, in the works for a number of years, was informally announced on February 28, 2007 during a...
.
On January 14, 2010, he was nominated by New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
Governor Chris Christie as State Treasurer
New Jersey Department of the Treasury
The mission of the New Jersey Department of the Treasury is to formulate and manage the state's budget, generate and collect revenues, disburse the appropriations used to operate New Jersey state government, manage the state's physical and financial assets, and provide statewide support services to...
. Eristoff assumed the duties of Acting State Treasurer on January 19, 2010. The New Jersey Senate
New Jersey Senate
The New Jersey Senate was established as the upper house of the New Jersey Legislature by the Constitution of 1844, replacing the Legislative Council. From 1844 until 1965 New Jersey's counties elected one Senator, each. Under the 1844 Constitution the term of office was three years. The 1947...
confirmed his nomination on February 22 by a vote of 37-2. He was officially sworn in on March 2, 2010.
Electoral history
- 2002 special election for New York State SenateNew York State SenateThe New York State Senate is one of two houses in the New York State Legislature and has members each elected to two-year terms. There are no limits on the number of terms one may serve...
, 26th District- Andrew S. Eristoff (R), 40.7%
- Liz KruegerLiz KruegerLiz Krueger is a member of the New York State Senate, representing a district on the East Side of Manhattan.She was first elected in February 2002 during a special election. Krueger is the ranking member on the Senate Finance Committee. She was Chairwoman of NY's Democratic Senate Campaign...
(D), 59.3%