NEW YORK CITY, July 29 - H. Carl McCall '58 has traveled a long journey from the poor neighborhoods of Boston where he grew up during the depression to his spacious new office in downtown Manhattan under the shadow of the World Trade Center.
Earlier this year, McCall was unanimously elected New York Comptroller by the state's legislature. In this capacity, he will now tackle the awesome task of auditing the spending practices of 1,700 municipalities and managing the $56 billion local and state pension fund.
McCall's election to comptroller is the latest addition to a career of devoted public service, which has also been performed in the role of a New York state senator, president of the New York City Board of Education, New York State commissioner of human rights and an ambassador to the United Nations.
Even McCall's enemies respect his ability to navigate a middle road in tough situations and to build a consensus -- and it was they who helped pave his way through the legislature two months ago to become the first black elected official at the state level in New York.
"I think Carl McCall is really going to be missed," Michael Petrides, one of McCall's opponents on the Board of Education, told The New York Times. "Carl handled those difficult situations as well as anyone could."
Walking the tightrope
McCall approached the politically heated Board of Education with a level-headed manner, generating productivity out of a divisive board with numerous competing factions.
Ousted chancellor Joseph Fernandez often battled with what The New York Times dubbed the "runaway" board; but it was McCall who frequently saved the day by diffusing escalating controversies and brokering compromises.
McCall's vote to revoke Fernandez's suspension of a Queens borough school board for failing to implement a curriculum that taught respect for homosexuals delighted the four-member majority with whom he often fought to wrestle control of the board.
"You've got to compromise sometimes," McCall said in an interview in his offices in New York City. "It seemed to be a way of finding a solution. We've got to find solutions to problems -- we just can't have fixed positions on opposite sides."
Despite the animosity, the charged atmosphere and the political pitfalls, McCall said he ran the largest school system in the nation with one goal in mind -- the welfare of the system's approximate one million students.
"It's chaotic. It's tough," McCall said, referring to the current state of New York's educational system. "But let me tell you, in spite of the chaos, there are pockets of excellence -- there are places where good things are happening, mainly because of community leadership."
Protector McCall
Despite the hard economic times in which New York currently finds itself, McCall said he is relaxed and committed to serving the public, a job he finds both enjoyable and rewarding.
"Seeing kids achieving and working hard is what I liked best about my job as board president," McCall said. "I liked watching people demonstrating that they had ability."
McCall said his most memorable moments came at the graduation for students who were receiving the General Education Degree. "They are people who came back for a second chance," he said.
Although he responded, "David, you've got to be kidding" when newly-elected New York City Mayor David Dinkins asked him to be board president in 1990, McCall said he was happy to serve New York City. In the same vein, he said he is eager to work for the millions of New Yorkers as state comptroller.
"The most important thing in this job is to be fair and to protect the people," he said.
The College's influence
Judging from the extracurricular activities in which McCall participated while at Dartmouth, one might say his new job appears easier than his college years.
With a slightly worn memory, McCall spoke fondly of the College and his involvement in student government during the 1950s -- he eventually rose to be president of the dormitory council, he said.
Two of McCall's childhood idols, who attended the same church and graduated from Dartmouth, encouraged McCall to attend the College.
"For me it was such a huge leap," McCall said. "It was a way out of a very difficult financial and environmental situation. It was an era in which there was calm and focus. The focus was on education. There wasn't much concern on political issues or surroundings."
When asked why he chose the College, he said Dartmouth was "the perfect image of a college -- with all the ivy and the Green."
McCall said his involvement in student government, the basketball team and the judicial council taught him how to approach different and difficult issues and how to work for solutions to problems he encountered in these pursuits. He added that these tools have "come in handy" in his different jobs since school.
Weary but driven
The tremendous job that lies ahead has not caught him off-guard, McCall said. "I try not to make concessions. I have had defeats, but you can never be disillusioned. You can't feel down -- you can't do that and stay in public life.
"You have to realize things are not perfect but you do make some progress and things get somewhat better. If you feel depressed about it, you have to get out. You can't do it."
In the lobby of the state office building where McCall works, a plaque hangs in memory of a past comptroller, Arthur Levitt. It praises Levitt for being the "watchdog of the people" for his years of service.
Based on his smile and determination, McCall has set out to follow in Levitt's footsteps.
