10. Thomas DiNapoli

To those who meet him in person, Tom DiNapoli is just an affable guy from Great Neck who used to be a New York State assemblyman. But he also strikes fear in the hearts of government agencies on the receiving end of audits performed by his office—including those as big as the Metropolitan Transportation Agency and as small as local fire districts. Aside from his holding municipalities’ feet to the fire on their fiscal practices, the two-term comptroller also holds the purse strings to the $183 billion fund that feeds the state and local pension system for retired government workers—meaning even his slightest investment decisions can impact the lives of retirees statewide. DiNapoli has made transparency a key signature of his tenure and created scores of comprehensive-yet-easily navigational online databases that anyone can search. From “Open Book New York,” which provides useful information about local government spending, state contracts, and state spending, to an “Unclaimed Funds” portal to check if you or anyone you know is owed any “lost” monies, DiNapoli puts the “shine” back in “sunshine”—the best disinfectant for Albany’s seemingly never-ending corruption.