The future of Mount Vernon's financial situation will once again be a focus when Democrats head to the polls during this year's primary election.

Two Democrats are vying for the city's comptroller position.

Incumbent City Comptroller Darren Morton is seeking his second 4-year term after being elected in November 2021. The Mount Vernon City Democratic Committee endorsed Morton as the party's candidate back in February.

Mount Vernon Certified Public Accountant Benjamin Montgomery is hoping to unseat him.

Before Morton was elected, the city was five years behind on its audits, had lost its credit rating in 2019, had years of missing accounting data and $61 million in outstanding liabilities, according to a financial report released by the city in March.

"When I took over the financial operations of the city, it was in complete disarray," Morton said.

Morton said he has divided his office into two parts: One that solely works on the backlog of financial work that had gone untouched for nearly a decade and the other half that focuses on present-day issues.

He said under his guidance, the city has completed four overdue audits and has a fifth audit for 2020 currently under review. Morton added that the city has completed the state's annual financial reports, paid down over $8 million in outstanding debt and settled a majority of its outstanding legal cases.

The city is still working towards getting a credit rating so it can secure bonds to fund municipal projects.

"We've got the audits to be completed, we've got the reestablishment of the credit rating and we've got the transfer of our current debt from BANs (Bond Anticipation Notes) to bonds because that will lower our interest rate in order for us to pay it over an extended period of time instead of it being short-term debt," Morton said.

Morton said if re-elected, he wants to work with the council to update the city's tax collection policies, diversify its revenue streams and get the city in a position where it can get its credit rating back.

Montgomery said he's running because he believes he has more financial experience to run the department.

"I've spent the last 30 years pretty much staying under the radar because I was happy just being who I am, doing what I do, helping small and medium-sized businesses to grow and to thrive," Montgomery said. "However, Mount Vernon is in a serious crisis."

If elected, Montgomery said he plans to implement a data-driven approach to financial oversight, finish the backlogged financial statements and create a more independent office.

"I'm going to do all that's required, so this doesn't domino on the homeowners," he said.

Each candidate shared their thoughts when asked what set them apart from their opponent.

"I know municipal finance and I know what is needed in a city like Mount Vernon," Morton said.

"My opponent does not have the skillset to do this," Montgomery said.

There are two other Democratic primaries in Mount Vernon: City Court Judge and three seats on the City Council.

The Mount Vernon Democratic City Committee endorsed City Council President Danielle Browne over current City Court Judge Peter Davis for the judge position.

The party also endorsed former Mayor Andre Wallace, incumbent City Councilmember Cathlin Gleason and former City Clerk Tanesia Walters over real estate broker Elvira Castillo, educator Cynthia Turnquest, Former Mount Vernon Police Benevolent Association President Nick Mastrogiorgio and property manager Bill Schwartz for the city council.

According to the Westchester Board of Elections, there are 29,537 Democrats compared to 2,663 Republicans actively registered to vote in Mount Vernon.

Generally, the winner of the Democratic primary in Mount Vernon goes on to win the general election in November.