Brad Lander: ‘I don’t think this is a moment about lanes or ideology’

The race to take on Mayor Eric Adams in 2025 just got a little more crowded. New York City Comptroller Brad Lander became the third prominent Democrat – and the third left-leaning one, at that – to announce a run against Adams on Tuesday.

Lander, who as comptroller has had more of an opportunity to serve as a foil to the mayor over the past two-and-a-half years, delivered a sharp rebuke of Adams’ leadership on issues including the influx of migrants to the city. “In many ways, City Hall has substituted cruelty for management,” Lander told The New York Times. Like former Comptroller Scott Stringer and state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who are both fundraising to possibly run against Adams next year, Lander has pitched himself as someone with a track record and capability of effective management and delivering wins for working-class New Yorkers. But Lander, a white progressive who represented Park Slope for a decade in the City Council, could face trouble appealing to Black and outer borough voters, including those who make up the mayor’s base. 

City & State caught up with Lander on Tuesday morning about what the current comptroller sees as his path to victory for the top job at City Hall.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Why are you running, and why announce now?

I’m running for mayor to deliver a safer, more affordable, more livable and a better-run city for New Yorkers all across the five boroughs. I believe this is a critical moment for the future of the city. As we come out of the pandemic, we’ve got a bright future ahead of us. New Yorkers work so hard – they’re commuting long hours, grinding at work, paying so much rent – because they believe in New York City and what’s possible here. But that future demands better leadership.

And this is a definite run, not an exploratory committee or anything like that?

What I’m doing today is changing the registration of my committee. My Campaign Finance Board committee has been a comptroller committee, and I’m changing it to a mayoral committee and I’m running for mayor.

This is already shaping up to be a competitive primary, not just between yourself and the mayor but the others already in the race. Do you see yourself running on the left flank or progressive lane in this race?

I don’t think this is a moment about lanes or ideology. I think this is about who can actually deliver the safer, more affordable, more livable and better-run city that New Yorkers are hungry for – across neighborhoods, across race, across perspectives. I’ve got a track record of doing that. I believe that this city can deliver for working people. But to do that, it’s got to be well-run. That’s why in the comptroller’s office, we set up a lot of dashboards, why we focus on results, why we audit the programs. So to me, it’s about laying out that vision. And then showing that I’ve got the best experience and track record to deliver it.

Do you see yourself running as a progressive then, or not so much?

I mean, it’s progressive to focus on ensuring quality of life across every neighborhood. It’s progressive to deliver city services well – from libraries to parks to schools to cultural institutions. It’s progressive to help make sure all New Yorkers have effective and fair policing so they’re safe in their communities and treated equally and with respect. It’s progressive to make sure that housing is more affordable and that the child care seats we promised are actually delivered. It’s progressive to make sure the subways run on time and are accessible. And it’s all of those outcomes that I will be campaigning on, and focused on delivering as mayor.

Are you open to cross-endorsing with Stringer and/or Myrie to consolidate support if it comes to that? 

The first thing I’ll say is the past few weeks and months have shown that we’re well served by robust primaries, where people lay out their vision and their track record, and people get a chance to see potential leaders and decide who they want to support. So you know, that’s why I’m running. And that’s a good part of the process. Certainly, one thing that Scott Stringer and Zellnor Myrie and I all agree on is that we need new leadership at City Hall. There will come a time for more strategic conversations about how to make sure that happens. What has to happen first is for people to get out there and present their vision and their experience. 

Are you hopeful about garnering labor union support? How are you approaching that task?

Fighting hard for working people has been a central element of my whole career. I’m proud of the legislation I passed in the City Council for fast food workers, for freelancers, for Deliveristas, for for-hire vehicle drivers, for retail workers. A lot of that (was) groundbreaking across the country for fair schedules, fair wages. I'm proud of my time in the comptroller's office managing the pension funds. And I’ve been really pleased with my work with the uniforms on securing their retirement security. We’ve had first-rate results. And we're also investing in affordable housing and climate solutions that matter to working people. We've recovered, I think it's over $8 million, for workers who were cheated out of wages they were due on city-funded projects. And through our responsible investing work, we’ve had the backs of Starbucks workers, we brought a successful shareholder resolution that Workers United feels has been really helpful for them in their campaign. So of course, I’m gonna keep working with working people and working closely with labor unions, and I’d love to win their support. 

One of the bigger issues for city retirees right now is the proposed switch to Medicare Advantage. Where do you stand on that push?

When that contract first got to us, I declined to sign it. I rejected it and returned it to the administration. At the time, you know, that was the first ruling by the judge that the city didn't have the authority to enter into that contract. So we had procedural reasons to decline to register it. But I did also hear at that same time from my dear friend who has now died from ALS, Ady Barkan, who was looking at the ways that Medicare Advantage is eroding the whole system of Medicare in the United States. And that really resonated with me. We made a promise to city workers to provide them with good health care after they retire. Especially for those who were promised that all their career and then retired, and now have doctors and specialists and providers – to pull the rug out from under them is the wrong thing to do.

The mayor has alleged that a lot of the criticism of him is based on his race and wanting to deny another Black mayor a second term. What’s your response or reaction to that?

As I’m out across the city, in neighborhoods across the five boroughs, New Yorkers of every race and of a wide range of incomes, say the same things. They say, ‘We can't afford the rent, we need more affordable housing and better tenant protections and not having the RGB vote for big rent increases.’ They talk about safety issues and about why there is such a surge in street homelessness or illegal weed shops or retail theft. Just a couple days ago, I was at the dentist and my hygienist has a 3-year-old, and she said, ‘Mr. Lander, I heard that the city was promising a child care seat to all 3-year-olds, but I’m 140th on the waitlist for programs in my neighborhood.’ It’s New Yorkers who are criticizing City Hall for not delivering on safety, on affordability, on quality of life. It’s not my critique of Eric Adams – it’s New Yorkers' critique of Eric Adams.

Stringer and Myrie both brought in a decent amount in the last fundraising period, and of course the mayor’s fundraising is a juggernaut. How do you see yourself being able to compete there? Is that a concern? 

The spending limit in the mayor's race is $8 million with matching funds, and I will absolutely have the full $8 million to spend getting the word out to New Yorkers. Counting matching funds, I already have raised $3 million, so even before launching my mayoral campaign, I’m more than a third of the way there. 

Is there anybody who you’d like to support running for comptroller?

Comptroller is a great job. You know, looking out for the retirement security of New Yorkers, doing the audits, managing the pension funds. I love the job. I'm confident that a great set of people will step up to run, and I look forward to seeing who throws their hat in the ring and how they propose to lead the office.

Every single New York City comptroller over the last three decades has launched a bid to become mayor, but not since Abe Beame has one succeeded. Do you think there’s a comptroller curse? 

I think this is a moment when New Yorkers are hungry for better management, and comptroller is a job that’s all about better management. I’ve got a track record to show people at just, I believe, the right time, when they’re hungry for it. That's the case I’ll be making. Of course, it’s for New Yorkers to decide. But to me, this is a great moment to be running on a track record as the city’s chief accountability officer, as somebody who knows how to get the best out of every single tax dollar, who believes in transparency, and who has a record of results on delivering things that matter.