Who might run for Manhattan borough president in 2025?

If it seems a little early to be talking about the Manhattan borough president primary next June, blame it on the evolving mayoral field. “It’s because of the Brad Lander shuffle,” said Democratic consultant Ryan Adams. The current comptroller’s entrance into the 2025 Democratic mayoral primary has opened his current seat up to what’s likely to be a competitive primary. And now that Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine has filed to fundraise as a candidate for comptroller, his own current seat could be up for grabs.

That is, if Lander and Levine each continue running for mayor and comptroller, respectively, and don’t backpedal to run for reelection to their current posts and send the shuffle into disarray. The Daily News reported later on Thursday that Levine could still change his mind and run for reelection – as could Lander – though that could cause friction with candidates making plans to run for their seats.

For now, however, Levine’s entrance into the comptroller race, which has been rumored some time, opens up his current seat to an array of Manhattan state legislators and City Council members who are exploring a path to borough president. While many of those who have confirmed interest so far wouldn’t be giving up a seat to run – several could keep state legislative seats while running and at least one is a term-limited City Council member – there may be reason enough for other candidates to put their current seats on the line. It may be easier for even a non-term-limited City Council member to put up a fight for Manhattan borough president in an open primary in 2025 than it would be against an incumbent in a few years.

Though several potential candidates for Manhattan borough president may see mostly upside in mounting a run without ditching their current jobs, there’s always a risk of making yourself vulnerable as a candidate. “There’s never zero risk,” said Democratic strategist Trip Yang. “If you end up running and you perform poorly in your own legislative district, that is not a good look for you at all.”

Of those looking at entering the race, all are hewing to cautious language of still “considering” their options, with many noting their focus is on November’s upcoming election. No candidates have formally filed to run. The possible candidates so far hail from across Manhattan. Though as one elected official noted, Manhattan has a track record of electing borough presidents from the West Side and northern Manhattan.

Here are the current elected officials – like Levine, all Democrats – who have confirmed they’re considering jumping in the ring.

Council Member Keith Powers

Term-limited at the end of 2025, Council Member Keith Powers is a very likely candidate for Manhattan borough president. He told City & State last month that he was looking at the seat, and Levine’s official entrance into the comptroller race could give Powers the push to dive in.

State Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal

The Upper West Side state senator wouldn’t have to give up his current seat to make a go at Manhattan borough president. And after coming in a close second to Levine in 2021, Hoylman-Sigal is taking a serious look at making another attempt. “I’m very seriously considering it,” he told City & State on Thursday. “I really enjoyed my time on the campaign trail in 2021.” 

Assembly Member Alex Bores

Elected to the Assembly in 2022, Alex Bores is also in the mix of current elected officials who may throw their hats in the ring for Manhattan beep in 2025. Like other potential candidates here, Bores stressed his focus is on 2024 – the presidential election, but also his own reelection to the Assembly – and said he hasn’t made any decisions about possibly running in 2025. “I really enjoy what I’m doing in the Assembly,” Bores said, but added, “I think opportunities like this are not that frequent, and so I am taking a look at whether that’s a way that I can even better serve my city and state.”

Assembly Member Grace Lee

Another relatively new Assembly Member, Grace Lee also isn’t ruling out running for borough president. “I’m open to considering all possibilities to best serve the community,” said Lee, who represents Lower Manhattan.

Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal

A longtime legislator on the Upper West Side, Assembly Member Linda Rosenthal told City & State that she’s still considering a run for borough president.

Council Member Shaun Abreu

While Council Member Shaun Abreu would have to give up his current council seat to run for borough president – making the run more of a gamble than it is for some other potential candidates – he’s the first person in northern Manhattan to confirm that he’s considering a run, and could form a strong coalition of Upper Manhattanites and Latino voters in the borough.