Manhattan electeds back Levine in comptroller battle

In what looks like it will be a two-man race for New York City comptroller, Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine is rolling out a slate of elected officials’ endorsements, reflecting his strength in his home borough. 

The endorsements come on the heels of Justin Brannan, the term-limited City Council member from Bay Ridge also running for comptroller, being the first to announce major labor support in the race, with endorsements from the Transport Workers Union and Teamsters Local 831.

Rep. Jerry Nadler, along with Assembly Members Alex Bores, Harvey Epstein, Micah Lasher, Linda Rosenthal, Rebecca Seawright and Tony Simone, are all endorsing Levine, his campaign announced Monday. The two candidates who are running to replace Levine as Manhattan borough president – state Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal and Council Member Keith Powers – are endorsing him too. (No word yet on what Powers’ backing of Levine means for the council’s unofficial, pandemic-era CBGB Caucus that consisted of Powers and Brannan.) Reps. Adriano Espaillat, Dan Goldman and Ritchie Torres had already announced their endorsements of Levine.

Both Levine and Brannan are mounting their first citywide runs, meaning they’ll have to branch out of their respective bases in Manhattan and southern Brooklyn. Both Levine and Brannan were once leading candidates for City Council speaker in 2017 and 2021, respectively, so they each have a little experience with building support outside their districts.

So far, their rollouts of endorsements suggest they’re focused on exactly that, with Brannan announcing his own share of endorsements from around the city, including state Sen. Andrew Gounardes and Assembly Member Robert Carroll, as well seven of his colleagues in the City Council, including Amanda Farías, Kamillah Hanks and Kevin Riley. 

Levine, meanwhile, has been endorsed by Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso and a handful of other City Council members and state legislators from outside Manhattan.

Levine has a strong lead in fundraising so far – helped in part by funds he transferred from his committee for reelection as borough president. In the most recent fundraising period, both candidates raised a little over $200,000. State Sen. Kevin Parker, a candidate for comptroller in 2021, also filed to run for the post again over the summer, but has raised just $15,000. Assembly Member Jenifer Rajkumar was previously running for the position, but switched last month to run for public advocate instead.