Key nod for Brannan in heated comptroller race
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With help from Cris Seda Chabrier
Public Advocate Jumaane Williams will endorse Justin Brannan as his No. 1 pick for city comptroller today, giving his fellow Brooklynite the first citywide nod of the fraught race, Playbook has learned.
Brannan, chair of the City Council's Finance Committee, is facing off against Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president, in what appears to be a competitive contest to be the city's next fiscal watchdog.
Williams will host a news conference today with Brannan but also plans to rank Levine as his second pick and state Sen. Kevin Parker as his third, a spokesperson for the public advocate said.
Brannan and Levine split the support of their elected colleagues and labor unions, though Levine has a distinct advantage in fundraising. The two Democrats are set to face off Thursday in a live debate.
At the heart of their race has been the question of who would better stand up to President Donald Trump as his agenda threatens funding to New York City.
Williams says it's Brannan.
'Justin has always taken bold positions in a district where it would've been much easier to run from them,' the public advocate said of the council member's purple district in southern Brooklyn. 'With democracy on the line in Washington, Justin is the Comptroller we need who will stand up and fight back for New York City.'
Brannan has said that he's shown with his push as finance chair against Mayor Eric Adams' budget cuts that he's ready to bring the ruckus, posting, 'Protecting our city from Trump is gonna take more than a few strongly worded letters.'
The sitting city comptroller, Brad Lander, has yet to endorse a successor as he runs for mayor in a more crowded — and more lopsided — primary.
Brannan's coalition also includes the left-leaning Working Families Party, Rep. Nydia Velázquez, Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, several state and local elected officials, 32BJ SEIU and the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council. Levine's endorsements include four House members, including Rep. Adriano Espaillat; several state and local leaders; 1199 SEIU and District Council 37.
Williams, who endorsed Lander and Adrienne Adams for mayor Tuesday, told Playbook his picks are not about ideology. He said he's backing candidates who 'can have a conversation with all New Yorkers, not just the ones on the left, not just the ones in center, on the right.'
Levine has $2.6 million in campaign cash on hand compared to $1.8 million for Brannan as of the last filing. The Manhattan beep released two new ads Tuesday, Playbook reported, including one in Spanish.
Levine campaign spokesperson Annabel Lassally said the candidate has built the 'most diverse and progressive coalition' and has proposed leveraging public pension funds and increasing the city's reserves to respond to Trump. — Emily Ngo
HAPPY WEDNESDAY: Got news? Send it our way: Jeff Coltin, Emily Ngo and Nick Reisman.
WHERE'S KATHY? In Nassau and Suffolk counties, and in New York City, making an economic development announcement.
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: 'An indictment is not a conviction; a politically-driven indictment that has been dismissed and for which there is no corroborating evidence is worth nothing at all,' Abrams Fensterman attorney Robert Spolzino wrote in the suit filed by Mayor Eric Adams challenging the Campaign Finance Board's decision to deny him matching funds.
MARK YOUR CALENDARS: The Conversation with Dasha Burns arrives Sunday, June 1 — and we're dropping a first look. Each week on her new podcast, Dasha will sit down with one of the most compelling — and sometimes unexpected — power players in Washington. This isn't just a podcast. It's a new kind of political interview show for a moment when politics feels more personal, more chaotic and more consequential than ever. Catch the video and audio trailer out this morning to see what Dasha's digging into this season. And subscribe to the podcast, wherever you listen or watch.
ABOVE THE FOLD
FIX'S HAUL: The Andrew Cuomo-allied super PAC reported raising just under $900,000 in the last week — bringing its total haul to nearly $10 million since forming in March.
The group, Fix the City, reported contributions from entertainment executives, investors and longtime Cuomo allies, according to state elections filings made public Tuesday.
Donations included $250,000 from Netflix Board Chair Reed Hastings and his wife Patty Quillin. Broadway mogul James Nederlander gave $125,000. Retiring Northwell Health CEO Michael Dowling, a former Mario Cuomo administration official, contributed $10,000. Investor Lee Fixel gave $100,000.
Fix the City has easily dwarfed the money raised by other super PACs in the race.
New Yorkers for Lower Costs, the group backing Zohran Mamdani, raised $5,000 in the last week from five donors. That group has taken in more than $200,000.
Competent Leadership Now, which is supporting Scott Stringer, did not report any fundraising activity. The anti-Cuomo super PAC New Yorkers for Better Leadership has raised $2,000 since its formation.
Fundraising by Fix the City has enabled the group to spend more than $7.5 million on TV and digital ads in the costly media market, according to AdImpact. The group's ads have been largely positive spots supporting Cuomo's candidacy and platform. — Nick Reisman
CITY HALL: THE LATEST
FIRST IN PLAYBOOK: The New York League of Conservation Voters will co-endorse Cuomo and Lander this morning when it releases its slate of candidates ahead of next month's primaries.
The group's president Julie Tighe said the former governor and city comptroller rose above the rest on environmental protection issues. She credited Cuomo for the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and 'generational investments' in clean air, water and parks. Tighe said Lander has led on 'climate finance, driving fossil fuel divestment from pension funds, helping to pass the nation-leading plastic bag ban and Styrofoam restrictions.'
The endorsements come as Cuomo dominates the field of Democrats by double digits in public polling and Lander has become a prominent voice in the DREAM, or Don't Rank Evil Andrew for Mayor, campaign.
The New York League of Conservation Voters is also endorsing Levine for city comptroller, Williams for public advocate and Keith Powers for Manhattan borough president. — Emily Ngo
SEE IT: Acclaimed photographer Mark Ostow hit the trail for a few weeks, capturing the top contenders in the mayoral race in his signature stark style for POLITICO Magazine. These aren't the polished portraits coming to your mailbox — rather they're a documentary of the brutal race to lead the greatest city in the world.
SIGN HERE: Mayor Eric Adams' campaign said it collected 47,000 signatures to get onto the general election ballot on two independent lines, far exceeding the statutory requirement and providing another indication the incumbent plans to pursue a narrow path to reelection despite dropping out of the Democratic primary.
'This milestone reflects the overwhelming enthusiasm for the Mayor's leadership and the strength of his campaign as it heads into a pivotal summer stretch,' spokesperson Todd Shapiro said in a statement. 'From lowering crime and building affordable housing to investing in working families and revitalizing the economy, Mayor Adams' record speaks for itself — and New Yorkers are responding.'
As POLITICO reported last week, the most recent campaign finance filing from Adams showed the mayor is ramping up his campaign apparatus. After raising more than $155,000 over the last two months, he is spending on voter data, fundraisers and petitioning.
While Adams submitted signatures last week, the deadline for an independent run ended Tuesday. And the petitions submitted to the New York City Board of Elections are likely to allow Adams to run on two independent ballot lines — Safe & Affordable and EndAntiSemitism — despite the long odds ahead of him.
The incumbent has record-low polling numbers, has been denied millions in public matching dollars and has lost much of his base to primary frontrunner Andrew Cuomo. — Joe Anuta
More from the city:
— Cuomo hasn't paid rent or property taxes for the better part of 20 years. (Hellgate)
— An umbrella group representing New York Teamsters unions is endorsing Levine, but some locals have split away from the pack to back Brannan. (Daily News)
— Why Cuomo's critics are saying he's just like Eric Adams. (New York Times)
— The Building and Construction Trades Council has endorsed Cuomo. (The Real Deal)
NEW FROM PLANET ALBANY
MOO YORK CITY: Two Democratic state lawmakers drew upstate Republican ire after they introduced a bill to ban large dairy farms.
The measure would, in effect, prevent state regulators from issuing new licenses for dairy farms with more than 700 cows.
GOP Assemblymember Chris Tague was especially galled by the bill's sponsors — Assemblymember Linda Rosenthal and state Sen. Jabari Brisport — representing districts hundreds of miles away from upstate dairy country.
'The proposal just further highlights the ignorance the Democrat supermajority in Albany has of agricultural work, which is a true failure on their part since agriculture is one of our greatest industries in the state,' Tague said. 'City legislators need to do a better job at understanding this work and what the people on the ground really need to continue operating effectively, otherwise, we'll continue to lose family farms.'
Rosenthal defended the bill to Playbook as one that's supportive of small family farms and noted that she's spent her legislative career on the Assembly Agriculture Committee.
'Most people know I'm very concerned about the welfare of animals, and in these large factory farms they're not living under the best of conditions,' she said. 'It's a perfectly reasonable bill unless you're shilling for large corporations.'
The proposal does highlight a rural-urban divide in Albany that upstaters are sensitive to, though given the large contingent of non-New York City Assembly Democrats, the bill's passage has an uphill chance. — Nick Reisman
More from Albany:
— State lawmakers are considering a permanent Census office to perform outreach programs. (Times Union)
— Republicans are blasting a plastics reduction bill's potential impact on manufacturing jobs. (Buffalo News)
— Hochul touted a drop in statewide shootings compared to the same time last year. (Spectrum News)
KEEPING UP WITH THE DELEGATION
MEGABILL MEGASELL: House members are on recess from Washington and back in their districts this week with their tasks clear cut: Democrats are knocking the GOP megabill for slashing social services. Republicans are celebrating it for its tax cuts as they urge senators to preserve as much as possible in their rewrite process.
Rep. Nicole Malliotakis gathered Republican state and local leaders Tuesday on Staten Island to tout the raising of the state and local tax, or SALT, deduction cap to $40,000 from $10,000, saying it's necessary to offset Democrats' 'bloated bureaucracy and wasteful spending.'
The Republican lawmaker had lobbied throughout the tense SALT negotiation process for relief aimed at middle-class families, but she was not part of the final talks with House Speaker Mike Johnson to quadruple the cap.
'It could save the average family on Staten Island thousands of dollars a year, this provision alone,' Malliotakis said.
Several New York Democrats, part of the minority on Capitol Hill, will take their turn today in working to shape the narrative on Trump's 'big, beautiful bill.' Reps. Tom Suozzi and Laura Gillen will convene several community leaders on Long Island to slam spending rollbacks to Medicaid, SNAP and other programs. — Emily Ngo
More from Congress:
— Central New York farmers and faith leaders unite with Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer to condemn the GOP megabill that cuts food aid. (Syracuse.com)
— House Democrats are teeing up a caucus election to fill the party's top job on the Oversight Committee, a race considered wide open after Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez opted against running. (POLITICO)
— How Republicans hope to sell the 'big, beautiful bill.' (Punchbowl News)
NEW YORK STATE OF MIND
— Attorney General Letitia James fined Walmart for shipping realistic looking toy guns to New York. (Spectrum News)
— The New York City schools chancellor is encouraging parents to continue sending their children to school after a 20-year-old student was detained in immigration court. (Gothamist)
— New York City wants to turn vacant lots into pocket parks. (Gothamist)
SOCIAL DATA
MEDIAWATCH – Maia Hibbett is now managing editor of The Intercept. She most recently was politics editor of New York Public Radio and is the former managing editor of New York Focus.
HAPPY BIRTHDAY: Shirley Limongi of the New York City Council … Rudy Giuliani … Isabella Moschen Storey … Michelle Fawbush … Coleen Jose … Kim Ton-That … (WAS TUESDAY): Noam Scheiber ... Ben Cohen ... Joshua Fitterman … (WAS MONDAY): Cheryl Cohen Effron
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