Latest news with #Brannan
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump looms large — and Cuomo small — in NYC comptroller debate
NEW YORK — The two top candidates for New York City Comptroller faced off Thursday evening for a debate that was laden with questions about the fiscal threat posed by President Donald Trump. The dueling Democratic officials — City council member Justin Brannan and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine — showed little daylight between their positions aside from delivery style. They vowed to stand up to attempts by the president to curtail New York City's federal funding stream. They want to divest city pension funds from Tesla. They want to audit NYPD overtime. They shot down Mayor Eric Adams' recent "Bit bond" proposal. They are proposing to invest pension funds into affordable housing and universal childcare. And they really don't want to talk about Andrew Cuomo, who is leading the Democratic primary for mayor — the very position they would be charged with keeping in check if elected. 'I care very much about who our next mayor is, so I haven't made a decision about that,' Brannan, the Council finance chair, responded when asked if he had concerns about the former governor, eventually saying generally he had some qualms about Cuomo's handling of Covid. Levine was similarly mum. 'There's a lot to weigh on former Gov. Cuomo, and I know voters are sorting through it, but I'm not going to make any kind of definitive endorsement here tonight,' he said. The biggest difference between the duo was one of style. 'What you'll hear from me tonight is a positive platform about how I will get results for New Yorkers,' Levine said. Brannan took a different tack. 'This moment calls for a fighter: someone who's going to stand up to Donald Trump, someone who's going to fight fire with fire,' he said.
Politico
2 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Trump looms large — and Cuomo small — in NYC comptroller debate
NEW YORK — The two top candidates for New York City Comptroller faced off Thursday evening for a debate that was laden with questions about the fiscal threat posed by President Donald Trump. The dueling Democratic officials — City council member Justin Brannan and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine — showed little daylight between their positions aside from delivery style. They vowed to stand up to attempts by the president to curtail New York City's federal funding stream. They want to divest city pension funds from Tesla. They want to audit NYPD overtime. They shot down Mayor Eric Adams' recent 'Bit bond' proposal. They are proposing to invest pension funds into affordable housing and universal childcare. And they really don't want to talk about Andrew Cuomo, who is leading the Democratic primary for mayor — the very position they would be charged with keeping in check if elected. 'I care very much about who our next mayor is, so I haven't made a decision about that,' Brannan, the Council finance chair, responded when asked if he had concerns about the former governor, eventually saying generally he had some qualms about Cuomo's handling of Covid. Levine was similarly mum. 'There's a lot to weigh on former Gov. Cuomo, and I know voters are sorting through it, but I'm not going to make any kind of definitive endorsement here tonight,' he said. The biggest difference between the duo was one of style. 'What you'll hear from me tonight is a positive platform about how I will get results for New Yorkers,' Levine said. Brannan took a different tack. 'This moment calls for a fighter: someone who's going to stand up to Donald Trump, someone who's going to fight fire with fire,' he said.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Justin Brannan, Mark Levine face off in comptroller debate on PIX11
NEW YORK (PIX11) – City Council Member Justin Brannan and Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine are facing off tonight in a debate on PIX11. The live, 60-minute debate starts at 7 p.m. and airs across multiple platforms, including WPIX11.1, PIX11+ and More Local News The two Democratic candidates are vying for the position of comptroller, the city's chief financial officer. The city's current Comptroller, Brad Lander, is leaving his post to run for mayor. Exclusive PIX11 polling shows it's still anyone's race, with a whopping 29% of Democratic voters still undecided. Some 37% of voters surveyed said they prefer Levine, and 17% of voters said they chose Brannan. The primary election is just weeks away. Brannan and Levine are both looking for the Democratic nomination in November's general election. To learn more about the Campaign Finance Board's candidate debate participation criteria, click here. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Politico
3 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Challenging Eric Adams offers a test for New York City comptroller candidates
NEW YORK — The two major candidates for New York City comptroller eagerly take aim at President Donald Trump on the campaign trail — but only one of them has called on the city's Trump-friendly mayor to resign. The race for the fiscal watchdog job has served as the underwhelming undercard to the crowded and chaotic mayor's race. And as they run for the job of being a check on the city's next mayor, the two leading candidates are battling over whether each has done enough to stand up to the current one. 'If you're not willing to stand up to Eric Adams, how the hell can voters expect you to stand up to Donald Trump?' City council member Justin Brannan said. As the City Council's Finance Chair, Brannan finds himself in a natural perch to criticize Adams — unlike his opponent Mark Levine, who as Manhattan Borough President enjoys a largely ceremonial role. The brash, in-your-face Brannan is claiming his quieter, more cerebral opponent isn't a loud enough critic of the mayor. One of his main proof points: Levine never called for Adams to resign. Now Brannan is hoping to make the differing approaches to the city's MAGA-minded mayor an issue in the race. 'He's the only one in the race that took on Adams' (budget) cuts,' a local deli worker says in one of Brannan's ads — which feature loud balloon pops, clown horns, knife sharpening sounds and an angry Brannan yelling 'Hell no!' By contrast, an early May ad from Levine features upbeat music, pie charts and focuses on his ability to communicate in five languages. After the DOJ moved to drop federal corruption charges against Adams, Brannan joined fellow Democrats in calling for Adams to resign. Levine largely stayed mum. But Levine scoffed at the notion he is unwilling to criticize Adams, and said he's deeply concerned about the possibility the mayor is beholden to the federal government following the Department of Justice's intervention in Adams' now-defunct criminal case. 'The truth is he's not going to resign; he's made that clear,' Levine said in a recent interview. 'He's either going to be removed by the courts or the voters. … I've been pretty unsparing in calling out what is an administration riddled with corruption.' Brannan's focus on standing up to the mayor marks a shift from 2021, when he supported Adams in his path to winning the election. Adams fared well in the Coney Island section of Brannan's purple district, and the two shared in common the endorsement of police unions. This year, Brannan has considerations beyond his district: In running for comptroller, he's secured the backing of the anti-police union — and decidedly anti-Adams — Working Families Party. 'The record is clear: when the mayor tried to slash crucial funding to our city's libraries, pre-K, and housing, the Manhattan Borough President was completely silent,' Brannan's spokesperson, Alyssa Cass, said in a statement. Levine's campaign responded with a four-page dossier that described Cass' statement as 'incredibly false' and cited the borough president's 2024 and 2025 city charter-mandated responses to the mayor's budget, which push back on a host of Adams' proposals. 'There have been myriad failings that I would call out as comptroller,' Levine said. 'I talk about them regularly in the campaign, and they impact the priorities I care about.' He mentioned the need to speed up the approval process for affordable housing, expand the 'broken system' for identifying children with learning disabilities and audit the system that public housing tenants use to request apartment repairs. While the two candidates are fighting over who has stood up to Eric Adams, neither is willing to say much about Democratic front-runner Andrew Cuomo, who has a history of structurally weakening the positions of his opponents. While it is politically easy to criticize Adams — whose popularity in the deep-blue city has nosedived — standing up to Cuomo is a tougher task. Unlike Adams, who faced calls for his post-indictment resignation from Democrats around the state, Cuomo has garnered support from power brokers within the party — even many those who had called for his ouster four years ago. He also spent his time as governor removing checks on his power. During his first year as governor, Cuomo greatly limited State Comptroller Tom DiNapoli's powers by stripping him of his power to review certain state contracts before they are signed. His administration reportedly ridiculed him in the process — even referring to DiNapoli as 'chipmunk balls' for his ineffectual use of the post. In 2019, after state lawmakers thwarted Amazon's plans to open a second company headquarters in the city, the former governor greatly diminished the powers of a state board that oversees deals involving state public financing. While Brannan and Levine both said necessary rebukes of the president and mayor are central to the comptroller's role, each demurred when asked about standing up to a would-be Mayor Cuomo. 'I will stand up to any future mayor just as I've stood up to the current one,' Brannan said. 'Judge me by what I've done in my role for the past almost four years, where I've not been silent, I've been fearless,' Brannan added, citing his work to restore short-lived budget cuts to city services put in place by Adams last year. Levine provided a similar reply: 'I'm ready for whoever the next mayor will be, ready to use the considerable powers of the office which are established in the charter that no mayor can overturn … I'm being very careful not to make an endorsement in the mayor's race because I do want to be totally independent from whoever's elected.'
Politico
4 days ago
- Business
- Politico
Key nod for Brannan in heated comptroller race
Presented by New Yorkers for Local Businesses 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. WHERE'S ERIC? In Las Vegas, attending the 2025 Bitcoin Conference. 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. ( — 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 Missed Tuesday's New York Playbook PM? We forgive you. Read it here.
