State Assemblywoman Jennifer Rajkumar’s newly announced run for city comptroller is sending surprises through New York political circles.
The first-term Queens councilwoman, nicknamed the “Lady in Red” for the trademark crimson dresses she wears with Mayor Eric Adams at events around the city, is running for the fiscal watchdog role that current Comptroller Brad Lander has used as a constant thorn in Hizzoner’s side.
“The comptroller often uses his position to run for mayor and spends much of his term criticizing the mayor for headlines,” Rajkumar told The Washington Post in an exclusive interview last week.
“It’s more [Lander’s style]My goal is to make the program work more efficiently.”
The Post spoke to more than a dozen political insiders, some of whom praised Rajkumar, while others saw red flags in his “close friendship” with Adams as he runs for citywide office.
“She’s just trying to find her footing, jumping from one office to another, trying to climb the political ladder,” the Democratic activist said. “Plus, she’s a vocal supporter of the mayor, and the mayor is reciprocating.”
Rajkumar is well known in New York for accompanying Adams to numerous public events far beyond their southern Queens constituency, and he has appeared on the mayor’s official website nearly 300 times.
She recently sided with the mayor after he and City Council finalized a fiscal 2025 budget that drew the ire of council members who have been working toward the agreement for weeks.
“I believe the congressman was involved in the negotiations. Who would have known…” Rep. Diana Ayala he tweeted sarcastically. About state politicians attending an event celebrating the restoration of funding to city libraries.
“Her desperate attempts to get the mayor’s backing to run for a higher office are clumsy and send a clear message to voters that she is interested in everything but the job,” one city council source said.
But the 41-year-old rejected the criticism.
“Being everywhere is actually helping me serve my constituency,” Rajkumar said.
“And Queens is a region that has historically been neglected and overlooked,” she said, “so I’m proud to be able to bring attention to this neighborhood and its resources.”
Mr Rajkumar said this, plus his “close friendship” with Mr Adams, who he acknowledged having spoken to multiple times in one day, including twice just before his conversation with The Washington Post, would give him an added advantage in his role as auditor.
“New Yorkers don’t like to see their leaders bicker and fight,” she said, adding, “New Yorkers want to see their leaders work together to solve problems, and I think an Adams administration can do that very effectively.”
The comptroller position is billed as the city’s financial watchdog and has historically served as a foil to the mayor, and the left-leaning Lander has used the role as a platform to publicly criticize Adams, particularly over the costly immigration crisis.
Mayor Lander rejected a controversial $432 million no-bid contract with DocGo for immigrant housing, moved to strip the mayor of his authority to enter into such emergency contracts, and previously denounced the administration’s eviction of immigrants after 60 days in shelters as “cruel.”
Asked by The Washington Post if he planned to hold Adams to account, Rajkumar said there were many issues on which the two disagreed, but did not elaborate on his “private” differences with the mayor.
“I believe I can hold them accountable because we’re working together to make our city better for everyone,” she said. “He’s always someone I can turn to and present ideas to and discuss them with.”
Born in Tarrytown to two Indian-origin doctors who immigrated to the U.S. in the 1970s, Rajkumar began his political career in 2011 as a district leader in Lower Manhattan and became a fixture in the area.
After two unsuccessful bids for the state Assembly and state House of Representatives, she became the first Indian-American woman elected to the state Assembly in 2020. Because she moved to southern Queens, City & State criticized her and other candidates as “carpetbaggers.”
Later in her career, she wore over 50 crimson outfits, including running clothes, which garnered her attention as the “Woman in Red.”
Rajkumar argued that Lander is more interested in politics than policy, but Lander remained vague about his policies, saying he would focus on protecting pension funds, overhauling city agencies, particularly NYCHA, and “fixing inefficiencies in government.”
“I’m looking for partners within government because I believe we can serve our citizens better, and I think my very strong relationships with the mayor, the governor and many state and city council members will help me in my role to create real change through collaboration,” she said.
But a council source said some state and city politicians were unhappy that Rajkumar had tried to take credit for some initiatives, such as attending the city’s budget presentation with the mayor and trying to pass the state’s own “smoke-out” law to crack down on illegal marijuana stores.
“I just think she lacks the sensitivity and ability to read the situation,” the councillor said, adding that Rajkumar “needs to bounce back” to be elected auditor.
Still, the source added, “You have to give her credit where it’s due. She works hard and puts herself out there.”
Rajkumar believes he is preparing for a tough fight with Lander, but if Lander runs for mayor as expected, he may find himself on the losing end of a battle against fellow Democrats Mark Levine and Antonio Reynoso, both of whom are rumored to be vying for the mayoral race if one were to be held.
“She’s a very good person, but she’s inevitably going to suffer a major defeat at the hands of either Brad Lander or Mark Levin,” another council source told The Post.
“It takes years to garner the support needed to run for citywide office. She’s a new council member in a handpicked district, and her main ally in that district is a deeply unpopular mayor. Not a winning formula.”
Her harshest critics called the Adams-Rajkumar duo “carpetbagger attracting other carpetbaggers” and said she was climbing the political ladder through her “vocal advocacy”.
“She doesn’t even try to see the relevance of these press conferences, she just thinks attention is good attention so the mayor can embarrass Brad,” the council source said.
The mayor earlier this month defended Rajkumar’s frequent attendance at his press conferences as a testament to her dedication, noting that she herself was criticized for “being everywhere” during her time as a state senator.
“She clearly understood the vision for this administration and has been our true-belief advocate for standing with working-class people,” Adams said.
Some voters allege that Rajkumar is not only ignoring his own constituency but also in his own figurative backyard.
The abandoned truck trailer has been lying outside Rajkumar district office on Woodhaven Road for weeks. Local residents complained On facebook.
“She was busy taking pictures with Adams instead of looking after the neighborhood!” one local resident wrote, noting that they had been in contact with Rajkumar’s office for weeks.
Rajkumar told the Post that the trailer has finally been removed.
Other sources were more supportive of Rajkumar.
“I think she has her own personality,” one council member said.
City Councilwoman Joan Arriola (R-Queens) said she welcomed replacing an “activist” auditor like Lander, but Lander declined to comment on the matter.
“It would be beneficial for the entire city if we had a real public servant holding the purse strings for New York,” Arriola said.
— Additional reporting by Vaughn Golden Craig McCarthy.
