He is pulling Kamala.
Big Apple Comptroller Brad Lander, an avowed socialist, is among the most radical leftists to run in a potential special election in New York City, according to critics and his own public comments. It is said that some of its positions have been reorganized.
Lander is one of several candidates waiting to see if Mayor Adams resigns amid federal bribery charges. Unlike most city council elections, there will be no primary election, and the ballot will include a large number of candidates seeking the top job.
The Comptroller's Office now appears to be hedging its bets after Vice President Harris received 600,000 fewer votes than President Biden in New York City in 2020.
The most notable heel turn concerns taxes. Soaking the rich has been the norm for Lander and his fellow socialists since the days of Lenin. Lander himself has often used the mantra that rich people should do this. “Pay their fair share” throughout his political career.
However, at a Citizens' Budget Committee hearing in September, Lander said: his own past proposal Raising personal income taxes for high earners under the bus.
The comptroller argued that the idea was only intended to provide temporary relief to popular programs such as universal pre-K that are facing funding shortages.
When it comes to crime and policing, Lander was a former campaigner to “defund the police.” meanwhile at the city council “I am fighting for a $1 billion cut to the NYPD this year and am determined to vote against any budget that does not make significant cuts to the NYPD,” he said. Ta.
But Lander struck a different tone “Police are critical to preventing and responding to violence, removing illegal guns from the streets, and solving crime,” he said at a September rally for the Association for a Better New York.
In the 2009, 2013 and 2017 campaigns, Lander opposed to real estate developers and lobbyists. “There will be no payments from PACS, corporate lobbyists or developers,” he said. City council website It rang once.
However, the problem is no longer mentioned on his campaign donation site. In total, Lander raised about $15,000 in contributions from developer officials and lobbyists, according to campaign records. It is unclear when he decided to walk away from this commitment.
Critics said the changes are reminiscent of Vice President Harris' failed attempt this year to pivot from her woke presidential campaign in 2019.
“If you see the city and voters flocking to the downtown area, that's where you'll go,” said Bob Holden, a Democratic City Councilman from Queens. “It's all about Brad Lander. It's not about voters or New Yorkers.”
City Hall officials added: “Brad Lander can't get away with voting repeatedly to defund the NYPD and is also a self-proclaimed Democratic socialist who has paid his dues.” Ta.
Mr. Lander's former colleague, Staten Island City Councilman Joe Borelli, was more blunt: “Kathy Hochul is really turning everyone into a Republican.”
Rebecca Rodriguez, a spokeswoman for Lander's campaign, described her boss as “pragmatic.”
“New Yorkers are tired of a city that doesn't provide what they need. To turn things around, we need to make our neighborhoods safer, more affordable, and more livable. “Brad knows we need strong leadership at City Hall to run it better,” Rodriguez said.
