With a complicated $112 billion dollar budget, New York City needs someone to keep a keen eye on its wallet. There’s a lot to handle: union contracts, a giant pension fund, agency audits and more.
The person who watches the books and oversees City Hall’s spending is called the comptroller, a position currently filled by Brad Lander.
Now that Lander’s making a run for mayor and says he won’t seek reelection, his office appears to be up for grabs, and big-name candidates are already lining up.
The race won’t be until 2025, when the campaigns challenging Mayor Eric Adams will likely grab all the attention. But choosing our next comptroller is equally critical for city voters — especially those who care about fiscal responsibility.
Here’s our guide on how the office works, and who’s running for the job:
What does a comptroller do anyway?
The city’s comptroller is our municipal auditor and financial watchdog.
The office’s chief responsibilities are preparing audits and overseeing how city agencies spend their money; managing the city’s public pension funds — the largest in the world at $274 billion as of mid-2024, according to Lander — and issuing bonds to help pay for large projects.
The comptroller also reviews contracts that city agencies enter into.
A recent example of that work was the rejection of a no-bid $33 million Rikers Island commissary contract that Department of Correction officials gave to a private firm with known problems around the country.
Under the City Charter, however, the mayor can override the comptroller’s decision to reject a contract. That’s what Adams did with the Rikers deal, moving forward despite Lander’s objections.
The comptroller can only reject proposed contracts based on a few technical reasons or if “there is sufficient reason to believe that there is possible corruption,” according to the City Charter.
To do all this work, the comptroller’s office employs more than 700 people.
One other important and unique role that the comptroller serves is being second in the line of succession to the mayor, after the public advocate.
- Want to know more? Here’s a list of duties from the comptroller’s office.
- This video from the city Campaign Finance Board offers a good explanation of the role.
The title dates back to before the five boroughs were consolidated into New York City. But the job as we know it today was established in the City Charter revision of 1989, which abolished the powerful Board of Estimate the U.S. Supreme Court had found was unconstitutional. The charter changes left the city with a uniquely powerful mayor, while giving budget oversight power and control of public pensions, among other things, to the comptroller.
Like Lander, several comptrollers have tried to hopscotch from the office to City Hall, though it’s been nearly 50 years since one made the leap: Abe Beame.
Beame served as comptroller from 1962 to 1965 and again from 1970 to 1973 before serving as the city’s first Jewish mayor from 1974 to 1977, as the city nearly went bankrupt.
Since Beame, six city comptrollers — Harrison Goldin, Alan Hevesi, William Thompson, John Liu, Scott Stringer and Lander — have run for the top job.
None have succeeded — yet. Stringer, who also ran for mayor in the 2021 Democratic primary, and Lander are both contenders in the 2025 mayoral primary.
One other thing: the city’s comptroller should not be confused with the state comptroller, currently Thomas DiNapoli, who has served in that position since 2007.
Who’s running for city Comptroller?
These are some of the candidates who have publicly announced they are running for comptroller or have opened fundraising accounts that would let them do so. However, the official ballot for the 2025 primary will not be set by the city Board of Elections until spring 2025.
That means candidates can change their mind in the meantime. For instance, Lander could in theory withdraw his mayor bid before then if things aren’t going well and instead run for a second term as comptroller, which would potentially lead some of the people aiming to move up to that city-wide office now to back away.
Justin Brannan (D)
The sBrooklyn City Council member and finance chair formally announced his intention to run for the seat last week, leaning into the work he’s done during the city’s budget negotiations. He was elected to the Council in 2017 after a varied career that included being a touring musician in punk and metal bands and gigs in finance.
His platform includes increased funding the City University of New York and a promise of pay parity for EMS workers, are part of the Fire Department, in relation to other uniformed services. He’s been a leading voice as the Council disputes some of the mayor’s gloom-and-doom financial figures, and in a social-media post about his run he insisted that “NYC is not broke. In fact, our economy is strong.”
He hasn’t raised any money for his run so far, according to CFB records.
Mark Levine (D)
A former City Council member who represented parts of Manhattan, Levine was elected as the borough president in 2021. He also filed paperwork allowing him to raise money for a run at comptroller earlier this month, saying he’s “incredibly passionate about the future of New York City” without making a “splashy announcement” just yet.
Levine has more than $260,000 in his coffers, records show.
Jenifer Rajkumar (D)
The Assembly member has represented parts of Queens including Woodhaven and Rego Park since 2020, but may be more well known for her omnipresence alongside Mayor Eric Adams at press conferences and other events in her trademark red dress.
She officially announced her run last week, releasing a video as she walks around New York City, discussing the inequities faced by so many New Yorkers.
Rajkumar’s campaign, which hasn’t raised much so far, is already in the red — owing more than $19,000, records show.
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