Council Member Justin Brannan.
Photo Credit: Gerardo Romo / NYC Council Media Unit.
Brooklyn City Council Member Justin Brannan is running for New York City comptroller, becoming the third candidate to jump into the competitive 2025 Democratic primary contest over the past week.
Brannan, who has served as the council’s Finance chair for the past two years and is now term-limited from seeking re-election to his south Brooklyn council seat, filed paperwork Tuesday with the city’s Campaign Finance Board to begin fundraising for next year’s race.
In an interview with amNewYork Metro, Brannan said he is running for comptroller to continue his work as council Finance chair.
“I’ve always said that taxpayers deserve to see at the end or return on their investment and that’s what being New York City comptroller is all about,” Brannan said. “It’s making sure that the money gets spent wisely, that we’re saving for a rainy day, that we’re growing retirees’ pensions, so the folks who literally help build the city can retire in dignity.”
Part of that work, Brannan explained, is showing that the city has enough resources to pay for critical services such as its public libraries and parks amid back-to-back years of Adams enacting broad cuts to those same services.
“The money’s there to fund CUNY. The money is there to get serious about universal childcare,” he said. “The money is there to give EMS workers pay parity, and the money is there to make sure no one goes to bed hungry or gets left behind.”
The council member follows Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and Queens Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar jumping into the race to be the city’s next chief bean counter. All three declared for comptroller after the office’s current occupant, Brad Lander, launched a challenge to Mayor Eric Adams late last month.
From an experience standpoint, Brannan is perhaps the best positioned of the three candidates to be comptroller — a role that involves holding the administration accountable for its spending.
As City Council Finance chair, Brannan has negotiated the city budget with the Adams administration over the past three fiscal years. Throughout those often contentious negotiations, he often sharply criticized the administration’s management of the city’s finances, while pushing for the council’s fiscal priorities.
“When it comes to doing my job, I’m fearless,” he said. “My job as Finance chair is to oversee the largest municipal budget in the country, and if that means locking horns with the mayor and his administration, well, that’s my job. And you need an independent watchdog in this position, and you don’t get much more independent than me.”
To emphasize his independence, Brannan pointed to his history of being able to win in politically purple southern Brooklyn. That includes his most recent election against Democrat-turned-Republican former Council Member Ari Kagan, who had the unofficial backing of the Brooklyn Democratic Party.
But Brannan held back from immediately going after his opponents. He called Levine a “dear friend” and declined to go after Rajkumar.
“Everyone jumps in the pool and we’ll go from there,” he said.