Overshadowed by the drama-filled mayoral race, a quietly competitive contest is brewing between the candidates vying to become New York City comptroller: the city’s top watchdog and fiscal officer, charged with auditing its multibillion-dollar budget, scrutinizing mayoral agencies and stewarding the mammoth $285 billion pension fund for retired city workers.Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine and Brooklyn City Councilman Justin Brannan are the leading candidates to replace Brad Lander, who gave up a near-guaranteed second term as comptroller to run for mayor instead. Little daylight separates the two Democrats on most policy issues, with the June 24 primary instead likely to hinge on a combination of geography, coalition-building and campaign tactics such as notable endorsements.But the stakes are high: Whoever assumes control of the 700-person comptroller’s office and its $123 million budget will do so as the city contends with likely federal funding cuts and the recent revelation that the Trump administration plucked $80 million from the city’s own bank accounts. Then there’s the added fact that nearly all past comptrollers use the citywide office as a springboard to run for mayor — though none has been successful since Abe Beame in 1973, and both Levine and Brannan claim they have no higher aspirations.In interviews, both candidates laid out visions that go beyond the nominal duties of the office and pledged to tackle the city’s affordability crisis. Levine, who... Continue reading at 'Crains New York'
[ Crains New York | 2025-03-27 19:48:06 UTC ]
New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo earned $783,000 for his memoir, which has sold only 3,200 copies since it was published 2½ years ago, the Buffalo News reports. Cuomo's “All Things Possible: Setbacks and Success in Politics and Life” was published by the Harper Collins imprint Harper in October 2014.... Continue reading at Los Angeles Times
[ Los Angeles Times | 2017-04-19 00:00:00 UTC ]
More news stories like this