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Brad Lander celebrated his primary victory in Gowanus. Photo by Aidan Graham
BY AIDAN GRAHAM
Park Slope Councilman Brad
Lander has seemingly secured
enough votes to win the Democratic
primary for New York City Comptroller,
making the Brooklyn lawmaker
a shoe-in to become the chief
financial officer of the Five Boroughs
next January, according to
newly released unofficial results
from the city’s Board of Elections.
Lander secured 339,129 votes
(51.9%), compared to his primary
rival, City Council Speaker Corey
Johnson, who received 314,446 votes
(48.1%), according to the BOE’s numbers,
finalizing a remarkable comeback
for the progressive pol in the
hotly-contested election.
As New York City last month
conducted its first primary election
using the ranked-choice voting
system, where voters ranked their
preferences in order of 1-5, the city’s
Board of Elections took several days
to tally votes. After a number of mishaps,
the BOE finally tallied the inperson
votes — which includes both
early voting and votes cast on election
day — on June 29, and on July
6, they tallied most of the absentee
ballots.
While some ballots remain needing
to be “cured” — meaning the
voter filled out their ballot improperly,
and now have a chance to fill
out their ballot once more — Lander
leads Johnson in the unofficial vote
tally by more than 24,000 ballots,
making him the presumptive Democratic
nominee for the comptroller
position.
Lander released a statement
shortly after the BOE released the
results, saying that he is honored to
be the Democratic nominee for New
York City comptroller.
“Thank you New York City! I
promise to work hard every single
day to build a city that is more just,
more equal, and more prepared for
the future,” Lander said in his statement.
“We ran a campaign rooted in
the idea that we can have bold, progressive
local government that delivers
for its people. This was the most
grassroots campaign for Comptroller
in NYC history — and I couldn’t
be more grateful to everyone who
was part of it. With the vast majority
of absentee votes counted, our lead
has grown to 24,685.”
The controller is responsible for
overseeing investments of the city’s
pension funds, as well as auditing
city agencies. Current Comptroller
Scott Stringer ran for mayor in
the June Democratic primaries, but
came up short after allegations of
sexual assault rocked his campaign,
and caused many of his supporters
to withdraw their endorsements.
Lander’s win marks a significant
win for the progressive wing of New
York City’s Democratic Party, as he
has long positioned himself as the
champion of liberal causes in the
city. He earned the endorsement of
Queen Congressmember Alexandria
Ocasio-Cortez, Massachusetts Senator
Elizabeth Warren, and the editorial
board of the New York Times.
The win also represented a rejection
of the political power machine
that often dominates city politics,
and which helped Eric Adams to win
a victory in the city’s mayoral election,
as he slight edged out former
Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn
Garcia in the race for City Hall.
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