Lander Welcomes LGBTQ Support for Comptroller Bid
Queer leaders rally around term-limited councilmember’s citywide campaign
BY MATT TRACY
Dozens of LGBTQ leaders
are lining up behind
Brooklyn Councilmember
Brad Lander’s campaign
for city comptroller, giving
him a key boost at a time when
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson
is also in the mix.
Queer district leaders, City
Council candidates, religious leaders,
and even former Johnson
staffers are backing Lander, who is
unveiling a broad slate of endorsements
and rolling out an LGBTQfocused
policy platform outlining
how he intends to wield the power
of the comptroller’s offi ce to address
queer issues.
While Lander announced his
campaign more than two years
ago, Johnson, who backed out of
a run for mayor last year, only recently
acknowledged his interest
in a run for comptroller. Johnson
entered the race on March 9.
However, Lander already absorbed
support from some key
queer leaders before Johnson offi -
cially declared his candidacy.
City Council candidates Crystal
Hudson of Brooklyn and Tiffany
Cabán of Queens are among 2021
hopefuls backing the Lander campaign,
which is also welcoming
endorsements from district leaders
like John Blasco of Manhattan,
who previously served as Johnson’s
LGBTQ liaison, and Emilia
Decaudin of Queens and Samy
Nemir-Olivares of Brooklyn.
Notable fi gures endorsing Lander
also include actor, activist, and former
gubernatorial candidate Cynthia
Nixon and her wife, Christine
Marinoni. In a written statement,
Nixon said Lander is “uniquely
suited to bring a bold, progressive
vision to the offi ce and the knowhow
to get it done.”
“I am excited to endorse Brad for
New York City Comptroller,” Nixon
said “As the fi nancial shepherd
over $228 billion in pension funds,
and the city’s chief fi nancial and
accountability offi cer, Brad will
use the offi ce to combat climate
change, foster a just recovery, and
Brooklyn Councilmember Brad Lander is attracting support from the LGBTQ community in his campaign
for comptroller.
enact smart, thoughtful policies
like using land banks and land
trusts to ensure equitable development.”
According to Lander’s policy proposal,
which was shared with Gay
City News, he intends to use the
power of the Comptroller’s offi ce
to address queer issues. He would
confront discrimination by requiring
audits that could identify disparities,
publish papers showing
healthcare inequalities, and advocate
for sex work decriminalization
by outlining the state and city
costs of criminalizing sex work.
Lander’s policy platform notes
that he also plans to audit the
NYPD’s Vice Squad, which is
known for corruption and harassment
of sex workers and transgender
individuals, and he said
auditing the Administration for
Children’s Services would ensure
LGBTQ youth are being placed in
inclusive homes.
He is also calling for the city to
create a fund dedicated to helping
small LGBTQ non-profi ts secure,
renovate, and expand their own offi
ce and community spaces.
“I’m proud to be a life-long ally
and partner to LGBTQ New Yorkers,
and grateful for the support of
so many leaders whose organizing
for liberation and justice continues
to inspire me,” said Lander, who
represents Cobble Hill, Carroll
Gardens, Columbia Waterfront,
Gowanus, Park Slope, Windsor
Terrace, Borough Park, and Kensington.
NEW YORK CITY COUNCIL/JOHN MCCARTEN
“I promise to continue being
your partner in addressing the
discrimination that leaves LGBTQ
individuals, particularly Black
trans women, at risk for homelessness,
poor health outcomes, and
run-ins with the NYPD, and to
work towards a city where all are
able to fl ourish as their free and
full selves.”
Some individuals backing Lander
are pointing to his queer policies
as a driving factor behind their decision
to endorse him.
“By being the fi rst candidate to
draft a comprehensive policy platform,
especially one that centers
transgender women of color, he
shows that he cares about protecting
and uplifting LGBTQ New
Yorkers,” Lambda Independent
Democrats of Brooklyn president
Jared Arader said in a written
statement. LID endorsed Lander
late last year.
Nemir-Olivares cited Lander’s
commitment to police accountability,
saying he “has been a real
partner and ally in the struggle to
end abusive and discriminatory
policing, especially against trans
women of color.”
Decaudin played up the experience
Lander gained prior to
his election to the City Council.
Lander formerly served as executive
director of the affordable housing
driven non-profi t Fifth Avenue
Committee.
“Brad not only brings almost 10
years of experience as a progressive
POLITICS
champion in the New York City
Council, but decades more as an
activist urban planner, fi ghting for
affordable housing and conscious
development under some of the
most hostile mayoral administrations,”
Decaudin said.
The collection of endorsements
also feature a variety of community
leaders, including longtime
LGBTQ rights champion Renee
Cafi ero, activist Jawanza James
Williams, and Ana Maria Archila,
who is the co-executive director of
Make the Road New York. Rabbi
Susan Falk and Rabbi Ellen Lippman
are among others throwing
their support behind Lander.
Lander additionally scored an
endorsement from Dan Tietz,
whose work includes stints as
CEO of Bailey House, a community
based organization supporting
people living with HIV/AIDS,
and executive director of ACRIA, a
national HIV research, education
and advocacy group. Jared Trujillo,
who has been a dedicated sex
work decriminalization advocate,
is also on board.
Some others on the LGBTQ
endorsement list include Sasha
Ahuja, who is Andrew Yang’s cocampaign
manager in his bid for
mayor; Leila Bozorg, who works for
children’s-based non-profi t NYC
Kids Rise; Carlyn Cowen of the
Chinese-American Planning Council;
Partnership for the Homeless
CEO Áine Duggan; and Jill Harris,
who works for the Brooklyn district
attorney.
Other candidates vying to succeed
term-limited Comptroller
Scott Stringer include Brooklyn
State Senators Brian Benjamin
and Kevin Parker, Assemblymember
David Weprin of Queens, and
entrepreneur Zach Iscol.
Among already-declared candidates,
Lander is leading the way
with an estimated $3.5 million
in his war chest, according to the
city’s Campaign Finance Board.
He is followed by Zachary Iscol,
who has $1.9 million, and Benjamin,
who has $1.8 million. Johnson,
meanwhile, has $585,132 on
hand following his bid for mayor.
GayCityNews.com | MARCH 11 - MARCH 24, 2021 17
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