2025 Primary Election

Keith Powers has represented the East Side of Manhattan in the Council over the last eight years. He chaired the Criminal Justice Committee during his first term and the Rules Committee in his second, and he served as Majority Leader for two years. Before joining the Council, he worked for Assembly Member Jonathan Bing and was a lobbyist for Constantinople & Vallone Consulting. During his time in the Council, Powers passed 37 bills, mostly related to affordable housing, transportation infrastructure, and public safety. He takes pride in passing two bills related to elections and transparency. The first allowed campaign funds to be used for childcare; the second transferred the press credentials authorization process away from NYPD. Powers supported CU’s reform agenda in our questionnaire, although he expressed only cautious approval of open primaries, noting that “the devil is in the details.” Citizens Union was impressed by his proactive, well-considered solutions to city problems and his clear sense of how to use the Borough President’s office to advance them. Both Powers and Hoylman-Sigal demonstrated significant expertise and impressive experience, and both would make a fine choice for Manhattan residents. Citizens Union prefers Keith Powers in this race because of his energetic leadership and clearly articulated vision for the job.

Brad Hoylman-Sigal has represented much of Manhattan’s West Side in the State Senate since his 2012 election and has chaired the Judiciary Committee since 2019. His legislative career shows consistent support for progressive causes and Citizens Union’s reform priorities. Notable achievements include legislation that closed the LLC loophole, established absentee ballot drop-off boxes, increased LLC transparency, and required police departments to publish demographic arrest data. He has also introduced or co-sponsored numerous CU-backed bills on court reform, charter revision, election timing, and others. In our questionnaire he endorsed every CU reform, though, similar to his opponent, he voiced reservations about open primaries, citing possible suppression of minority viewpoints, erosion of party infrastructure, and redundancy with the general election. If elected, he pledges to use the bully pulpit to highlight issues beyond the Borough President’s formal purview. This is his second bid for the office; Citizens Union preferred him in 2021. We value his strong reform record and thoughtful leadership in Albany and we are confident he can serve his constituents well in city government or at the state capitol. We rank him second in this race.