2025 Primary Election

Justin Brannan has represented southern Brooklyn in the City Council since 2017. For the past four years, he has chaired the Council’s powerful Finance Committee, giving him deep familiarity with the city’s budget and positioning him as one of its most influential members. He draws on this experience to offer a well-rounded, highly detailed, and grounded platform for the New York City Comptroller’s Office. In his interview with Citizens Union, Brannan provided a clear-eyed assessment of the city’s fiscal challenges and offered a realistic view of what can and cannot be done in this office. 

He also lays out a strong, oversight-centered agenda for the office. His platform includes targeted reform proposals addressing pay-to-play issues, the Comptroller’s investigative powers, oversight of city contracts, and procurement safeguards. As Finance Chair, Brannan consistently pushed for greater transparency in the budget numbers published by the Mayor’s Office of Management and Budget and demonstrated an independent mindset in overseeing city finances. Even when discussing his broader agenda, Brannan spoke with humility and emphasized that his decisions as Comptroller would be guided by experts and data.

Notably, Brannan expressed support for opening up the city’s primary system, after opposing the reform in his 2023 CU candidate questionnaire. He attributed this change, in part, to his experience representing a purple district with low turnout. He observed that in city politics, reforms are often only fully appreciated in hindsight and believes this change would ultimately improve how elected officials perform.

Citizens Union was particularly impressed by Brannan’s ability to clearly explain complex fiscal and budget issues. He comes across as a no-nonsense, straight shooter who is deeply versed in finance, owing in part to his prior career in the industry. His ability to demystify the workings of the city’s budget would be a critical asset as New York navigates an uncertain fiscal future.

Citizens Union prefers Justin Brannan in the Comptroller Democratic Primary because of his thoughtful and detailed vision, strong alignment with CU’s priority issues, relevant experience in the Council, and ability to effectively communicate the complex issues surrounding the Comptroller’s Office.

Mark Levine is completing his first term as Manhattan Borough President, following eight years on the City Council representing neighborhoods from the Upper West Side to Washington Heights. As Borough President, he has taken a policy-focused approach, advancing initiatives and legislation on housing, transportation, and public health, as well as Manhattan-specific issues such as sidewalk shed reform and expanding access to public bathrooms. On the Council, he passed several major bills, including the landmark Right to Counsel law, and gained national recognition as chair of the Health Committee during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also cites his experience founding and leading the Neighborhood Trust Federal Credit Union as part of the financial background he would bring to the Comptroller’s Office. Citizens Union was impressed by Levine’s record of public service and longstanding community engagement.

Levine proposed thoughtful solutions to one of the city’s long-standing challenges: delays in paying nonprofit service providers. That includes restructuring the Procurement Policy Board. He also supports adding $2 billion to the city’s reserves and demonstrated a clear understanding of how the Comptroller can use the office’s tools to identify and prevent corruption.

His main departure from Citizens Union’s priorities is his opposition to open primaries. During his interview, he raised concerns about the reform but acknowledged that there is a strong case for it and said he is not closing the door on reconsidering his stance. And like his chief opponent, Levine often presented his candidacy as that of an activist comptroller rather than finance and oversight. 

Levine’s career has been defined by committed public service, strong policy instincts, and thoughtful leadership. Citizens Union believes he would make an excellent Comptroller and ranks him second in this race.