City Council Speaker Corey Johnson announced his bid for New York City comptroller on Tuesday, upending an already crowded race, with ten candidates other previously vying for the post.
“I will be a strong and independent comptroller, who uses all the powers of the office to kickstart New York’s recovery,” Johnson said at a press conference today, touting his experience leading the city council, and pushing for programs like Fair Fares, which subsidizes MetroCards for low-income New Yorkers. “We need an experienced manager as comptroller,” he added.
Johnson, who represents parts of the West Side of Manhattan, spanning from Hell’s Kitchen to the West Village and SoHo, was elected by the council in 2018 to oversee the body as speaker.
He’s often made transit and pedestrian safety a central issue, creating the so-called Streets Master Plan that calls for a complete overhaul of the city's transportation network, and for the city to take control of the MTA. Johnson oversaw the grueling budget fight at the height of the George Floyd protests last summer, where the council attempted to nick away at the NYPD’s budget.
While Johnson had been contemplating a bid for Mayor, he later withdrew from the race citing mental health issues, and has kept a relatively low profile in recent months. When asked about his decision to leave the mayoral race last fall and whether he was prepared for an electoral campaign, he said he’d gotten the professional help he needed. “I feel great. I feel better,” he said. “Where I was in September is not where I am today.”
His entry into the race puts him ahead of all other candidates with the most funds raised, according to Campaign Finance Board records, having amassed $859,000 when considering his mayoral campaign. City Councilman Brad Lander had been the frontrunner, now trailing slightly behind Johnson with $816,000 fundraised.
Lander and two other candidates — Zachry Iscol, the non-profit founder who briefly dipped his toe into the mayor’s race, and State Senator Brian Benjamin — have all qualified for the city’s matching funds program and received nearly $6 million dollars in taxpayer funds combined so far.
Naomi Dann, a spokesperson for Lander, said he would be out petitioning in parts of Johnson’s city council district on Tuesday and Wednesday with local democratic clubs who’d endorsed him, a not so subtle jab at Johnson.
“From Chelsea, where he will be later today collecting ballot signatures with the Chelsea Reform Democratic Club, to Jackson Heights, we're proud to be working with a growing, grassroots coalition of New Yorkers who share the goal of a just and equitable economic recovery for our city,” she said.
The comptroller, a seat currently held by mayoral hopeful Scott Stringer, serves as the main financial adviser for the city, preparing financial reports on the city’s financial health, conducting audits of different city agencies and advising trustees of the city’s behemoth public pension funds. With New York City facing a ballooning budget deficit, it’s no small task.
Johnson has tapped national heavyweights to head up his campaign — selecting Lis Smith, former senior communications advisor director Pete Buttigieg, and Avi Small, Nebraska press secretary for the Biden/Harris campaign, according to reports from Politico New York.
