Comptroller and mayoral candidate Brad Lander commented Thursday on US Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez’s endorsement of Lander as her third choice on the ranked-choice mayoral ballot.
Ocasio-Cortez endorsed Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani as her first choice in an interview with the New York Times published Thursday morning.
“I was grateful to have AOC’s support when I ran for comptroller, I’m grateful to have her support in running for mayor,” Lander said after a reporter asked if he was disappointed to have been ranked third. “I will keep making the case that I’m the candidate in this race who best combines the progressive values that this city is founded on and the proven management and leadership experience to deliver on my promises.”
The endorsement carries weight for mayoral candidates in the Democratic primary, all of whom are seeking support from the progressive voters that sent Ocasio-Cortez to Congress in 2018. In her endorsement — in which she ranked Mamdani first, New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams second, Lander third, former Comptroller Scott Stringer fourth, and State Senator Zellnor Myrie fifth — she emphasized her belief that progressives need to coalesce and defeat former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
“Assemblymember Mamdani has demonstrated a real ability on the ground to put together a coalition of working-class New Yorkers that is strongest to lead the pack,” Ocasio-Cortez told the Times. “In the final stretch of the race, we need to get very real about that.”
Ocasio-Cortez had recently met with Mamdani and Lander individually as both candidates vied for her endorsement.
When asked, Lander did not give a clear answer as to whether he had received a heads-up from Ocasio-Cortez about his third-place ranking. He took the opportunity to advise New Yorkers against ranking Cuomo and praise ranked-choice voting for its allowance of various endorsements. Voting New Yorkers can rank up to five candidates on their mayoral ballot this year.
“Don’t put Andrew Cuomo on your ballot, rank the candidates that you think would do the best job as mayor for New York City, and you get to rank up to five, I hope I’ll be people’s first choice, I urge them to include four other choices that are not Andrew Cuomo,” Lander said.
Regarding Wednesday night’s democratic mayoral primary debate, Lander criticized Cuomo’s response to the question about the candidates’ biggest political regrets. Cuomo, who resigned as governor in 2022 after Attorney General Letitia James released a report detailing accusations of sexual harassment, struggled to think of any regrets. Cuomo has denied the legitimacy of the report.
“For him to fail to take any responsibility for his actions of any kind, it is stunning, New Yorkers can see this is not a person who’s capable of learning, who’s capable of taking responsibility,” Lander said. “He would be a corrupt and abusive mayor.”
Lander’s comments came at a press conference in which he condemned recent Immigration and Customs Enforcement detentions of individuals attending routine court appearances.
