NEW YORK (1010 WINS/WCBS 880) -- New York City Comptroller Brad Lander will challenge Mayor Eric Adams in the Democratic primary next year, he announced in a campaign launch video posted Tuesday.
"Nothing can replace New York City, but we can replace a leader when they fail the basic tests of the job," Lander says in a campaign ad that shows him riding the subway and speaking with people on the city's streets.
In the video, Lander calls attention to several issues dogging New Yorkers, including affordable housing, childcare, livability and safety.
"It's time for strong experienced leadership that delivers real results," Lander says, "time to deliver fairness and safety, to build a more affordable, more livable city, to get people into stable housing and make sure that workers are paid a fair wage to provide affordable child care and clean the parts to make sure the public libraries are open and the illegal weed shops are closed."
There had been much speculation Lander, 55, would challenge Adams, 63, as the mayor faces low approval ratings and a federal probe into his campaign fundraising. Lander has raised over $3 million for his campaign, according to a press release.
Lander joins two other progressive candidates who've already announced a challenge to Adams in the June 2025 primary—former NYC Comptroller Scott Stringer and State Sen. Zellnor Myrie, who represents parts of Brooklyn.
Lander has most recently been in the news for coordinating legal challenges to Gov. Kathy Hochul's pause on the congestion pricing rollout, saying at a press conference last week that the decision will lead to New Yorkers experiencing "increasing service cuts, gridlock, air quality alerts, and inaccessible stations."
Lander, who is the city's chief financial officer, has also been critical of Adams' handling of issues like the migrant crisis. He revoked emergency powers that had allowed the mayor to quickly push through some $1.4 billion in migrant service, saying that city agencies had failed to report issues with subcontractors.
Adams will hold his weekly Q&A with reporters at City Hall on Tuesday, when he's expected to be questioned about Lander's run. As he seeks a second four-year term, he has positioned himself as a moderate who brought down crime and helped the city bounce back from the worst days of the pandemic.