By MOHAMED FARGHALY
mfarghaly@queensledger.com
Justin Brannan, chair of the New York City Council Finance Committee and a former small business owner and musician, announced his run for New York City Comptroller, promising a new era of fiscal accountability, ethics reform, and transparency.
Brannan’s campaign centers on protecting taxpayer dollars, rooting out corruption, and ensuring equitable city services for all neighborhoods. Drawing from his years overseeing the city’s $100 billion budget, he aims to use the comptroller’s office as a “fiscal firewall” to safeguard working families and vulnerable New Yorkers.
“I have zero tolerance for fraud and waste and corruption,” Brannan said. “Public service is a public trust, and our government should be working for the people and not the well connected.” One of his signature proposals is an anti-corruption “bad actors” list—publicly naming city contractors who have records of labor violations, fraud investigations, or poor performance and barring them from future contracts.
Brannan described the current system as a “Tale of Two Cities” where large, politically connected companies receive rapid payments while many nonprofits that provide vital services are left waiting for funding. “We’ve got hundreds of nonprofits across the city that are owed millions of dollars.”
Before entering public office, Brannan spent years as a professional musician in a band, an experience that, he says, helped shape his understanding of hard work and teamwork. “I never in a million years thought I would be involved in politics,” he admitted. Yet since being elected to the City Council in 2017 for District 47, Brannan has built a reputation for fierce independence, including publicly calling on Mayor Eric Adams to resign despite having endorsed him initially.
On what makes a good comptroller, Brannan emphasized independence and results. “You need someone who has a record of showing independence and fighting on behalf of taxpayers,” he said. “I’ve always been accountable only to the voters. That’s your job as a politician.”
The 2025 New York City Comptroller election is scheduled for November 4. Incumbent Comptroller Brad Lander, who is eligible for a second term, is stepping back to pursue a mayoral run.
Brannan praised Comptroller Brad Lander for his management of the city’s pension funds, acknowledging that Lander “has done a good job managing and growing the pension funds,” a core responsibility of the office. However, he said he would expand oversight by creating a public integrity unit and new avenues for whistleblowers and residents to report waste and corruption.
“I want to put up dashboards that average New Yorkers can understand, so they know where their tax dollars go,” Brannan explained. “I want New Yorkers to have a government that works for them—not corrupt insiders and politically connected contractors.”
As chair of the Finance Committee, Brannan has led fights to protect funding for essential city services, including parks, sanitation, libraries, schools, early childhood education, and housing vouchers. He recalled battling mayoral budget cuts and successfully clawing back over a billion dollars in funding for vital programs.
“People pay taxes and want to see a return on their investment,” Brannan said. “Basic city services—garbage pickup, school resources, pothole repairs—matter. There are neighborhoods getting the full loaf of bread while others fight over crumbs. That’s wrong.”
Brannan also addressed the complicated relationship between the city and state budgets, noting the state’s outsized control. “We fund more than half of the state budget but get treated like any other county,” he said. He pointed to frustration around the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, where a senator from Buffalo has more say over the city’s subway lines than local representatives.
Looking ahead, Brannan said the comptroller’s office must be a “tool to advance equity” through efficient, transparent government spending. “You can’t have racial or borough equity unless the city spends its money fairly and efficiently,” he said.
Brannan’s campaign is ultimately about preserving New York City as a place for working families. “This city will never survive as a playground for the rich. It’s got to remain a palace for working people,” he said. “Working families are the bedrock of our economy, and if we lose them to other cities, we lose the whole ball game.”
With a sharp eye on current national politics, Brannan vowed to use the comptroller’s office to fight back against federal policies that threaten New York. “Elected officials have a responsibility to defend our city and bring down the cost of living for New Yorkers,” he said.
