Mark Levine: ‘The comptroller has to be totally independent of the mayor’

While the Democratic primary for mayor shocked New York City, the outcome of the comptroller contest was a bit more expected. Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine was considered the front-runner in the battle of the boroughs with Brooklyn Council Member and former punk band guitarist Justin Brannan. Brannan won in vote-rich Brooklyn, but Levine prevailed in every other borough. Levine also had more money to spend than his opponent. He clinched the nomination with 48 % of the vote to Brannan’s 34%, according to preliminary results from the Board of Elections. 

After Zohran Mamdani’s decisive Democratic mayoral primary victory Tuesday, Levine may find himself serving as a foil to a far-left mayor come January 2026. He has tentatively said he will get behind the nominee. “I am a Democrat who supports Democrats in general elections,” Levine told Pix 11 when asked whether he would support Mamdani. But in our interview, he also highlighted that the comptroller should be able to “push back” against the mayor “when necessary.” We talked to Levine about how he views the citywide position as chief New York accountant, his take on President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, and how he hopes to make the city friendlier to small businesses.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

There wasn’t a lot of daylight between your policy positions and Justin Brannan’s priorities. With that in mind, what do you think accounts for such a decisive win? 

I think it's a testament to our message, in part, that it was laser-focused on the housing affordability crisis, an issue I've been fighting on for years. We also focused on really bringing people together across diverse lines. Languages are one of my great loves in life. I was able to travel the city and speak to people in Spanish, Hebrew, Greek and even Bangla to lesser and greater degrees. It allowed me to connect to people from all different backgrounds and maybe help people feel like they were being seen and respected. 

Your campaign received endorsements from a wide range of Democrats, from the party establishment to progressives. Brannan was endorsed by the democratic socialist wing of the party. Where does that put you at a time when progressives say we’re experiencing a tectonic shift in politics?

Look, I think the Mamdani campaign was a uniquely well-run campaign, which inspired a whole generation of young people. Assembly Member Mamdani deserves an enormous amount of credit for that. I will say we got almost exactly the same number of votes that he did. We did it with a broad coalition. And, I don't really embrace the label of moderate. I think labels are less helpful. Many of my values are true progressive values. I have a record of fighting for a more just city. I think that record came through for people. 

What does it mean for the city comptroller if City Hall is held by democratic socialist? 

The comptroller has to be totally independent of the mayor. That's just a prerequisite to the office. The comptroller has to be willing to support the mayor when they're doing the right thing, and be willing to push back hard when necessary. It's something I was very clear about during the campaign. The role of comptroller is not just strictly to oversee the finances. It's also to bring accountability to every agency, to call out successes and failures in the performance of the government and the management of this very, very large bureaucracy.

Digging deeper into that, during this election, one of the issues that was raised when it comes to Mamdani was the lack of experience in managing any large entity. And, here he is potentially moving into the role where he's managing a $114 billion budget 280,000 person workforce. As the person who's going to be the check on that, who's going to be watching the balance sheet, what are your thoughts, knowing that that may be something you’ll contend with, come January?

The mayoralty is a job unlike any other in America. And so, no one can really claim to have comparable experience. And I think, you know, remember Mamdani would be the first to say that - In fact, I think he said it in his speech last night - that he's going to face a learning curve. And the day-to-day running of government depends on  a top tier of management that I know he's probably already thinking about. And, the role of the comptroller is not just strictly the finances. It's also to bring accountability on the performance of city government, of every agency and to call out successes and failures in the performance of government and the management of this very, very large bureaucracy.

[00:11:19] And there are real challenges right now. You know, we have a bureaucracy that is largely stuck in the 1990s that hasn't adapted to the mobile phone revolution, and that is largely sleepwalking into the AI revolution. I'm going to be a voice for saying we have to confront these tectonic changes and update the way the government works and keep our eye on the threats that these new technologies pose as well as capitalize on potential upside. All that is under the purview of an activist comptroller, which is what I intend to be.

Your experience as a teacher opened your eyes to the needs of underprivileged families across New York. You’ve prioritized issues connected to the city’s most vulnerable populations. How does that factor into your new role?

My work in building a community financial institution uptown is so much more relevant now than I ever thought it would be at this stage in my career. I know what an obstacle the city can be for people who are seeking to found and grow businesses. I want the city to be a partner for small businesses. I want to be in a city where it's easier to build housing, where it's cheaper and faster to build infrastructure. All of that's going to require changes to the way government operates right now. As I'm pursuing those goals, I'll take with me the stories of credit union members, of my students and my families in the South Bronx and my neighbors in Washington Heights, of the people I represented in the City Council from West Harlem and part of Washington Heights. Those are communities that need government to be better. 

A lot of those people are in the crosshairs of the Trump administration, which is using the power of the purse to force the outcomes it wants from cities like New York. There’s concern that the federal government might renege on prior agreements. Are you prepared for these potential battles? 

Absolutely. Because of how horrifying the Trump administration has been on immigration, I think we’ve turned our attention away from just what a threat to New York's economy Trump's policies are. Our public hospital system is going to be directly impacted if a big part of its patient base loses Medicaid. There's the attacks on the nonprofit sector, which are real. What we face now is quite a serious threat and I'm going to use the office of the comptroller to fight back.

Public sector retirees have a significant interest in the work of the city comptroller because of the role the office plays in managing the pension fund. Do their priorities complicate the relationship with a possible Democratic socialist mayor when it comes to how the pension fund is managed? 

Look, there's a balancing act here. I want to state very clearly that the top job of the comptroller is to protect the pension fund and to ensure good returns. But I do believe that companies that have a forward vision on climate and diversity and worker safety are ultimately more successful businesses. The goal is to find the win-wins where we can nudge companies to do the right thing and they will also be more successful because of it. We've got to prioritize protecting those assets. It's job No. 1. But I think we can do it in a way that keeps an eye on the long term and also is consistent with our values.