Lindsey Boylan launches City Council campaign

Lindsey Boylan is kicking off her special election campaign for New York City Council Monday, centering her opposition to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and her support for Mayor Zohran Mamdani. 

“In 2021, I stood up and called out Andrew Cuomo for sexually harassing me. His cronies attacked me, but more victims came forward and we took him down,” Boylan says in a launch video shared with City & State before its release.

“And last year, when Cuomo tried to impose himself on the city, I stood up again and worked tirelessly to elect Zohran Mamdani as our new mayor,” Boylan continues, over photos of her with Mamdani.

Boylan was running for Manhattan borough president in 2020 when she accused Cuomo of sexually harassing her years prior when she worked for him as an economic development aide. Cuomo denied harassing her, but her organizing was a significant factor leading to his resignation.

Boylan is now a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, but is not expected to earn the group’s formal support and is not launching with Mamdani’s endorsement. Mamdani's campaign didn't respond to a request for comment.

After Erik Bottcher was elected to the state Senate, Mamdani called an April 28 special election to fill his seat on the west side of Manhattan – but had to amend the proclamation after screwing up a date, City & State reported. Other candidates include Jamin Enquist, Layla Law-Gisiko, Leslie Boghosian Murphy and ex-Bottcher aide Carl Wilson, who’s running with the former member’s endorsement. 

Cuomo’s team fired back at Boylan’s accusation. “The governor never harassed anyone and Boylan was caught threatening a witness into corroborating her story,” Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi responded, referring to Boylan’s message to former Empire State Development Commissioner Howard Zemsky, and claiming that “she quit her job after getting confronted with bullying allegations from subordinates,” referring to a 2018 memo the Cuomo administration leaked to local news in an effort to discredit Boylan.