“How am I?”
City Controller Brad LanderOne candidate for City Hall is taking a page from the late Mayor Ed Koch — by delivering a Office “Survey” He asked New Yorkers about his work as the city's chief auditor and watchdog.
But the informative poll is raising concerns that he is using public resources to boost his bid for the Democratic mayoralty.
“Did you know that New York City's five public pension systems achieved a combined net return of 10% for fiscal year 2024? This strong, robust return will boost retirement security for our city's retirees and save taxpayers $1.81 billion,” Lander, whose office oversees the pension funds, said in a note to New Yorkers.
But as the Post previously pointed out, the benefits still fell short A standard portfolio of 60% global stocks and 40% U.S. bonds would have produced a 13.2% return, according to investment consulting firm Wilshire.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 generated a return of roughly 23% over the same period.
“This is clearly a political gesture, not a gesture from the government,” senior Democratic political consultant John Reinisch said of Lander's message.
Political strategist Hank Sheinkopf said, “(Lander) is using public resources for a political campaign. He's using his office as campaign headquarters.”
He called for an ethics investigation.
Landers asked survey respondents, “Which of our recent audits have you heard about?”
One of the options was “Oversight of the Adams Administration on DocGo” – which was heavily criticized, with a $432 million no-bid Emergency Migrant Shelter Contracts — and 60-day shelter rule For migrant families, which the Länder opposes.
They also asked if residents were familiar with their audit of the use of ShotSpotter — a gunshot location and identification technology — which found the alerts identified confirmed shootings only 13 percent of the time. They also sought to find out if they were aware of their report on emergency hurricane preparedness.
The survey also asked which topics are most important to respondents.
Reinisch said Lander is trying to reinvent himself politically, since many New Yorkers associate him with the Democratic Socialists of America and progressive left-wing politics, not his work as comptroller.
The current mayor, Eric Adams, is considered a more liberal Democrat.
“I'll bet most New Yorkers don't know what the day-to-day job of a comptroller is — nor can they name anything that Lander has implemented that falls under the comptroller's job, which isn't strange. It's very strange,” Reinisch said.
“He is known as a far-right progressive activist, away from the mainstream, which could be a liability for him, even in the primaries, because the city is so anti-radical,” Reinisch said. “Look no further than recent examples of politicians who have lost their primaries because they are out of step with DSA, Like Jamaal Bowmanwhich Lander supported, raised funds for, and campaigned with.
“Since he’s running for mayor, it’s no surprise that he’s trying to shift the conversation away from his ties to hard-liners in DSA and toward his record as comptroller, including his promotion of examples of financial management and oversight,” Reinisch said.
A representative for Landers said the criticism was a cheap shot.
“An email from the Comptroller’s Office about pension fund returns and audits — surprise!,” said Comptroller’s representative Chloe Chick.
“What's next, weekly emails from City Hall touting the mayor's accomplishments or hackneyed hit-pieces masquerading as news articles? What will happen to this city?” he said.
