“How’m I doin?”
City Comptroller Brad Lander, a candidate for City Hall, is taking a page from the late Mayor Ed Koch — by distributing an office “survey” asking New Yorkers about the job he’s doing as the city’s chief auditor and watchdog.
But the informational poll is raising concerns that he’s using public resources to promote his Democratic mayoral bid by tooting his own horn.
“Did you know that the five New York City public pension systems achieved a combined net 10% return for FY 2024? This strong, robust return will boost retirement security for our City’s retirees and save taxpayers $1.81 billion,” said Lander, whose office oversees the pension funds, in the note to New Yorkers.
But as The Post previously reported, the gains still fell short of the 13.2% return that would have come from a standard portfolio of 60% global stocks and 40% US bonds, according to investment consulting firm Wilshire.
Meanwhile, the S&P 500 netted a nearly 23% return over the same period.
“It’s clearly a political gesture and not a government side gesture,” said veteran Democratic political consultant Jon Reinish of Lander’s missive.
Political strategist Hank Sheinkopf said, “[Lander] is using public resources for a political campaign. He’s using his office as a campaign headquarters.”
He called for an ethics probe.
Landers asks respondents to the survey, “Which of our recent audits have you heard about?”
One of the choices was the “Adams’ Administration’s Oversight of DocGo” — the much criticized $432 million no-bid emergency migrant shelter contract — and the 60-day shelter rule for migrant families, which Lander opposes.
He also asked if residents were familiar with his audit of the use of ShotSpotter — a gunfire location and detection technology — which found the alerts only identified confirmed shootings 13 percent of the time. He also sought to find out if they were aware of his report on emergency storm preparedness.
The survey also asks what topics are most important to respondents.
Reinish said Lander is trying to reposition himself politically because many New Yorkers associate him with the Democratic Socialists of America and progressive left politics and not his job as comptroller.
Incumbent Mayor Eric Adams is considered a more moderate Democrat.
“I would wager that most New Yorkers don’t know what that day-to-day job of comptroller is — nor could name much of anything that Lander has implemented that’s within the job of comptroller which isn’t necessarily an oddity. It’s pretty in-the-weeds stuff,” Reinish said.
“He’s best known as an out-of-the-mainstream, far-left progressive activist, which can become a liability for him, even in a primary, as the city sours on radicalism,” Reinish said. “Look no further than recent examples in which politicians who march in lockstep with the DSA have lost their primaries, like Jamaal Bowman, whom Lander endorsed, raised money for and campaigned alongside.
“So, since he’s running for mayor, it’s no surprise that he’s trying to focus the conversation away from his relationship with radicals in the DSA and onto his record as comptroller, including promoting examples of fiscal stewardship and oversight,” Reinish said.
A rep for Lander’s said the criticism was a cheap shot.
“An email from the Comptroller’s office about pension fund returns and audits—gasp!,” said the comptroller’s rep, Chloe Chik.
“What’s next, a weekly e-mail from City Hall touting the mayor’s accomplishments or hack-placed hit-pieces masquerading as news articles? What’s this town coming to?” she said.
