Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president, won a resounding victory in the race for New York City comptroller on Tuesday.
In his new role, Mr. Levine will be charged with serving as an independent watchdog over the administration of the mayor-elect, Zohran Mamdani, reviewing city contracts and auditing city agencies. He will also oversee the city’s pension funds, whose value, as of August, was more than $300 billion.
Though Mr. Levine and Zohran Mamdani cross-endorsed each other in the general election, the position of comptroller is intrinsically oppositional to the mayor.
One area of conflict is likely to involve Israeli government bonds. Mr. Levine has said he will reinvest city funds in such bonds. Mr. Mamdani has for years been an outspoken supporter of the movement to boycott Israel, and he is likely to oppose such reinvestment.
“I want New York City to succeed and I want the next mayor to succeed and I will do everything I can to help him succeed,” Mr. Levine said in an interview on Tuesday. “I also will be totally independent and will exercise my role as the counterbalance to the mayor, and every city agency. That’s what people elected me to do.”
After his victory over Councilman Justin Brannan in the Democratic primary for comptroller, Mr. Levine’s win on Tuesday was expected. Democrats outnumber Republicans six to one in New York City, and as Manhattan’s borough president, he had a higher public profile than his competitors.
A pro-housing Democrat, Mr. Levine has called for investing a percentage of the city’s pension funds in affordable housing. He also has said that the city’s housing agency would be one of his top auditing targets.
“The delays and difficulties in getting housing approved are just inexcusable,” Mr. Levine said.
A former city councilman and math and science teacher, Mr. Levine will succeed Brad Lander, who opted not to run for re-election so he could pursue what was ultimately a failed bid for mayor.
Dana Rubinstein covers New York City politics and government for The Times.
The post Mark Levine Elected New York City Comptroller appeared first on New York Times.
