New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani spoke at a fundraiser for congressional candidate and ally Brad Lander Wednesday night at a brownstone in Brooklyn Heights. Lander, former city comptroller and third-place finisher in the mayoral primary, is challenging Rep. Dan Goldman from the left in the district that includes lower Manhattan and Brooklyn neighborhoods from Brooklyn Heights to Sunset Park.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cI look at Brad as someone who we can trust to not only help to ensure that we’re defeating Republicans, but also that we’re electing better Democrats,\u201d the mayor told a crowded living room<\/a> of Lander supporters convened by jewelry designer Alexis Bittar and Resistance Revival Chorus singers Sarah Sophie Flicker and Shruti Rya Ganguly. Goldman\u2019s campaign declined to comment.<\/p>\n Actors Amber Tamblyn, Ben McKenzie, Busy Phillipps, David Cross and Oscar-winner Amy Sheridan all made appearances. Also present were writer Aminatou Sow and Assembly candidate Eli Northrup, who\u2019s running for the seat vacated by Micah Lasher. The chorus performed \u201cThis Joy,\u201d and Flicker noted Lander was \u201cthe only man\u201d the all-women group has ever invited on stage.\u00a0<\/p>\n His campaign declined to disclose how much he raised at the star-studded event ahead of the March 31 filing deadline. Last week, Lander was fundraising<\/a> in Los Angeles. Already at a fundraising disadvantage to the wealthy incumbent Goldman, Lander asked his opponent this week to take a pledge<\/a> against \u201cdark money\u201d in the race by committing to donating campaign funds to charity in proportion to the amount spent on superPAC ads. Goldman countered<\/a> by demanding an end to \u201cnegative messaging\u201d in the race and reiterating his invitation to debate Lander seven times.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Mamdani is also planning to show up at a fundraiser<\/a> for Assembly Member Claire Valdez, who\u2019s running for Congress in New York\u2019s 7th Congressional District, on March 30 in Old Westbury, Long Island. Tickets to that event start at $1000.\u00a0<\/p>\n After Lander\u2019s event, the mayor evidently took a Citi Bike<\/a> back to Manhattan.<\/p>\n