Brad Lander, the outgoing comptroller of New York City, announced Wednesday that he is running for Congress, challenging U.S. Rep. Dan Goldman in a Democratic primary for a liberal district in lower Manhattan and northwest Brooklyn.<\/p>\n
Lander, a progressive ally of Mayor-elect Zohran Mamdani<\/a>, launched his campaign in a video<\/a> and social media posts, promising to offer \u201ccourageous leadership in the face of Donald Trump\u2019s attacks on New Yorkers.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cAt a moment of dark oppression, we can shine by fighting back together,\u201d he said. \u201cWhile the oligarchy drives an affordability crisis, they shouldn\u2019t be able to buy a seat in Congress. While our immigrant neighbors are being demonized and attacked, we can put our bodies on the line to protect them,\u201d said Lander in the video.<\/p>\n He also evoked the late children’s TV host Fred Rogers in his video, singing \u201cWould you be mine? Could you be mine? Won’t you be my neighbor?\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI know it\u2019s corny, but I love the idea that democracy is just neighbors working together to make our lives in common better,\u201d said Lander, who scheduled a public speech about his campaign Wednesday evening near his home in Brooklyn.<\/p>\n Lander has been eyeing a challenge to Goldman since he lost the Democratic mayoral primary<\/a> to Mamdani this summer.<\/p>\n Both Lander and Goldman have been vocal critics of the federal government’s deportation agenda<\/a>, appearing at a high-profile immigration court in Manhattan to observe proceedings over the last several months.<\/p>\n Lander was arrested there twice<\/a> and faces a misdemeanor obstruction charge<\/a> stemming from one of the incidents.<\/p>\n