Brad Lander

Brad Lander is the Democratic nominee for NY-10 and a former New York City Comptroller (2022-2026). A Brooklyn community-development leader before entering government, he served on the New York City Council from 2010 to 2021, ran for mayor in 2025, and defeated incumbent Rep. Daniel Goldman in the June 23, 2026 Democratic primary. Reports list endorsements from Mayor Zohran Mamdani, Sen. Bernie Sanders, and Sen. Elizabeth Warren; his campaign website says he is running to "fight, not fold" against the Trump administration and for an affordable New York.[1][2][3]

Lander was born on July 8, 1969, and raised in Creve Coeur, a suburb of St. Louis, Missouri, and graduated from Parkway North High School in 1987.[2] He earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Chicago in 1991 and holds master's degrees in social anthropology from University College London and in city planning from the Pratt Institute.[1][2] Before entering elected office he directed the nonprofits Fifth Avenue Committee (1993-2003) and the Pratt Center for Community Development (2003-2009); according to his campaign website, the groups built and preserved affordable housing and ran job-training programs.[1][2][3]

Lander served on the New York City Council representing District 39 in Brooklyn, which includes Park Slope and Kensington, from 2010 to 2021, when term limits ended his tenure, and he co-founded the Council's Progressive Caucus.[1][2][3] His campaign website cites among his Council achievements the Gowanus rezoning, scheduling and delivery-worker pay laws, and the Independent Expenditure Disclosure Act.[3] He was elected New York City Comptroller in 2021 and served from January 1, 2022 to January 1, 2026 as the city's chief financial and accountability officer, overseeing its pension funds; he did not seek re-election as comptroller in 2025.[1][2][3] In July 2024 he announced that he would run for mayor in the 2025 Democratic primary, and on June 13, 2025 he and Zohran Mamdani cross-endorsed each other; Mamdani went on to win the primary.[2][3]

According to his campaign website, Lander was handcuffed and detained by federal agents at 26 Federal Plaza in Manhattan in June 2025 while escorting an asylum seeker out of immigration court.[3] He announced his candidacy for NY-10 on December 10, 2025, and defeated incumbent Rep. Daniel Goldman in the June 23, 2026 Democratic primary, 66.0% to 33.8%; he also appears on the Working Families Party line.[2][1][4] Lander lives in Brooklyn with his wife, Meg Barnette, and, according to his campaign website, they raised two children.[3]

Researched from the cited sources on 2026-10-21.