Numbering over one million residents, New York City’s Jewish community faces an uncertain political landscape after anti-Israel candidate Zohran Mamdani delivered a stunning upset victory over Andrew Cuomo in Tuesday’s Democratic mayoral primary. Nevertheless, Jewish voters found a silver lining in Mark Levine’s decisive win for city comptroller, positioning a prominent Jewish leader as the city’s chief financial watchdog.
Levine crushed City Council Member Justin Brannan 48-34 with 94% of precincts reporting in the comptroller race. His victory came despite Brannan receiving late endorsements from leading anti-Israel critic Sen. Bernie Sanders and the Working Families Party. While Brannan won Brooklyn, Levine handily carried Manhattan, Queens and the Bronx.
“You gave voters in this city hope that we can build affordable housing, that we can fix the broken mental health system, that we can fight back against the madman in the White House. And we can use this Office of Comptroller to do it,” Levine told jubilant supporters Tuesday night.
The 52-year-old Levine is a well-known figure at Jewish and pro-Israel events, where he often addresses crowds in Hebrew. As Manhattan borough president since 2021, he has used the mostly ceremonial role to elevate Jewish issues and speak out against rising antisemitism. He helped establish the Office for the Prevention of Hate Crimes in 2019 and secured funding for security at religious sites and schools.
“It would be enormously meaningful,” Levine told the Forward prior to becoming the city’s second-highest ranking Jewish official. “I don’t want to overly obsess about identity, because we have great non-Jewish allies, but it’s important. I would feel a sense of responsibility to represent the Jewish community well, and my success or failure will, in part, reflect on the community.”
As New York’s comptroller, he will oversee the city’s finances, manages pension funds, and approves contracts worth billions of dollars. During their campaigns, both Levine and Brannan pledged to increase investments in Israeli bonds, which many Jewish voters view as a bulwark against the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions movement.
The stakes for having a Jewish financial watchdog became even higher when Mamdani stunned political observers by defeating Andrew Cuomo who had led nearly every poll until the closing weeks and campaigned heavily for Jewish votes with appearances at synagogues and meetings with Jewish leaders.
However, with 91 percent of votes counted, the 33-year-old state assemblymember led the former governor by more than 7 points, prompting Cuomo’s concession Tuesday night.
“Tonight was not our night. Tonight was Assemblyman Mamdani’s night,” Cuomo told supporters. “I want to applaud the assemblyman for a really smart and good and impactful campaign. Tonight is his night. He deserved it. He won.”
As a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, Mamdani is a longtime Hamas supporter who has said the “Palestinian cause” got him into politics and is central to his identity. He backs the boycott movement targeting Israel and has repeatedly accused Israel of genocide. In the past he has vowed to arrest Benjamin Netanyahu if the Israeli Prime Minister visits New York, citing the International Criminal Court arrest warrant of “genocide” in Gaza.
If elected in November, Mamdani would become the city’s first Muslim mayor. Current Mayor Eric Adams is running as an independent in the general election, while Cuomo has left the door open to an independent run, having already secured ballot access.
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