Brad Lander

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In Congress, Brad will be a relentless check on Trump — fighting his attacks on immigrants, on trans kids, on the rule of law, on health care, on Social Security, and on the working- and middle-class families who make this country run.

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I am profoundly grateful to our incredible team and supporters, humbled by the faith New Yorkers have placed in me and – most of all – energized for the urgent fights ahead.

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Brad Lander is running for Congress because at this urgent moment, we need leaders who will fight, not fold. Fight against an authoritarian federal government that is abducting our neighbors. Fight for a New York that is affordable and welcoming for everyone. Fight for an economy that isn’t stacked against us. Fight to get money out of politics, instead of raking in Wall Street, crypto, and AIPAC contributions. Fight to make government actually deliver on the promise of the American dream. Brad has been fighting for this community for decades. It’s time to bring the fight to Congress.

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Now, Brad is taking that fight to Washington – because this moment is a five-alarm fire for our democracy and our working families, and we need leaders who will fight, not fold. In Congress, Brad will fight against an authoritarian federal government, take on the billionaires and corporate interests who have rigged our economy against working people, and roll up his sleeves to deliver for his neighbors – just like he’s always done.

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To have any chance to secure that future, we’ve got to get busy both fighting to win House and Senate Democratic majorities in November and preparing the boldest agenda to deliver for people once we get there.

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Trump’s war in Iran is reckless, illegal, and unjust. Before it started, Brad called on Congress to act to prevent it. Congress must repeal the AUMF that grants President Trump broad war-making authority and pass a congressional war powers resolution to stop the administration’s erratic regime-change efforts abroad. For too long, Congressmembers from both parties have meekly allowed Presidents of both parties to usurp the authority that Article I of the Constitution gives to Congress. Brad will fight to put a stop to forever wars. He will help to craft a new Democratic foreign policy that increasingly channels U.S. support through multilateral efforts to defend international law and human rights.

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End Regime-Change Wars and the Conflict in Iran

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When Donald Trump’s ICE tried to kidnap our neighbors, Brad put his body on the line to stop them – and then organized to bring more people into the fight. When Trump and Elon Musk stole $80 million from New York City, Brad caught them. The people of NY-10 want a congressmember who will fight rapidly-advancing authoritarianism like our lives depend on it, because they do. Brad believes that we must build a Democratic Party that has the backbone to fight fascism, the courage to stand up to lobbyists and corporate power, the strategic discipline to build a broad coalition, and the focus to make government actually deliver for people.

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Abolish ICE & Reform Our Immigration System

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Protect Our Democracy & Hold the Trump Administration Accountable

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Expand the Supreme Court and Establish Term Limits

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New York City should be a place everyone can live with dignity – working and middle-class families, immigrants and those who have been here for generations, Jews and Muslims, queer and trans people, disabled people, older New Yorkers and young people just starting out, and everyone else. Hate has no home here. And a city that’s welcoming for all must be a city where everyone can afford a home. That’s the work of Brad’s career, from his start fighting evictions and building affordable housing, to the Gowanus Neighborhood Rezoning, to his most innovative investment as Comptroller that saved 35,000 affordable rental units put at risk when Signature Bank failed. In Congress, Brad will bring his housing expertise to the fights to make Washington help New York and other cities end street homelessness, fix our public housing, protect tenants, and especially to build more affordable homes.

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Create Street-to-Home Vouchers

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Support Public Housing

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Protect Tenants with National “Responsible Property Management Standards”

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Protect Abortion Rights

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Defend Americans' Civil Liberties

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Defend the Right to Vote

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The number of billionaires has grown ten-fold in recent decades, taking the lion’s share of economic growth, while working people’s incomes have languished, and the cost of housing, health care, child care, energy, and food has skyrocketed. Brad believes that we must boldly confront wealth inequality if we are going to bring relief to working families from a relentless affordability crisis — and also to prevent the dangerous concentration of power in a tiny number of hands. Unlike Dan Goldman, Brad has consistently supported efforts to tax the rich in Albany, including this year’s efforts by Mayor Mamdani, which resulted in the pied-a-terre tax agreement which is helping to fund Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani’s commitment to universal child care. Brad strongly supports Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act to tax the net wealth of households with over $50 million in wealth (2-cents over $50 million), and an even more aggressive ultra-wealth tax on fortunes over $1 billion. He also supports Equal Tax Act, which equalizes tax rates for capital gains and ordinary income over $1 million.

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Brad strongly opposes the Trump Administration's attempts to conduct unlimited surveillance on American citizens. Dan Goldman’s votes against the Biggs Amendment and the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act helped to give the federal government unchecked power to spy on political opponents, and use dating apps and other personal data to track Americans, all without a warrant. In Congress, Brad will fight Donald Trump’s warrantless surveillance, and he won’t compromise on civil liberties. Brad will continue to fight to address the heavy legacy of systemic racism in our criminal justice system. In the City Council, he partnered with Jumaane Williams to pass the Community Safety Act to end discriminatory stop-and-frisk and prohibit race-based or identity-based policing in NYC. In Congress, Brad will fight for the Mercy in Reentry Act to ensure that our social programs are accessible to the formerly incarcerated, as well as the People’s Justice Guarantee to end mandatory minimums and abolish the death penalty.

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Fight Antisemitism and All Forms of Hate

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Take on Climate Change and Protect Frontline Communities

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New York City should be a place everyone can live with dignity – working and middle-class families, immigrants and those who have been here for generations, Jews and Muslims, queer and trans people, disabled people, older New Yorkers and young people just starting out. That requires a city where everyone can afford a home. That’s the work of Brad’s career, from his start fighting evictions and building affordable housing, to the Gowanus Neighborhood Rezoning, to his most innovative investment as Comptroller that saved 35,000 affordable rental units put at risk when Signature Bank failed. In Congress, Brad will bring his housing expertise to the fights to make Washington help New York and other cities end street homelessness, fix our public housing, protect tenants, and especially to build more affordable homes.

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The cost-of-living is skyrocketing, and the gap between the rich & powerful and the rest of us has never been bigger. Brad always puts working people first — not billionaires — to deliver an economy that works for working people. In the City Council, he took on Uber, GrubHub, and McDonald's to pass groundbreaking legislation to end abusive scheduling and guarantee a fair work week for fast-food workers, to prevent freelancers from being stiffed, and first-in-the-nation minimum wage requirements for delivery workers and Uber drivers. He was a leader in the fight for paid sick leave for all workers in New York City. As Comptroller, he helped stop Eric Adams from pushing the city’s retirees off of Medicare and onto privatized HMOs. He’ll bring his innovative approach to fighting for gig-workers to Congress, to protect working people in the era of AI. And he’ll fight fiercely for a wealth tax on ultra-millionaires, to provide the resources for universal child care, Medicare for All, affordable housing, public goods, and the needs of working families.

The number of billionaires has grown ten-fold in recent decades, taking the lion’s share of economic growth, while working people’s incomes have languished, and the cost of housing, health care, child care, energy, and food has skyrocketed. Brad believes that we must boldly confront wealth inequality if we are going to bring relief to working families from a relentless affordability crisis — and also to prevent the dangerous concentration of power in a tiny number of hands. Unlike Dan Goldman, Brad has consistently supported efforts to tax the rich in Albany, including this year’s efforts by Mayor Mamdani, which resulted in the pied-a-terre tax agreement which is helping to fund Governor Hochul and Mayor Mamdani’s commitment to universal child care. Brad strongly supports Senator Elizabeth Warren’s Ultra-Millionaire Tax Act to tax the net wealth of households with over $50 million in wealth (2-cents over $50 million), and an even more aggressive ultra-wealth tax on fortunes over $1 billion. He also supports Equal Tax Act, which equalizes tax rates for capital gains and ordinary income over $1 million.

Brad will always have the backs of workers — in the streets, and in the halls of Congress. He is a relentless supporter of workers’ rights to organize and bargain collectively. In just the last few months, Brad joined food service workers, nurses, residential building workers, bartenders, researchers, teachers, and many others on their picket line, demanding union recognition and fair contracts. In the Comptroller’s office, Brad led investors in support of workers at Starbucks, Amazon, eBay, and at hotels across the country, leading to agreements that delivered good union contracts for over 5,000 workers. He created an innovative Employer Violations Dashboard that unites federal, state, and city databases on thousands of companies, and that names and shames companies that exploited their workers. In Congress, he will support the Protect the Right to Organize (PRO) Act to prevent unfair labor practices and make it easier to unionize, and he will also continue to join workers on picket lines and protests. That’s why he’s supported by New York’s boldest unions, including the UAW, SEIU 32BJ, Communications Workers of America, New York State Nurses Association, Workers United SEIU, and more.

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Medicare for All

Healthcare is a human right, and all New Yorkers deserve high-quality medical coverage. But too many of our neighbors are unable to afford the treatment that they need, cannot access preventive care, and wind up forced to take on extreme debts just to receive essential medical care. Brad believes we can change that, which is why his healthcare proposals would do more than tinker around the edges of a broken system. Brad’s dear friend Ady Barkan, who died in 2023 after the most courageous 7-year battle, led the way in fighting for universal healthcare. Be A Hero, the organization he founded, is organizing Americans to fight for the universal healthcare we all deserve. In Ady’s memory, alongside Be A Hero and other allies, Brad will champion Medicare for All in Congress to bring transformational changes to our broken healthcare system and make a reality out of our commitment that healthcare is a human right. In the next session of Congress, Brad will focus on restoring subsidies on the health care exchange that Republicans cuts, wrecking New York’s Essential Plan and doubling premiums for working working people, as well as Trump’s cuts to Medicare and Medicaid, as well as the federal government’s work to reduce the costs of prescriptions.

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Abolish ICE & Reform Our Immigration System

Brad has called for abolishing ICE since 2018, when Trump first deployed them to illegally kidnap our neighbors. As Comptroller, his Facts, Not Fear report made the case in detail for how welcoming immigrants benefits New York City. He was arrested last year while escorting an asylum seeker at 26 Federal Plaza, continues to regularly join the movement of court-watchers working to assist asylum-seekers at risk of illegal detention, and is taking his case to trial to demand accountability. After Renee Good and Alex Pretti were killed, Brad went to Minneapolis, along with an organizer from Hands Off NYC, to learn from the Twin Cities’ mobilization. He is calling for House Oversight Hearings on ICE’s Crimes and the Future of Our Immigration System to begin in Minneapolis (rather than Washington DC). Alongside those hearings, he hopes the Democratic Presidential candidates will hold a debate on immigration, so we can chart a humane, fair, and comprehensive path forward.

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Protect Abortion Rights

The MAGA Supreme Court decimated reproductive health care in red states across the country through the Dobbs decision. Brad will fight back. He is the proud husband of Meg Barnette, who was General Counsel at Planned Parenthood of Greater New York for a decade. He has been a champion for reproductive justice throughout his career. As a City Councilmember, Brad supported legislation to prevent crisis pregnancy centers from lying to New Yorkers and the first municipal funding in the country for abortion care. As Comptroller, he demanded that Walmart, Costco, and other chains dispense mifepristone and refused to back down when the treasurers of 15 red states attacked him. In Congress, he will fight to codify a right to an abortion and repeal the Hyde Amendment, while continuing to organize in defense of reproductive care. He will push to roll back TRAP laws, which dangerously limit access to safe medical treatment by harassing healthcare providers. Brad will stand up for Medicare and ACA enhanced premium tax credits, including, and especially, critical abortion coverage. In New York City, he will work with the Mamdani Administration, City Councilmembers, advocates, and health care institutions to make sure that contraception and abortion care, both onsite and by mail, is available to anyone who needs it.

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Defend the Right to Vote

The voting rights of Americans — and especially of people-of-color, including Black Americans in the South — are under an attack modeled on Jim Crow. Donald Trump and his allies in government have eviscerated the Voting Rights Act. The recent Callais decision has emboldened Republican legislatures to gerrymander Congressional districts, stealing from African-Americans their right to elect representatives for their communities. Protecting and expanding voting rights will be one of Brad’s core fights in Congress, because every other progressive priority depends on a democracy that genuinely represents everyone. Brad will co-sponsor and fight for passage of the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act to restore the full protections of the Voting Rights Act that the Supreme Court has systematically dismantled, and the Freedom to Vote Act to establish national standards for early voting, automatic voter registration, and same-day registration. He will oppose legislation designed to create new bureaucratic barriers to voter registration, which are modern poll taxes designed to disenfranchise Americans, especially working-class communities of color. In the New York City Council, Brad fought to ensure our elections were transparent, accessible, and well-run, demanding changes from the NYC Board of Elections. He helped to bring both participatory budgeting and ranked-choice voting to NYC to expand participation. He will bring that same commitment to Washington, because fair elections and the right to vote are critical for building a democracy that truly works for everyone.

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Brad Lander is running for Congress because at this urgent moment, we need leaders who will fight, not fold. Fight against an authoritarian federal government that is abducting our neighbors. Fight for a New York that is affordable and welcoming for everyone. Fight for an economy that isn’t stacked against us. Fight to get money out of politics, instead of raking in Wall Street, crypto, and AIPAC contributions. Fight to make government actually deliver on the promise of the American dream. Brad has been fighting for this community for decades. It’s time to bring the fight to Congress.

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Expand the Supreme Court and Establish Term Limits

The Supreme Court and federal judiciary, which Donald Trump has packed with radical, right-wing MAGA justices, are now serving as rubber stamps for this administration’s lawlessness. New Yorkers have watched this court degrade the rule of law, due process, voting rights, and access to reproductive healthcare. Working with the next Democratic President, Congress must balance the scales in the nation’s highest court by expanding it to 13 justices. This will also modernize the Court by once again ensuring that each justice oversees one circuit Court of Appeals. At the same time, Congress should advance a proposal for term limits or staggered appointments (which will require a Constitutional amendment, but which could have bipartisan support in the context of court expansion). These reforms will prevent long-term, lopsided control of the Supreme Court like we have now.

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Invest in Education

Brad will take on efforts to defund and censor K-12 public education, tackle the student debt crisis, and fight to ensure that higher education does not cave to political pressure from the Trump Administration. Brad knows how important high-quality, public K-12 education is for our democracy as well as economic mobility. He is the son of a public school guidance counselor, attended public schools himself, and he and Meg sent both of their kids to NYC public schools from pre-K through 12th grade. In the New York City Council, he led the efforts to desegregate D15 middle schools. As Comptroller, he helped head the fight against Eric Adams’ $469 million cut to public schools after the pandemic. Brad will fight like hell to oppose Trump’s efforts to cut funding for public schools, to privatize public education, and to censor curriculum in our schools. In the longer term, he will work to rebuild the Department of Education, and launch a new era of creativity in public education to insure that critical thinking, creativity, collaboration, and citizenship can flourish in the era of AI and algorithms. For higher education, the student loan debt crisis weighs down too many New Yorkers. As Comptroller, Brad exposed the ways that student loan debt is doing irreparable harm to New Yorkers and our economy. He supports cancelling student debt and federal programs to make higher-education more affordable for everyone. Finally, while the Trump Administration is weaponizing the federal government against higher education, Brad will fight to support academic freedom, maintain funding for higher education institutions, support academic employees in the organizing efforts, call out and put pressure on universities that give in to Donald Trump’s authoritarian threats — and praise those universities that not only stand up to him, but help to chart a course forward for the flourishing of knowledge, sharing it with a wider socioeconomic range of students, and helping it to advance the public good. Learn more here .

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Take on Climate Change and Protect Frontline Communities

The climate crisis is not “coming,” it is already here, in rising temperatures and tides, and communities in NY-10 in Red Hook, Sunset Park, and Lower Manhattan are on the frontlines. Democrats must not retreat from climate action, and Brad never will. Urgent, robust action is required now to end our reliance on fossil fuels and implement a Green New Deal to transition rapidly to renewables, and to reap the benefits for Americans that will come with good green jobs, abundant and cheap renewal energy, expanded energy security, and healthier and safer neighborhoods. Brad has been a climate champion for decades. In the City Council, he passed legislation to ban plastic bags and styrofoam, and to reduce NYC’s reliance on fossil fuels. As Comptroller, Brad directed our pension funds to take the boldest action of any large U.S. public pension fund to combat climate change, divesting $4 billion from fossil fuels and investing over $15 billion in climate solutions. Brad was a leader in the fight for congestion pricing. When Governor Hochul placed it on pause, he convened the coalition of advocates and attorneys that brought two successful lawsuits that got it implemented. Now, he is opposing Governor Hochul’s rollback of the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act. Working with the Mayor’s Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, Brad won a federal grant to create “Public Solar NYC,” which Trump canceled along with other Solar for All grants. Brad will work with the Mamdani Administration to get Public Solar NYC implemented, bringing free rooftop solar to tens of thousands of homes in New York City, and launching a municipally-owned public option for renewable energy. Brad will never accept donations from fossil fuel companies, and he’ll always fight for the frontline communities in NY-10. Read more about Brad’s plans to combat the climate crisis.

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Defend Americans' Civil Liberties

Brad strongly opposes the Trump Administration's attempts to conduct unlimited surveillance on American citizens. Dan Goldman’s votes against the Biggs Amendment and the Fourth Amendment is Not for Sale Act helped to give the federal government unchecked power to spy on political opponents, and use dating apps and other personal data to track Americans, all without a warrant. In Congress, Brad will fight Donald Trump’s warrantless surveillance, and he won’t compromise on civil liberties. Brad will continue to fight to address the heavy legacy of systemic racism in our criminal justice system. In the City Council, he partnered with Jumaane Williams to pass the Community Safety Act to end discriminatory stop-and-frisk and prohibit race-based or identity-based policing in NYC. In Congress, Brad will fight for the Mercy in Reentry Act to ensure that our social programs are accessible to the formerly incarcerated, as well as the People’s Justice Guarantee to end mandatory minimums and abolish the death penalty.

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Stand up for LGBTQ+ – and especially trans – New Yorkers

Brad will always fight to protect the rights and safety of LGBTQ+ New Yorkers. In the Council, he co-sponsored legislation supporting marriage equality, banning conversion therapy, allowing people to change their gender identity or utilize an “X” marker on their birth certificate, compelling the City to collect gender pronouns on agency forms & mandating gender-neutral single-stall bathrooms. After Trump’s re-election, he convened an emergency roundtable of trans leaders to discuss concrete steps the City can take to protect TGNCNB New Yorkers from the Trump administration. Brad is dedicated to protecting gender affirming care for transgender youth. Brad called out NYU Langone and Mt. Sinai for caving to the Trump Administration and violating New York’s human rights law and the Hippocratic Oath by cancelling gender-affirming care. He is working with parents of trans youth in New York City to ensure resources and services are available to families. He will take on federal officials pushing “Don’t Say Trans” bills to cut funding to schools that educate students about gender identity, and stand up to the Trump Administration’s efforts to bully trans kids. Brad is endorsed by the Christopher Street Project, the Lambda Independent Democrats, the Stonewall Democratic Club, the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, and NYC Youth 4 Trans Rights.

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Fight Antisemitism and All Forms of Hate

Brad will fight antisemitism, which has soared in New York City and around the world, Islamophobia, and all forms of hatred, and work to keep Jewish New Yorkers, Muslim New Yorkers, and all New Yorkers safe. He will sign onto Congressmember Jerrold Nadler’s Antisemitism Response and Prevent Act, which does not weaponize accusations of antisemitism against critics of Israel, but instead takes a practical approach to safety through police protection, law enforcement, education, and bridge-building. Brad will work to secure federal funding for these goals, to be provided both through the Mayor’s Office to Combat Hate Crimes & the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism, as well as directly to institutions. Brad believes that this work requires a broad approach to combating all forms of hatred, and bringing communities together to build understanding, combat hate, and build a safe city together.

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To Build Bridges, We Must Block the Bombs

Brad Lander in The Nation : “When I am elected to Congress, I will support the Block the Bombs Act to protect more Palestinians from being killed by Israel.”

politico playbook

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Champion New York City’s Public Transit

Brad has been a champion for public transit and safer streets in New York City, and he’ll be a champion for them in Congress. His first big battle in the City Council was in favor of the Prospect Park West bike lane, and he has continued to push for safer streets and transportation alternatives. He has been a part of every push to lower the speed limit and hold reckless drivers accountable, passing the groundbreaking Reckless Driver Accountability Act in 2020. Brad was a leader in the fight for congestion pricing. When Governor Hochul placed it on pause, he convened the coalition of advocates and attorneys that brought two successful lawsuits that got it implemented. In Congress, Brad will champion efforts to renew our approach to transportation and infrastructure spending with a sharper eye on sustainability, on creating good jobs, and on promoting more affordable, connected, safer, thriving metropolitan communities. He has proposed the most comprehensive federal transportation policy in this race to rebalance the transit funding formula to invest in public transit, fund transit operations, which make up two-thirds of our expenses, and foster smart and sustainable jobs and growth.