Public safety must be the #1 priority for every elected official. If New Yorkers don’t feel safe, then nothing else we do matters. Justin knows that public safety is the foundation of a thriving city and our cops are a vital piece of that puzzle, but they cannot be the only piece. We need to let our cops do the jobs they signed up to do while investing in the programs and priorities that prevent crime in the first place. By expanding access to education, jobs, healthcare, food, housing, and mental health services, Justin will ensure the city’s investments in public safety are smart, holistic, effective, and grounded in community trust, making every neighborhood a safer place to live, work, and raise a family.

Income inequality is the reason working people are still struggling to make ends meet - it’s one of the greatest challenges facing our city and our nation. The best tool we have to fight the effects of income inequality is the city budget, which can help improve the cost of living and deliver vital programs that can make life easier for working people. Justin has always been on the front lines of this fight, making sure programs like after-school and early childhood education are fully funded. As Comptroller, Justin will hold city agencies accountable for delivering equitable outcomes, push for fair wages, and invest in programs that raise up underrepresented communities. He will ensure the city’s budget works to narrow the wealth gap and make New York livable for all families – not just the wealthy few.

Justin knows that raising a family in New York City can feel impossibly hard, and working families deserve real solutions to the challenges they face. As Finance Chair, he stood up against proposed cuts to early childhood education and after-school programs, making sure working parents had the support they needed. But he knows more must be done. Universal childcare wouldn’t just be a gamechanger for working families, it would be a gamechanger for our economy. Justin has been a champion for creating a universal child care system for many years. As Comptroller, Justin will work to identify the necessary funding to ensure that every family has access to high-quality childcare. This bold initiative will help parents stay in the workforce, give children the foundation they need to thrive, and make New York City a place where families can build their futures.

When did our city stop dreaming big? What happened to leaders who brought to life Mitchell-Lama, UHF, Manhattan Plaza, Electchester, Penn South, Co-op City, and Co-Op Village? We need to get back into the business of what's possible. Justin understands that affordable housing is critical to keeping the city’s workforce strong. Teachers, nurses, first responders, and other essential city workers should be able to live in the neighborhoods they serve. As Comptroller, in partnership with trustees, Justin will champion the NYC Workers Housing Plan, by investing pension funds into the creation of affordable housing specifically for city employees. This plan will ensure that the people who keep our city running can afford to live here, strengthening neighborhoods and preserving the city’s middle class.

New York City needs to pay their damn bills on time. Our non-profit organizations are the unsung heroes of this city and yet most struggle to stay afloat as they wait to get paid for services they’ve already delivered. The city entrusts these non-profit organizations to perform critical work but then can’t be bothered to reimburse their costs. Meanwhile, across town, taxpayers are aghast to learn the bathroom in their local park playground will cost several million dollars to renovate. All of this can be fixed through procurement reform. Justin has spent his career ensuring taxpayer dollars work as hard as New Yorkers do. He knows the city’s procurement process is busted and broken, plagued by inefficiency, delays, and a lack of transparency. Too often, critical projects are held up, and New Yorkers in need are left hanging as non-profit providers are asked to do even more with even less. These vital organizations who so often serve our city’s most vulnerable shouldn’t have to take out high-interest loans to pay their staff while they wait to get paid back by the city. As Comptroller, Justin will prioritize overhauling the procurement system to make it faster, more transparent, and accountable.

Justin knows that fighting climate change is not just a moral imperative—it’s an economic opportunity. In southern Brooklyn, he has led efforts to invest in sustainable infrastructure, clean energy, and resilient green spaces, protecting communities from rising sea levels and extreme weather. As Comptroller, Justin will ensure that the city’s investments prioritize climate resilience, renewable energy, and green jobs. He will work to divest from fossil fuels and reinvest in projects that create a sustainable future for all New Yorkers. From reducing emissions to making the city more resilient to climate threats, Justin will ensure our budget reflects the urgency of the climate crisis.

Justin Brannan has zero tolerance for politicians who abuse their power. That’s why he wrote the law that bars anyone convicted of public corruption from ever running for office again – because if you betray the public’s trust, you don't get a second chance at being an elected official. He believes public service is a public trust and that our government should work for the people, not the well-connected. Justin will keep fighting for tougher ethics laws, real accountability, and transparency at every level – especially when it comes to your hard-earned tax dollars.

Our subway system is the lifeblood of New York City, and every rider deserves to feel safe. Justin believes that addressing subway safety requires a reimagined, holistic approach because New York City's current approach is simply not working – especially when it comes to combating homelessness and mental illness on our subways. In the merciless winter cold and summer heat, people experiencing homelessness routinely seek shelter by riding the subways to the end of the line stations where there is a longer layover. Outreach workers attempt to coax people into accepting shelter and other services but the overtures are typically rejected over and over again. The fact that someone would rather spend the day riding the subway back and forth instead of accepting shelter and medical care is an indictment on the entire system. As Comptroller, Justin will push for better mental health services, smarter outreach in the transit system to help those in crisis, changes to the involuntary removal and commitment rules, and more safe haven beds. He will also advocate for increased staffing of station agents and unarmed transit personnel, and ensure a visible police presence that focuses on deterrence and support rather than escalation. Finally, we need to be moving people suffering from serious mental illness off the subways and directly into permanent supportive housing. By combining smart investments with accountability, Justin will work to restore safety and trust in our subway system.

Justin believes the city’s pension funds must deliver steady, strong, and stable financial returns while reflecting the values of New Yorkers. As Finance Chair, he has fought to ensure city workers have a secure and dignified retirement, while also making investments in projects that benefit our communities. As Comptroller, Justin will prioritize investing in affordable housing, renewable energy, and initiatives that combat climate change. He will use the power of the city’s pension funds to drive progress, create good-paying jobs, and build a more equitable future, all while securing strong returns for the workers who keep our city running.

Justin has always believed that education is the great equalizer, and he has fought to expand opportunities for students, from preschoolers to PhD candidates. As a Council Member, Justin secured funding for the creation of seven brand new public schools in southern Brooklyn, including the first high school in Bay Ridge in 80 years. Justin knows that CUNY is a critical pathway to success for so many New Yorkers, providing affordable education and job training. As Comptroller, he will work to expand access to CUNY programs, ensuring they remain affordable and responsive to the needs of a changing workforce. By investing in CUNY, Justin will help prepare the next generation of New Yorkers for success.

Food insecurity remains a pressing issue in New York City, with many families struggling to put meals on the table. As Comptroller, Justin will prioritize city investments in programs that combat hunger, such as funding for food pantries, school meal programs, and urban agriculture initiatives. He will hold agencies accountable for delivering resources to communities in need.

Justin Brannan is committed to ensuring New York City’s investments drive equity, opportunity, and meaningful change. As Comptroller, Justin will champion initiatives to strengthen Minority Depository Institutions (MDIs), recognizing their critical role in providing banking services, loans, and access to capital in historically neglected communities. These institutions are vital to job creating, fostering small business growth, and building generational wealth in under-resourced neighborhoods. Justin also believes the city's pension funds should reflect the diversity of the city they serve. He is dedicated to bringing more women and people of color into the ranks of pension fund managers, ensuring that investment strategies benefit from a wide range of perspectives and expertise. By supporting MDIs and prioritizing inclusive investment practices, Justin will help grow opportunity, close wealth gaps, and lift up communities that have been overlooked for far too long.

New York City’s property tax system is outdated, unfair, and deeply inequitable. Working-class families in neighborhoods from Southeast Queens to Staten Island often pay three times the property taxes of owners of multimillion-dollar brownstones in Manhattan. As Comptroller, Justin will push for comprehensive reform to ensure a fairer, more transparent system that works for all New Yorkers. He will advocate for phasing out outdated caps on assessed value growth, creating new classifications for co-ops and condos, and implementing a property tax circuit breaker to ensure no one is overly burdened by their tax bill. These changes will ease the financial strain on working families, protect vulnerable homeowners, and bring fairness to a broken system that has long favored the wealthy few.

Access to reliable internet is no longer a luxury, it’s a necessity. With one in four NYC households still lacking fixed broadband and affordability remaining a significant barrier, Justin will take action as Comptroller to close the digital divide. He will ensure city investments prioritize expanding high-speed broadband to under-resourced communities and demand accountability from providers to deliver affordable, reliable internet. he will push for smarter contracts that address disparities in access and cost, ensuring students, small businesses, and families in every borough have the connectivity they need to thrive in today’s digital world.

Justin knows education is the key to New York City’s future. He will use the power of the Comptroller’s office to audit the New York City Department of Education and ensure every dollar spent enhances classrooms, supports teachers, and improves outcomes for students. He will work to expand school-based services like mental health support and after-school programs to better serve families and mandate arts and music instruction in every public school, ensuring students receive a well-rounded education.

Carter Cases place an extraordinary burden on families of students with disabilities and the private schools that serve them, as they often face significant delays in receiving payments for essential services. As Councilman, Justin introduced legislation to create a revolving loan fund that would provide interest-free, two-year loans to eligible private schools awaiting payments under settlement agreements or due process orders. This innovative approach ensures that schools can continue to support students with disabilities while waiting for reimbursement. As Comptroller, Justin will build on this work by ensuring the Department of Education manages Carter Case funds efficiently and transparently, reducing delays and ensuring families and schools get the support they need without unnecessary bureaucratic hurdles.

As a former small business owner and currently the husband of a small business owner, Justin knows better than most that our local mom & pop shops are truly the backbone of New York City’s economy. As Comptroller, Justin will ensure city contracts prioritize local businesses, especially those owned by women and minorities. He will audit and improve programs aimed at cutting red tape, providing grants, and ensuring storefronts stay open in neighborhoods across the city.

New York City has set laudable goals to increase M/WBE contracts but the challenges and disparities faced by these entrepreneurs have only gotten worse. M/WBEs are still being denied access to credit and capital from traditional lending institutions and investment banks. Companies run by women and minorities are often smaller and younger and already face significant hurdles when it comes to accessing and successfully obtaining government contracts. We must do more to help foster growth within the M/WBE community through bridging the gap of access to credit and capital. As Comptroller, Justin will work with trustees to mandate that 1% of city pension fund investments – as well as 1% of all fees paid by the city to banks, consulting firms, and other professional service providers – go towards a special lending and investment fund in order to close the credit and capital gap faced by New York City M/WBEs.

New York City spends billions of dollars annually on contracts to provide essential services, from maintaining infrastructure to supporting nonprofits. While the current Comptroller has taken important steps to identify gaps and propose reforms, there is more work to do to safeguard public dollars and ensure transparency. Justin is committed to building on these efforts by improving oversight of subcontractors, ensuring they are properly reviewed and disclosed to eliminate risks of corruption and nepotism. He will push for stronger safeguards in emergency and non-competitive procurement processes to prevent fraud and abuse, even in urgent situations.

Justin is committed to fully implementing initiatives like ContractStat, a long-overdue system to track delays and improve performance management, which the current Comptroller has championed. By expanding on this foundation, Justin will strengthen transparency, accountability, and public trust in how New York City manages its contracting processes.

Councilman Brannan has been a vegetarian for over 30 years. As an elected official, Justin has always championed healthy and sustainable food policies such as Meatless Mondays and Plant-Powered Fridays in NYC public schools and plant-based defaults in public hospitals. New York City can and must do more to ensure healthy communities and a sustainable climate for years to come. To combat climate change, Justin knows cities need to do more than just mandate cleaner fuels in buildings, and support infrastructure for cleaner forms of transportation like public transit, walking, and biking. Moving forward, any serious national debate on the environment must be centered around a comprehensive approach that includes curbing the consumption of meat. New York City is a center of consumption and we must look at the food we purchase for our schools, prisons, and hospitals as another tool in our arsenal to address climate change. We can lead the world through a forward-thinking approach to food policy reform by reducing meat consumption and mitigating the effects of climate change in the process.