City Councilman Keith Powers has registered to run for Manhattan borough president next year, becoming the first candidate to mount a 2025 campaign for the post.
Mark Levine, the incumbent Manhattan borough president, filed paperwork last week to run for city comptroller in 2025, leaving the BP spot up for picking in next June’s Democratic primary elections. Levine’s announcement, in turn, came after incumbent Comptroller Brad Lander declared he’s running against Mayor Adams next year, an announcement that’s causing ripple effects up and down the 2025 ballot.
Powers, who spoke to the Daily News exclusively about his bid to succeed Levine, said he opened up a Manhattan BP account with the city Campaign Finance Board over the weekend, allowing him to start raising money for the 2025 run.
“I love Manhattan unequivocally and want to make sure that we’re building a better future for everyone from Battery Park to Washington Heights,” Powers said. “Whether it’s preserving affordable housing, helping small businesses, investing in local parks, or tackling quality of life issues, I am proud of what we’ve achieved in the City Council and want to continue that work across Manhattan.”
Powers said he has already lined up contracts to have Red Horse Strategies, Global Strategy Group, Dynamic SRG and political consultant Alex Navarro-McKay work on his BP campaign. The three firms and Navarro-McKay all have experience working on borough president races.
Powers is likely to need to hit the fundraising trail, as he has less than $60,000 in his Council campaign coffers. He’ll likely be able to roll most of that over into his BP account.
LEVINE
Shawn Inglima/for New York Daily News Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine. (Shawn Inglima/for New York Daily News)
It remains to be seen whether any other politicians will mount bids for Manhattan BP. Sources have said state Sen. Brad Hoylman, State Assemblyman Alex Bores, State Assemblywoman Grace Lee and State Assemblywoman Linda Rosenthal are also considering BP runs.
Powers, who has represented a slice of Manhattan’s East Side in the Council since 2018, can’t run for another four years in the legislative chamber when his term is up at the end of 2025 due to term limits.
Powers served as the Council’s majority leader between January 2022 and this past January, when Speaker Adrienne Adams tapped Bronx Councilwoman Amanda Farias to take over that role.
Since then, Powers has served as chair of the Council’s Rules Committee, which is in charge of confirming certain mayoral nominations. He’s expected to play a prominent role in the confirmation hearings this month on the mayor’s controversial nomination of Giuliani administration alum Randy Mastro to become the city’s next top attorney.
Powers’ legislative record in the Council includes crafting a bill passed in late 2023 that prohibits landlords from running criminal background checks on prospective tenants. Powers and other supporters of the bill have argued such background checks result in housing discrimination against renters with criminal histories.
Beyond the BP race, Powers’ announcement carries consequences for other races on the 2025 ballot.
In announcing he’s running to succeed Levine, Powers puts pressure on the incumbent BP to stick with his comptroller aspirations rather than run for reelection. A source close to Levine told The News last week he’s not yet all in on the comptroller bid and could still shift gears and run for reelection.
The ripple effect from Powers’ announcement could also impact the 2025 mayoral race, as Levine staying in the comptroller race would make it tougher for Lander to drop his campaign to challenge Adams. Last month, Lander declined to absolutely rule out the prospect of running for reelection instead should things not pan out with his mayoral bid.
