‘I voted for you because Jews are good with money’: Mark Levine on running for comptroller

After winning the Democratic primary, Levine will in all likelihood assume the position of comptroller in January, making him the highest-ranking Jewish official in city government. Photo by Joseph Strauss

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(JTA) — Mark Levine, the Jewish politician who’s expected to be New York City’s next comptroller, has heard it all. 

Having served two terms on City Council and one as Manhattan borough president, Levine said he’s experienced overt antisemitism on the campaign trail, going back to his first-ever campaign in 2001. Sometimes, he said, it has come with a friendly sheen.

“I’m voting for you because Jews are good with money,” one New Yorker told him this year.

After winning the Democratic primary, Levine will in all likelihood assume the position of comptroller in January, making him the highest-ranking Jewish official in city government. The comptroller, who is the city’s top financial manager, is often seen as a check on the mayor — a dynamic that many anticipate will play out if Zohran Mamdani, who, unlike Levine, supports divesting from Israel bonds, wins the mayoral election.

In a wide-ranging conversation in Lower Manhattan, Levine talked about how he’d work with the city’s next mayor, why the Jewish community needs to build more coalitions, and his deep love of pickles.

This interview has been lightly edited for length and clarity.

First off, I’m curious: You speak a number of different languages, including Hebrew. When did you learn Hebrew?

Not until I was an adult. I had what you absorb by osmosis as a kid, but I really began a concerted effort to study, probably by the time I hit 30. I reconnected to family in Israel, and I forbade them speaking to me in English so that I could really force myself to improve. It’s been a really enriching part of my Jewish journey to emerge as a conversant Hebrew speaker, who’s able to watch the news in Hebrew, some social media in Hebrew. 

And when you forbade family to speak to you in English – were you living with them in Israel?

No, just on visits. I’ve never actually lived there, but I’ve had the chance to visit many times.

For some, there’s a new sense that comes with speaking Hebrew in public, where one might feel more comfortable whispering —

— After Oct. 7?

Yes, and I’m curious how you think about that when you speak Hebrew?

The sad reality is that outward signs of Israeliness and Jewishness now are often met with hostility. A symbol as simple as a Jewish star. And I think it’s been a source of a lot of trauma for Jewish New Yorkers. 

I remember after Putin invaded Ukraine, there were hostile acts directed to Russian cultural sites in New York, and I made a big show one night of going to eat at a Russian restaurant, to say that we can separate out our love for Russian culture and cuisine and language and Russian people in New York, from our objections to the actions of the Russian government.

We are living through that same challenge right now with Israeli and Jewish culture. It’s critical that people are able to separate objections to the Israeli government — which I myself have — and the willingness to still embrace so much of what’s beautiful about Israeli culture and the Hebrew language and the Jewish people. But sadly there are people who are failing to make that distinction.

I want to talk about your potential next job. What are your top priorities as New York City’s next comptroller?

This is a more important job than most people realize. It’s the second most powerful job in the city government, with major influence over the fiscal and economic health of the city. It is overseeing a $300 billion pension fund — one of the largest institutional investment funds on earth. [The comptroller] also oversees issuances of debt, $100 billion debt. Managing cash for the city, $15 billion in cash. I mean, these numbers are almost hard to wrap your head around. New York City government will not function well unless you have a well-run comptroller’s office. And as we’re entering into difficult economic circumstances, the stakes are much higher. 

Also a very important component of the role is to bring accountability to the mayor, to support the mayor when they do the right thing, and push back when that’s necessary. And I plan on using those powers to fight for the city, fight for the economy, for the budget, and to stand up for the Jewish community, too.

How are you thinking about working with the two frontrunners in the mayoral election, Zohran Mamdani and Andrew Cuomo?

In either case, the comptroller must be totally independent. And to me what independence means is that you are both helping them succeed for the sake of the city, and also that you won’t hesitate to push back and bring accountability when that’s necessary. I don’t think a comptroller should wake up every morning and say that I’m automatically going to oppose or automatically going to support the mayor. I think it has to be based on the merits. Whoever the mayor is, that’s going to be my approach.

Where do you envision yourself not seeing eye-to-eye with the frontrunners in the mayoral election? Let’s start with Cuomo.

I’m not sure about specific policy differences, but I will hold the next mayor — including Andrew Cuomo — to the highest ethical standards. And I plan to use the powers of audit to get inside city agencies to make sure they are delivering for people. That is not necessarily a left-right question, but there has to be accountability whoever the next mayor is.

And with Mamdani?

We have articulated different positions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. And I don’t believe that has to interfere with policy on transportation, sanitation. I think mostly the core functioning of government is more technocratic, if you will. It’s just about delivering good services in a way that is transparent and gets the most for taxpayer dollars. 

I’m sure you’re going to ask about Israel bonds, and I was clear in the campaign that, in a globally diversified portfolio which has probably more than 10,000 different investments and stocks and bonds and more, that that should have a place because it’s a long-term safe and secure investment. That’s an issue that we would have a difference on, for sure.

The city’s current comptroller, Brad Lander, did not reinvest in Israel bonds in 2023 and has said that past comptrollers invested in Israel bonds for political reasons, rather than fiduciary reasons. Do you view that at all as a political decision?

Israel bonds have never missed a payment in 80 years. They pay excellent interest. They are a very sound investment. And a good, diversified portfolio should allocate a component to Israel bonds. It’s what every comptroller going back to Abe Beame has done in New York City in the ‘70s, what almost every pension fund in America does even today. I think it is a sound financial move.

While Mamdani has said he wants to permanently end the city’s investment in Israel bonds, he has stopped short of calling for a complete divestment from Israeli businesses — but some constituents worry that that remains a possibility if he becomes mayor. How plausible is it that a mayor could divest from Israeli companies entirely, and could a comptroller get in the way of that?

There’s been a lot of discussion about Israel bonds, but we have approximately $300 million of other forms of investments in Israel equity, real estate, et cetera. It’s actually much more significant of an investment than Israel bonds were, even at their peak.

As for the governance structure, the comptroller has outsized influence over the investment decisions that we make, because we have a large in-house Bureau of Asset Management that makes recommendations to the boards of each of our pension funds. The comptroller also serves as the trustee. The mayor has only one vote. And there’s no real track record of the mayor driving significant investment decisions in our pension funds, for that reason. It’s generally led by the comptroller, in consultation with municipal labor trustees.

So, in terms of the plausibility of what a mayor could actually do —

[The mayor] certainly couldn’t act singlehandedly. Just doesn’t have the votes for that.

Have you met with Mamdani and Cuomo, and what have those conversations looked like, particularly with regards to Jewish issues?

Haven’t met with Gov. Cuomo. Met once with Assemblymember Mamdani. I talked to him about the trauma that many Jewish New Yorkers are feeling right now as antisemitism has risen in New York City — more hate crimes are directed to Jewish New Yorkers than all other categories combined. And as we’ve seen violent acts this year in D.C. and Colorado, people are rightly and understandably fearful about those trends. I shared with him what New Yorkers are feeling, and what they’re expecting their city government does to keep them safe.

In terms of your personal Jewishness, where do you and your family go to synagogue?

Our home base has been a Reform congregation in Washington Heights called Hebrew Tabernacle, historically a Jewish German congregation. Dr. Ruth Westheimer, may her memory be a blessing, had been a stalwart member since, gosh, the ‘70s, maybe even before. That’s where my kids did Hebrew school, two boys, and where they were bar mitzvah’d. And they went to a URJ camp as well.

I’m a shul hopper. I hit everything from Chabad to Reconstructionist, and everything in between. Partly because I enjoy the richness of the diversity of all the forms of Jewish liturgy, but also as a Jewish borough president, I think it’s important for me to show up. And particularly since Oct. 7, I’ve made a real effort to be present in synagogues all across Manhattan, of all types. I think there’s been a real hunger for that type of connection. 

What’s your favorite place to get Jewish food?

I like good old-fashioned Jewish deli food. I am practically a pickle addict. If there was an entire tub here, I could eat the whole thing. I love — I still call it Ben’s — it’s now called Mr. Broadway, in the Garment District. It’s just a classic Jewish deli where, when you sit down, before you order, there’s a plate of pickles on the table.

You grew up in Maryland. What years did you live there, and was there much of a Jewish community?

I was there from age 2 to 18. I was not so Jewishly involved at that phase in my life, it was mostly through going to cousins’ bar mitzvahs and stuff. I became more active in synagogue life as an adult, so an unusual path. But there are a lot of Jews in Columbia, Maryland. I had a lot of Jewish friends and classmates, enough so I never felt isolated. And enough that I didn’t have to endure a lot of overt antisemitism.

When have you encountered overt antisemitism?

My first real encounter with overt, old-fashioned antisemitism was the first time I ran for office, in 2001, where I was directly told by voters they wouldn’t vote for me because I was Jewish. That was kind of a shock to the system, and I realized how insulated I had been growing up in Columbia, and even being a young adult in New York City. Politics in New York is still very tribal, even in 2025. And there was no escaping it. It also pushed me to get more involved Jewishly — I kinda realized, if they’re going to hate me for it, let me understand what this is all about.

By the way, I encountered philosemitism in that campaign, too. I had echoes of that through to my comptroller’s race, where there were people who made it clear — sometimes in ugly ways, sometimes in more positive ones — that my Jewish identity influenced their vote. Up to and including being told, literally, “I’m voting for you because Jews are good with money.” This actually occurred on the streets of New York City in 2025.

You mentioned that New York City politics are tribal. Can you talk more about what that means?

We still think about voting blocs as defined by ethnicity and demography here, and it’s always more complicated than that. I desperately want this to be a city where we have more coalitions that bring people together, and more leaders who are willing to do that often very difficult work. 

The Jewish community’s not doing enough coalition building in politics. I have talked to a lot of leaders. My message is: If you wait until there’s a crisis to try and partner with non-Jewish communities, it’s too late. Build those relationships before it’s a crisis. So the synagogue and the Black church should have an effort to provide meals on Thanksgiving to hungry families, or clean up a neglected park. Build those ties so that then when there’s a racist attack or antisemitic attack, and the community needs to come together, we have existing relationships.

On this idea of building coalitions — what was your thinking in endorsing Mamdani early on after his victory in the primary? And how are you thinking about fellow Democrats who haven’t gotten there?

I am a proud Democrat. I stated very clearly before we knew the results of the primary that I would endorse the Democratic nominee for mayor, and I stood by that. I also happen to think that he is highly likely to win, and I think it’s important that the Jewish community have a relationship with the next mayor.

I’m not going to criticize other leaders, everyone’s on their own timeline. I expect there are more endorsements coming for him. That doesn’t mean we don’t have policy differences. And it doesn’t mean I won’t be ready to push back, because I’m up for that if necessary.