Lefty NYC Comptroller Brad Lander backpedaling on various issues

He’s pulling a Kamala.The Big Apple’s avowed socialist Comptroller Brad Lander has retooled some of his most radical left-wing positions, as he gears up for a run in a possible special election in New York City, according to critics and his own public comments.Lander is one of several candidates waiting to see if Mayor Adams leaves office amid a federal indictment for bribery.

Unlike most city elections, there would be no primary, and the ballot would feature a menagerie of aspirants for the top job.The comptroller now appears to be hedging his bets after Vice President Harris received 600,000 fewer votes in NYC than President Biden in 2020.The most notable heel turn has come on taxes.Soaking the rich has been canon for Lander and his fellow socialists since the days of Lenin.

Lander himself has often invoked the mantra that the rich must “pay their fair share” throughout his political career.But during a Citizens Budget Commission hearing in September, Lander threw his own past proposal to raise personal income taxes on top earners under the bus. The comptroller insisted the idea had only been to temporarily relieve popular programs such as Universal Pre-K that faced funding shortfalls.On crime and policing, Lander was once a “defund the police” crusader.

While in the City Council he said, “I am fighting for $1 billion in cuts to the NYPD this year, and I am committed to voting no on a budget that does not make significant cuts to the NYPD.”But Lander struck a different tone in September, telling a gathering of the Association for a Better New York that “police are critical to prevent and respond to violence, get illegal guns off the streets, and solve crimes.” In his 2009, 2013, and 2017 campaigns, Lander was opposed to real estate developers and lobbyists.“NOT PAID FOR BY PACS, CORPORATE LOBBYISTS OR DEVELOPERS,” his City Council website once blared.However, the issue is no longer mentioned on his campaign donation site.

Lander has r...