Brian Benjamin

Benjamin is a NY State Senator who represents the 30th District of Harlem. Benjamin started out his career in finance as an investment advisor for Merril Lynch, but he left after a few years to work with his own organizations and campaign for President Barak Obama in 2007. In 2010, Benjamin became a managing partner at Genesis Companies, a real estate firm that also helped build affordable housing in Harlem. Benjamin also became the chair of Community Board #10 in Harlem in 2016, and the following year was elected as a senator.    

What stands out: Benjamin claims that his experience working in the financial private sector and as a member of Obama’s National Finance Committee equips him to take on NYC's fiscal challenges. Benjamin claims he can help NYC's pensions reach their mandated 7% returns, and if this goal isn't met, the city should chip in. Given his background in real estate, Benjamin is also a proponent of creating more affordable housing for New Yorkers and likes the idea of converting vacant hotels as a means for the homeless and those living in poverty. He would also like to significantly audit the NYPD to determine what parts of the NYPD budget are necessary as Brian is a supporter of "defunding the police." Some controversy surrounds him: Benjamin’s former company Genisis Companies was accused of stealing money from investors, and some tenants from the affordable housing program complained about the services they received. Benjamin claims he in an unpaid role when these accusations were made. His current campaign is also dealing with a straw donor scandal that they are "looking into." He also came under fire in Jan 2021 for sitting on the board of a company whose CEO was tied to overseeing subprime loans in 2008 at Morgan Stanley, although Benjamin claims he had no involvement in their role in 2008. 

Learn More About His Policies Here

Corey Johnson

Johnson is the current Speaker of the New York City Council, a position he was elected to in 2019. Johnson got his start in NYC politics after joining Manhattan Community Board 4 in 2004. In 2011, he was elected as the youngest ever Chair of Manhattan Community Board 4. Johnson was subsequently elected to City Council Manhattan's District 3 in 2013. ​

​What stands out: Johnson has been referred to rising star progressive who was even considered to be a popular mayoral candidat, before dropping out in September due to mental health issues. Johnson revealed he'd been suffering from depression, some of which stemmed from the abuse he received on the left for not making good on efforts to "defund the police." However, Johnson has maintained that many members of City Council were involved in the decision. Despite the criticism, he has touted his budgetary achievements by successfully challenging Mayor DiBlasio's attempts at social security cuts and implementing programs such as Fair Fares. Johnson has also pushed for criminal justice reform and believes cuts should be made to the NYPD budget. He claims he "fought against balancing our budget at the expense of our children and our seniors, at the expense of the homeless and the hungry.” As City Council Speaker, Johnson claims he knows NYC's budget "inside and out," which is was prepares him to be NYC's Comptroller. 

​Learn more about his policies here:  https://www.coreyfornyc.com/

Kevin Parker

Parker is currently a NY State Senator representing the 21st district of Brooklyn, to which he was elected in 2002. He is also currently the Majority Whip and Chair of the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications. Parker has also served as Special Assistant to Comptroller H. Carl McCall. 

What stands out: Parker claims his experience as a lifelong NY politician and work for the Committee on Energy and Telecommunications and NY Finance and Banking Committees is what equips him to be NYC's Comptroller. While Parker does believe in increasing taxes for multi-millionaires, he does not believe New York should “tax our way out of this crisis.” Parker would also like to focus on investing NY's pension funds into NY owned businesses. He is also of the belief that the NYPD needs to be audited in order to provide more transparency as to where police budget dollars are going. He also believes to reduce crime and gang activity that there should be more investment in extra-curricular and after-school activities. Parker also has a fair amount of controversy surrounding himself with a history of verbal and physical assault. Parker has been charged for such instances but avoided jail time. A few examples include punching a traffic officer in 05', pushing his aide Lucretia John to the ground in 08', and assaulting a photographer in 09'.

Learn more about his policies here: https://kevinparker2021.com/ 

Michelle Caruso

Cabrera

Caruso-Cabrera started off her career in journalism, eventually making her way to CNBC where she became an anchor in 01'. Caruso-Cabrera was eventually named "Chief International Correspondent" and stayed with CNBC for almost two decades before leaving in 2018 to join a private equity firm named Beneficient. In 2019, Caruso-Cabrera ran in the 2020 Democratic Primary for New York's 14th Congressional District but lost to incumbent Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

What stands out: Caruso-Cabrera points to her lengthy career at CNBC as a lead anchor and financial analyst as to why she'd be a strong candidate to take on New York's fiscal challenges. While Caruso-Cabrera has mentioned her desire to reduce NYC's budget, she has also stated her desire to allocate more resources to low-income minority neighborhoods. Despite being a registered Democrat, Caruso-Cabrera was a registered Republican up until 2016. In 2010 she released a book titled "You Know I'm Right: More Prosperity, Less Government," where she advocated to get rid of social security and Medicare. Cabrera recently clarified her stance on social security and Medicare, tweeting "I support Medicare and social security-its important to take care fo the most vulnerable. Medicare for all is taking health insurance away from people who have health insurance that they already like." Caruso-Cabrera has also slammed the public school system's lack of quality and competition, consequently advocating for school vouchers that would give taxpayer dollars directly to families, who could then decide which schools they want to send their kids to — private or public.  ​

Learn more about his policies here:  https://mccforny.com/issues/

Daby Carreras

Carreras has been a Private Wealth Manager for Spartan Capital LLC for over 10 years. Daby has also developed a non-profit named BRANDO, which focuses on addressing health issues such as kidney disease, diabetes, and obesity. Carreras has also founded the Oscar Garcia Rivera Republican Club, and started a consulting company named Drain the Swamp LLC, which focuses on helping to improve the political climate in NYC. Daby has also run for City Council, State Assembly, and previously served as the VP of the Manhattan Republican Party.

What Stands Out: Carreras claims that as a Private Wealth Manager for over a decade he's gained insight into what he calls the "two types of Wall Street." One referring to the mainline institutional Wall Street that the everyday New Yorker can get involved with, and another that caters specifically to the wealthy. In order to address this issue, Carreras would like to create and issue bonds specific to individuals who live in NYC.

https://votedaby.com/

Reshma Patel

Patel is a financial advisor to issuers of municipal bonds. Patel has also worked in data analytics, public finance and e-commerce. Additionally, she's also the president of the Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club of Manhattan, Co-Chair of Chhaya Community Development Corporation, which helps immigrant communities disproportionately affected by COVID-19, and the Vice-Chair of the Budget and Government Affairs Committee on Manhattan's Community Board 6.

What Stands Out: Through her experience as a financial advisor to issuers of municipal bonds, Patel points to having worked with NYC's Comptroller's office on a daily basis even conducting staff training sessions. In this role, Patel helped create the New York City Transitional Finance Authority, which increased NYC's capacity to issue bond for capital projects. Through this program, Patel claims to worked on over $40 billion worth of project financing for NYC. Patel's role also required her to come up with and implement ideas to minimize borrowering costs and create savings. Patel believes that the recent pandemic has highlight the city's need to innovate it's existing infrastructure, and as a result Patel has pointed to implementing Blockchain as a method to protect the pensions of our City’s retirees and fix what she calls "a broken procurement system." Patel also claims that NYC's current banking system has disproportionately affected low income minority neighborhoods, and as a result she would like to explore expanding Comptroller Scott Stringer's "Take it to the Bank" initiative which aims to have access to financial services by creating a bank account, or reviewing the existing one they have in place. Patel would also like to preserve and increase the amount of green spaces in NYC, especially in lower income areas, by auditing the NYC Parks Department which according to a report by Comptroller Stringer points to mismanagement.

https://www.reshma2021.com/