Rajkumar jumps from comptroller to public advocate race

Queens Assemblymember Jenifer Rajkumar is shifting from a bid for the city’s comptroller to a campaign to be its next public advocate. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

By Ryan Schwach

Queens Assemblymember and omnipresent Mayor Eric Adams ally Jenifer Rajkumar is running for public advocate, shifting away from a bid for the city’s comptroller as she appeared to be lagging in the crowded race.

On Monday, Rajkumar, who represents areas of South Queens in the State Assembly, announced a run for public advocate, just a little over five months since she officially announced a run for comptroller.

The move signals a major shift for Rajkumar, who struggled to gain traction in the race for the city’s money manager in a crowded field and grappled with lesser campaign funding as Adams, her pseudo-running mate, became increasingly unpopular.

In shifting to public advocate, she enters a far less crowded race, but one that features an incumbent in Jumaane Williams.

With the shift, Rajkumar moves into a race for a position more likely to fit her political bona fides as a civil rights lawyer and local elected, experts told the Eagle. However, those same observers argue she needs to get back into the public eye and stand on her own to regain momentum and support from her base.

“I am stepping up to be the public advocate for the city I love,” said Rajkumar in a statement announcing the move. “Our city is facing a crisis of governance and can no longer afford the out-of-touch agenda of extremists like Jumaane Williams. Instead, we need proven fighters who will focus on the issues that all New Yorkers care about. From attacking the cost-of-living crisis to restoring public safety on our streets and on our subways, I’m excited to bring bold, results-driven leadership to our city.”

Rajkumar had leaped into the comptroller's race early on, becoming the first serious candidate to enter the field last August. Just a few days later, Brooklyn Councilmember Justin Brannan joined the race, followed a few months later by Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine.

In the beginning, she led in campaign funding with a head start on her opponents and a push from her closest ally in Adams.

But as federal indictments and a schism with the Democratic Party over his newfound kinship with President Donald Trump beared down on the mayor, Rajkumar’s momentum also appeared to slow.

As of this month, Rajkumar was trailing Levine and Brannan in campaign funding.

In the last filing period, she brought in $160,000, about $50,000 less than Brannan and $60,000 less than Levine.

She has also struggled to get notable endorsements as big backers fell behind her opponents.

Rajkumar on Monday rolled out her new campaign Monday during an interview on Spectrum News and in an op-ed in City & State. She took aim at Williams and repeated worries about the city’s mental health crisis, which Adams has focused on in recent months.

“There's been nightmarish crimes on our subways, a mental health crisis that is spiraling out of control, and I'm here to bring fresh energy and leadership to our city,” she said.

Rajkumar also said she was drawn to the position of public advocate, a relatively new city government position that is largely what the office holder makes of it.

“I'm so happy to be running this position, because it's a broader platform that will allow me to use my passions and skills and all the tools I have for the people in New York,” the former civil rights lawyer said on Spectrum.

Jenifer Rajkumar, who represents South Queens, has positioned herself as a strong ally of Mayor Eric Adams. Eagle photo by Ryan Schwach

Political strategist Lupe Todd-Medina thinks it’s a good move for the legislator.

“It's not a bad idea, it is probably better,” she told the Eagle on Monday.

“I think originally, she probably was saying to herself, ‘I stand a better chance because it's an open seat [for comptroller],’ but then so many people chose to run for that seat,” she said.

While Rajkumar said her move was rooted in the office itself, Todd-Medina said it’s likely that she calculated that the move would also be better for her political future.

“It's not really about the seat, but rather an opportunity,” she said.

In a statement to the Eagle, a spokesperson for Rajkumar's campaign defended the move.

"Whereas Comptroller confined her to fiscal issues, as public advocate she will be able to use her full range of skills to address the mental health crisis, public safety, and affordability," the spokesperson said. "The opportunity to step up for the city she loves is an opportunity she has always taken – a mark of her deep commitment and dedication.”

Although Rajkumar is running in a less crowded race, her opponent is well-regarded across the Democratic political spectrum.

“She's gonna have a hard time, Jumaane is a popular citywide elected official,” Todd-Medina said. “He stays in the good graces of not only working working families and working New Yorkers, but with our communities of color, which tend to be more moderate.”

Rajkumar currently has more campaign cash than Williams, but that could soon change now that the progressive Brooklyn resident has a legitimate primary opponent to fundraise against.

In the last year, Rajkumar – along with her trademark red dress – has gone out of her way to align herself with Adams, appearing at events far from her district and pushing the mayor’s agenda in Albany. From early on in that political alliance, it was clear to experts she was seeking a higher office, for better or for worse.

“She wasn't out front and center,” Todd-Medina said. “I would say as the only woman in the race, I did not need to see her standing behind the mayor. If you're going to be the only woman in the race and step forward, I didn't see that.”

In her Monday morning interview with longtime anchor Pat Kiernan, Rajkumar argued that Williams – who she incorrectly described as a Democratic Socialist – has taken more of a rhetorical approach to the seat.

“[Williams] has bought a lot of extremist and divisive views such as defunding the police at a time when New Yorkers care so much about public safety, and he's been out of touch with New Yorkers,” she said, also criticising him for his positions against abortion and gay marriage, stances he has mostly reversed.

In response to his new opponent, Williams’ campaign sent a statement boasting new endorsements from Queens representatives and elected officials, including Borough President Donovan Richards, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and a list of other legislators.

"I am incredibly honored to have the support of this dynamic and diverse group of Queens-based elected officials who fight for a wide range of economic, environmental, and social justice issues on behalf of New Yorkers," said Williams.

Most of Rajkumar’s base is in Queens, particularly its South Asian community. She is a local of the borough who often highlights her background as a first-generation immigrant, a relatable story for many in Queens.

Rajkumar was the first South Asian woman ever elected to the state legislature when she won the race for the Richmond Hill seat in 2020.

However, her travels with the mayor has in some way caused her to lose favor with some of the voters who elected her in the first place.

Rajkumar was criticized last year by Queens Community Board 9 Chair Sherry Algredo for being absent in the community's fight against illegal smoke shops.

“We would love to work with her, however, we have been excluded,” Algredo told the Eagle the same day Rajkumar announced a bill that ultimately contributed to the city’s boosted enforcement against the illegal pot stores last year. “She says in her statement that she's worked with community leaders, I have not heard from her office personally.”

Jenifer Rajkumar is running against incumbent Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. File photo via New York City Public Advocate/Flickr 

More recently, Algredo has maintained that she has a good relationship with the assemblymember and her office.

Aminta Kilawan-Narine, founder of the South Queens Women’s March who operates in and around Rajkumar’s district, questioned Rajkumar’s move, which she said she sees as more of a strategic pivot.

“I'm sure she's thought about what would be most strategic in her view, and that must have factored into her decision to run for public advocate,” she said. “She is arguably more of a centrist, if not more potentially leaning on the right than on the left, and perhaps that is factoring into why she's running for public advocate to distinguish herself in that way.”

While Rajkumar’s politics have shifted away from the progressive policies she ran on to start her political career in Manhattan as a district leader years ago, her identity has helped her keep support in the South Asian community.

It’s likely to be something she relies on in the coming race.

“She's very much welcomed in cultural spaces in my community, and it's because we don't have very many South Asian elected officials at all,” Kilawan-Narine said.

In an op-ed in City & State on Monday launching her new campaign, Rajkumar returned to a common personal description of a first generation immigrant who made roots in Queens with aspirations of placing a strong foothold in the world’s most diverse city – one she hopes can help her once again.

“My mom was born in a mud hut in India and my parents came to this country with $300 and a suitcase in search of the American Dreamm” she wrote. “Like so many others, they found it in Queens — a launching pad to education, opportunity, and jobs. That promise of upward mobility must remain alive in every corner of the city. It should be guarded from threats of violence and inflation, from apathy and laziness.”

Petitioning to get on the ballot for the summer primaries starts next month.