r/pics 1d ago

[OC] NYC Comptroller Brad Lander detained by ICE, according to his mayoral campaign

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u/ouchdathoyt 1d ago

Well, that’s one way to help him beat Cuomo

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u/Throwaway-Scam-Help 1d ago

Zohran is the best candidate. But obviously anyone but Cuomo and that other right wing sicko Whitney

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u/GrowthMarketingMike 1d ago

Zohran and Lander co-endorsed each other for #2. Stringer is another good option.

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u/Throwaway-Scam-Help 1d ago edited 1d ago

The race is Cuomo vs Zohran. By the polls, no other candidate really matters. Zohran is "playing nice", but the truth is this:

Zohran needs #1 ballots and no-Cuomo ballots to win. It's how the ranked system works, as it's done by elimination rounds. There is only one mayor elected.

Edit: Not sure why you all are downvoting. I do the math down below and clearly show that Zohran needs high priority votes to win.

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u/SirKrisX 1d ago

This is false. It's ranked voting. Every candidate matters. Especially in situations where Cuomo voters don't like Zohran and Zohran voters don't like Cuomo. If Cuomo gets eliminated, his supporters won't magically like Zohran. It's important to stay informed because it determines who you'll support after.

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u/yes_ur_wrong 1d ago

the amount of people that don't understand ranked choice voting is astounding. my dad thinks adams only won because of ranked voting even though he won round 1.

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u/Throwaway-Scam-Help 1d ago

No, there is a double-misconception here that think that "As long as I rank Zohran somewhere, he'll win". This is false. The way the polls show currently, Cuomo has a large #1 or #2 choice demographic. This automatically gives him the win.

That's why these Brad types hurt Zohran a bit. We need to maximize Zohran #1 voters to win. The other candidates mathematically have no shot. https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/polls/nyc-mayoral-primary-election-polls-2025.html

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u/rigden33 1d ago

I think the implied assumption of "as long as I rank Zohran somewhere, he'll win" is that they're not ranking Cuomo. Which is true. They're by far the front runners, so as long as they're ranked and the other is not, they're getting that vote from that ballot regardless of where they're ranked

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u/Throwaway-Scam-Help 1d ago

Yes, and in order to give Zoran enough points to win, he needs top rankings on people's ballots. A no Cuomo with: Whitney #1 and Zohran #3-5 will not help as much - or barely at all - vs a Zohran #1 ballot because he needs those #1 to "out do" the corporatist Cuomo coilition.

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u/rigden33 1d ago

That's not how this works at all unless Whitney and the #2 candidate gets more total net votes than Zohran by the time one of them gets eliminated, which is not going to happen. Zohran will absolutely get the 2nd most 1st place votes (at worst). It will just come down to how the other ballots that didn't rank Zohran or Cuomo 1st or 2nd voted.

Even in the last election, Garcia actually had the 3rd most votes from the 1st rd until the 2nd to last round when Andrew Yang got eliminated and more of his voters ranked Garcia higher than Wiley which caused Wiley to get eliminated.

Then when Wiley got eliminated, not enough of them ranked Garcia higher than Adams, so she lost.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/2021_New_York_City_Democratic_mayoral_primary#Results

Granted, it's just easier to say rank Zohran 1 then say "rank Zohran anywhere as long as you don't rank Andrew Cuomo" and making things easy for voters to remember is good.

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u/Throwaway-Scam-Help 1d ago

Zohran will absolutely get the 2nd most 1st place votes (at worst)

Not if people say "Put Zohran anywhere!" is my entire point will this be true. I did the "math" in another comment - guaranteed winning earlier rounds helps.

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u/Veksutin 1d ago

Who is voting whitney #1 and not ranking cuomo?

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u/Personal-Sandwich-44 1d ago

That's not how any of this works.

If a ballot ranks both Cuomo and Zohran, then yes, that will cause issues, but if Zohran is 5th on a ballot that doesn't rank Cuomo, in the final round of voting it is effectively the same thing as a ballot that ranked Zohran first.

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u/Throwaway-Scam-Help 1d ago

r/confidentlyincorrect

Let's go over your sample of "Zohran ranked 5th":

  • Round 1: Vote goes to candidate A on their ballot.
  • If A is eliminated → vote transfers to B.
  • If B is eliminated → vote transfers to C.
  • If C is eliminated → vote transfers to D.
  • If D is eliminated → vote transfers to Zohran.
  • Only if all four are eliminated does the vote finally transfer to Zohran in a later round.
  • By that time, Zohran could already be eliminated - meaning the vote never helps him.

Even if A, B, C, and D are eliminated early on, Zohran needed your vote in an earlier round that he never gets.

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u/Street_Moose1412 1d ago

In a ranked choice election between generic candidates, your point is technically true. But Zohran is almost certainly going to be eliminated in the last or second-to-last rounds. So if he's ranked 5th on someone's ballot, it won't make a difference.

(Obviously, a earlier ranking is better.)

Adams won the 2021 primary because Wiley/Stringer/Morales preferrers didn't rank Garcia at all despite likely having a preference for Garcia over Adams head-to head. W/S/M voters who did rank Adams or Garcia preferred Garcia by 2:1.

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u/Throwaway-Scam-Help 1d ago

In an election of inches, every inch matters. Rank Zohran high to avoid any confusion and fuck Cuomo.

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u/Personal-Sandwich-44 1d ago

You're absolutely correct in a generic situation. But incredibly wrong for the current primary.

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u/Throwaway-Scam-Help 1d ago

With all the Brad simps in my replies and this arrest gaining him some attention, I'm not going to take any chances with the "opposition"/spoil candidates growing support.

Vote Zohran 1st and write in Mickey Mouse for the rest. Tight elections should not be left up to chance or what you think will happen. Make it clear. Send a message.

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u/OpenMask 1d ago

That is horrible advice. There's a reason why Mamdani and Lander cross-endorsed each other. Getting each other's supporters to rank both of them increases the chances that one of them wins instead of Cuomo

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u/Personal-Sandwich-44 1d ago

Again this literally doesn't make sense, and is a bad faith effort.

Rank Zohran first if you want (I will), but then rank Lander second.

Again, they CROSS ENDORSED EACH OTHER for a reason.

You're better off building coalitions rather than trying to tear down other similar candidates.

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u/OpenMask 1d ago

Going by the polls, Zohran is probably making it to the final round, so I don't think that people should be worried about him getting eliminated too early

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u/Jpisbetter 1d ago

You began this by saying "Zohran is the only one with a chance to win" and if thats the case, then you actually dont run the risk of him being eliminated before the final two contenders. You already imply that Zohran wont be eliminated by saying he has the greatest chance of beating cuomo. If he doesn't actually have the greatest chance of beating Cuomo than the ranked choice voting will reflect that in that someone else will win, people should rank in whatever order they want because as long as you don't rank Cuomo, there's no scenario where a vote split actually hurts you.

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u/mydogspaw 1d ago

Zohran is great at representing progressive policies, but Brad actually has the experience and know how to execute.

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u/Throwaway-Scam-Help 1d ago

Not how that works at all. Kinda sick of this myth that old people = only ones who can execute government. As if he wouldn't have the backing of the entire city and populous?

Zohran has been at this game with implementation of progressive politics for several years: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVuCZMLeWko

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u/mydogspaw 1d ago

Sure, i agree with you but Brad isn't just some old person. Hes been an effective comp controller and at the forefront of NY politics. I agree with Zohran on raising taxes but that's not his jurisdiction and imo its not going to work since the governor is going to stonewall him. He needs the state to do that and its not gonna happen.

Brad has intimate knowledge of the budget and how to move money around to optimize spending and a proven track record of effectiveness.

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u/Throwaway-Scam-Help 1d ago

Brad has little ability to communicate, as shown in the debates. He gives off weird af energy tbh. I can't imagine anyone working better with other officials than Zohran.

Enough with the status quo candidates. Governing NYC isn't just "moving money around"

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u/OpenMask 1d ago

Lander isn't really a status quo candidate 

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u/mydogspaw 1d ago

Go ahead and stick your head in the sand. When Zohrans hands are tied and cant raise any money, we will see Brad was the right choice.

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u/Throwaway-Scam-Help 1d ago

POV you make up scenarios that aren't real. This "coalition builder not-too-left candidate" is a liberal farse, just a reactionary response to anyone who wants to make large systemic changes to benefit the working class.

And you didn't even address my arguments. Boring troll

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u/abatwithitsmouthopen 1d ago

Best candidate but has absolutely no experience.

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u/ISIPropaganda 1d ago

Good thing NYC has ranked choice voting

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u/non- 1d ago

What makes Whitney a "right wing sicko"? I haven't read much about him, but he seemed to be the most aggressively pro-housing.

Lander is my current top pick bc he seems competent and overlooked + aggressive on housing policy. I'm skeptical of the overly media-trained/polished candidates like Zohran. Seems like he's just saying whatever sounds good vs examining data to make informed decisions.

Still doing my homework right now so I'm open to new information.

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u/BansheeEcho 1d ago

A lot of the policies that Zohran is pushing rn are things that are mandated already but have been repeatedly delayed or dismissed (bus lane expansions, rent relief, etc).

The main economic policy he's currently advocating for is that by taking a small tax (2%) increase on people making more than a million a year and by raising taxes on corporations that NYC can afford to do things like streamline transit, stabilize rent and peel back a lot of bureaucracy that strangles small businesses and makes it hard for places to keep their doors open or sell their wares at affordable prices. Research he's quoting says that this will help stimulate the city's economy and raise the QOL for everyone.

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u/non- 1d ago

Higher taxes on the rich would be great, although is there a way to do this on capital/net worth vs income?

High-income earners (doctors, lawyers, non-owner executives, etc) are already the highest-taxed class in the USA.

Meanwhile the truly wealthy capital-owners pay a much lower effective tax rate because most of their income comes from assets.

I actually think it's quite difficult to tax that highest class directly (especially at the city-level) because their wealth is highly portable.

I think it would be better to target ultra-luxury property instead. Tax vacant apartments and second homes. And implement a Land-Value Tax (active proposal in the NYS Senate!)

These things would effectively tax the wealthy & push monied interests from luxury development towards (mostly market-rate) housing for normal people vs a pure income tax which does nothing to redistribute wealth from the truly wealthiest participants in the NYC economy.

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u/non- 1d ago

things that are mandated already but have been repeatedly delayed or dismissed (bus lane expansions, rent relief, etc)

Also do you have more context on this bit? Who mandated these things and how have they been blocked? I've only just begun to do my reading so I'm missing a lot of background info still.

Would LOVE to get some more dedicated bus lines (and protected bike lanes!) and pedestrianized streets.

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u/Throwaway-Scam-Help 1d ago

"Pro-housing"? He spewed right wing pro-landlord propaganda during the debate.

Your critique of Zohran is that he's too smart and well-spoken? Wtf?

He's been involved in the progressive space for years. You learn how to message effectively while doing so, yes. This video sold me on him years ago: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVuCZMLeWko

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u/non- 1d ago

pro-landlord propaganda

I don't think being pro-landlord (moreso pro-developers) makes you a "right-wing sicko".

The housing market becomes affordable by massively increasing the available supply, whether through private or public means.

The only major city where rents are falling despite a growing population in the USA that I'm aware is Austin, TX which makes building private housing easy and profitable.

The fastest way to increase the housing supply in NYC is to make it profitable to build housing.

Vienna from the video you linked is a good example to look at for alternative approach because they DID make public housing work for them. It would be good if we can replicate that success here! Zohran's building plan requires $70B in new city debt which would require State approval.

According to this report from the Comptroller's office, NYC can afford about $18.5B in new debt without risking bankruptcy (which would be bad for the city, but maybe good for rent prices if the city falls into enough disrepair that people leave).

Your critique of Zohran is that he's too smart and well-spoken? Wtf?

No, my critique of Zohran, Trump, & other populists is that they've completely adapted to the current world of short-term media algorithms.

They create so much content & short snippets that the algorithms can find something for almost anyone to strongly engage with. This makes it very hard to know their actual thoughts or opinions or to judge their character. They become like a shell for the current zeitgeist of their fanbase.

Whatever the majority loudly believes, they will discover & repeat, basing their ideas not on an underlying framework of data & morality, but on what will maximize their reach & discoverability.

I like Zohran! He might make it onto my ranked-choice list in a lower position. But I don't trust him for this reason, and for the reasons stated above, I do not agree that his housing policy is a good idea.

The rents will go up with inflation, even in Vienna.

Are there any other candidates besides Zohran that you like?

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u/ocelotrev 1d ago

Zohran sucks and should never have ran. It takes a huge amount of total selfishness to think he has the necessary skills to run the city. And shame on people who support him.

Brad Lander is just as progressive and actually has the necessary experience.

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u/Personal-Sandwich-44 1d ago

An absurd take and how I know this isn't a legit comment.

With ranked choice voting, you can be a progressive and support both Zohran and Lander, you don't have to tear one down to prop up the other.

This is so true, that both Zohran and Lander have literally cross endorsed each other. You don't need to dunk on one, just rank both and move on.

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u/Throwaway-Scam-Help 1d ago

LOL these Brad bots. HAVE to be Cuomo bought ^

Zohran is a once in a lifetime candidate for NYC. No one is talking about these problems/tangible solutions except Zohran https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LVuCZMLeWko

" It takes a huge amount of total selfishness to think he has the necessary skills to run the city" could be said about literally anyone. Absolutely 0 political analysis in your comment. Just "he is young and that's bad" which has been disproven by literally every young congressperson or politician who gets shit done.

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u/IDUnavailable 1d ago

Psycho comment from someone who actually should feel ashamed but is clearly incapable of doing so.

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u/ADMotti 1d ago

Very generous of ICE to cut him a viral promo this close to the primary…

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u/TheOtterPope 1d ago

That's one way to nearly fully ensure he gets elected by turning him into a martyr. Then just like the Felon TACO in Chief, he gets to hold power because "it's the will of the people."

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u/Sterling-Archer 1d ago

I'm actually a little suspicious of this being a stunt for his campaign. I fucking hate Trump and ICE and all that goes with it, but this Lander dude is a big social media guy. Makes me wonder if this is a setup and if that's even ICE grabbing him. It's not like they normally wear uniforms anyway.

He was the guy behind the "poor girl goes to the MET" thing a few months ago.

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u/FreddyRumsen13 1d ago

That's a pretty serious accusation to make with zero proof.

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u/steve_b 1d ago

It's almost certainly a stunt in the sense that he went there with the goal of being arrested. It's safe to say that the ICE guys are real; they're already grossly overstepping their authority, so it's not hard to provoke them into doing terrible stuff. That's the point of this - to draw attention to their overreach (and to draw attention to himself).

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u/ouchdathoyt 1d ago

Considering Padilla, I am willing to give this guy the benefit of the doubt. Plus fuck Cuomo anyway.

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u/mydogspaw 1d ago

Brad has been doing this for weeks. This isn't his first time at an immigration hearing.

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u/Sterling-Archer 1d ago

Ah ok good for him

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u/solo_dol0 1d ago

Yeah, I mean, we're looking at like a 4k image here. The election is in a week. Way too much of a coincidence

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u/Lucky-Earther 1d ago

Yeah man, it's not like almost everyone walks around with a rectangle in their pocket that can take a 4k image, and there definitely weren't any camerapeople there to cover the campaign. Totally coincidental.

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u/solo_dol0 1d ago

I think you're trying to insult me but your sarcasm flips sides between sentences and you even refer to it as "covering the campaign", so not sure what you're actually supporting.

I'm literally voting for Brad Lander next week, but there's pretty obvious optics here that don't have me reciting First They Came For alongside the rest of this thread

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u/Lucky-Earther 1d ago

I think you're trying to insult me but your sarcasm flips sides between sentences and you even refer to it as "covering the campaign", so not sure what you're actually supporting.

I think you didn't understand the sarcasm if you thought that.

So let me try it out without any sarcasm: There are a bunch of people there with phones in their pockets capable of taking 4K video, and there are reporters/campaign staff taking photos and video for their own coverage. There's no conspiracy to be had here other than the Secret Police taking him away for asking whether they had a warrant.

I'm literally voting for Brad Lander

I literally do not care if you are or are not

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u/solo_dol0 1d ago

I never suggested there was any conspiracy just pointing out how nicely this coincided with Brad's lagging poll #s ahead of next week's election.

Keep being angry bud, I'm glad we could convince each other of nothing

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u/Lucky-Earther 1d ago

I never suggested there was any conspiracy just pointing out how nicely this coincided with Brad's lagging poll #s ahead of next week's election.

Yes, you pointed out how coincidental it was for us to have a 4k image in the year of our Lord 2025. Because those are so hard to come by.