Meet the NYC Mayoral Hopeful Who Says He’s Scandal-Free

Jim Walden, a long-shot independent candidate in New York City’s mayoral race, said he’s the best hope to defeat democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani because he’s untainted by scandal.

A litigator and former federal prosecutor, Walden is polling at just 1%, according to a recent Slingshot Strategies survey. But he insists he’ll break through by positioning himself as the best alternative to Mamdani rivals weighed down by investigations, indictments and controversies. He’s pledged to create a Department of Public Integrity empowered to investigate any city office, including the mayor’s.