There are many local elections in New York and beyond where community concerns are overshadowed by national political issues. City Council races and even school board elections can become proxy battles over Israel or President Trump.

In New York City, the Democratic primary for comptroller is a rare instance when reckoning with the actions of the Trump administration is not just political virtue-signaling but part of the job description.

The two leading candidates, Mark Levine, the Manhattan borough president, and Justin Brannan, a Brooklyn city councilman, have placed Mr. Trump at the center of their campaigns for a job focused on overseeing the city’s pension funds and auditing its agencies.

With the Trump administration clawing back federal funds from New York City and threatening to cut other funding streams, Mr. Levine is calling for a billion-dollar increase to the reserves, while Mr. Brannan says he would push the city to aggressively challenge federal funding cuts in court, if necessary.

“I’m not conjuring up Trump to evoke emotion,” said Mr. Brannan, who added that his experience as the chairman of the Council Finance Committee makes him uniquely qualified for the job.

“He actually has got his nose in our business,” Mr. Brannan said of the president. “And I think anyone that is running for citywide office should be talking about what are you going to do to stand up to this guy.”