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He may be running against candidates with considerably more experience in elected office, but Brian Ellner said he thinks he’s the most qualified to be borough president.

Among Ellner’s competitors: three State Assembly members, one former and three current City Council members. But Ellner insisted experience in political office is not the important measure.

“We need to pushing the boundaries of progressive politics,” he said. He contrasted the progressive values held by New Yorkers with what he said were the reluctant agendas of Manhattan politicians. The disparity, he said, helped him decide to run for borough president despite his relative inexperience.

According to Ellner, who was president of Community School Board 2 or five years, Manhattan needs a leader who will provide “out of the box, courageous, progressive thinking.” He believes this will preserve the vibrancy and diversity of the borough which have been jeopardized largely by the failure of elected officials to respond to emerging crises.

Most New Yorkers, he said, believe in his vision of “the soul of the city,” but their wishes have been left unfulfilled.

Naming Robert Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr., and Bill Clinton as role models, he said that any great politician must be courageous, “speak from the heart, and talk about the uncomfortable and the unpopular.” As borough president, he said, he would start with addressing the inequalities north of 96th Street and fighting for marriage equality. Ellner plans to take on the high pollution rates in Harlem, while working to level the disproportionately high number of people with HIV in the neighborhood.

“We’re lacking that courage,” said Ellner, referring to the reluctance of current officials to address such critical issues.

Ellner, a graduate of Dartmouth College and Harvard Law School, also said that he would fight Albany for the money that is owed to the city school system as part of the Campaign for Fiscal Equity lawsuit. Using his work on Community School Board 2 as a model, he also advocates increased parental involvement, stronger training for teachers and principles, a greater focus on reducing harassment in schools, and smaller class sizes.

“We need to stop viewing high schools as warehouses, and start viewing them as places to mold young minds,” he said.

Doug Robinson, who served as vice president of Community School Board 2 under Ellner, recalled his leadership in bridging the barrier between the board and parents. He also praised Ellner for spearheading a number of initiatives that benefited the LGBT community in local schools, such as leading the campaign to withdraw school support the Boy Scouts, which excludes gays and lesbians.

“He did the kind of grassroots stuff that a good leader needs to do,” Robinson remarked.

Ellner, who campaigned for Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry in three swing states last year, also listed the high cost of housing as a pressing issue. Ellner said he would not have been able to grow up in Manhattan were it not for rent-stabilized housing in Stuyvesant Town. He wants to shift control over affordable housing away from Albany and into the hands of local officials.

Additionally, he hopes to increase housing for artists, police officers, firefighters, and educators, which he thinks could increase the 60-percent three year retention rate for city teachers.

As one of two openly gay candidates, with Council Member Margarita Lopez being the other, Ellner expects to carry a significant portion of the LGBT community. But he said he’s also eager to build bridges across the borough and believes that he is the appropriate candidate for anyone who shares his progressive values. Ellner marched alongside Rev. Al Sharpton at the most recent Gay Pride Parade. He said that showed how people throughout Manhattan share progressive concerns, despite how different they may appear.

A great borough president must channel the concerns of these people throughout Manhattan and have the courage to stand up for them, he said, adding that this is what makes him feel he is the right candidate for the job.

“I’m running,” he said, “because I love this city.”