It’s official. Adrienne Adams is running for New York City mayor. With her announcement on Thursday, the City Council speaker joined a growing list of candidates, including former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Mayor Eric Adams.
Adrienne Adams filed the paperwork to run last week and is expected to kick off her campaign with an event on Saturday afternoon in Jamaica, Queens.
The City Council speaker said it wasn’t her intention to run for mayor, but all the chaos surrounding the current mayor compelled her to throw her hat in the ring.
“New Yorkers can’t afford to live here, City Hall is in chaos, and Donald Trump is corrupting our city’s independence. It’s time to stand up,” Adrienne Adams said in a statement. “I never planned to run for mayor, but I’m not giving up on New York City. Our city deserves a leader that serves its people first and always, not someone focused on themselves and their own political interests. I’m a public servant, mother, Queens girl and I’m running for mayor. No drama, no nonsense — just my commitment to leading with competence and integrity.”
Adrienne Adams is not related to Eric Adams, though they did attend high school together in Queens. She was elected to the City Council in 2017 and became speaker in 2022.
On Tuesday, she gave her fourth State of the City address and noted people are losing faith in government.
“The dignity and trust in government leadership has been shaken in our city, and it must be restored,” she said. “We have faced similar moments in our Democracy before, where hope felt beyond our reach. But still, we stand.”
Adrienne Adams also touted what she has done to improve housing, health, safety and education for New Yorkers. She pointed to new proposals, such as expanding affordable child care, creating new community health and wellness centers, and expanding seven-day library service.
The mayor reacted to the speaker’s candidacy later Thursday.
“Come one, come all. You know how many people were in the shadows for so long? They were running shadow campaigns. They were not being scrutinized,” Eric Adams said.
On Wednesday, the mayor faced intense questioning at a House Oversight Committee hearing in Washington D.C. on sanctuary city policies. Numerous members of Congress asked him whether or not their was a quid pro quo with the Trump administration and several called on him to resign.
He denied the accusations.
Adrienne Adams previously called out Eric Adams for skipping the 39th annual Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. tribute at Brooklyn Academy of Music to attend Mr. Trump’s inauguration back in January.
“Some that should be here, celebrating Dr. King with us in this room, have chosen to go to Washington to celebrate felon 47,” she said at the time.
According to a new Quinnipiac poll out Wednesday, Mayor Adams’ approval rating has tanked to just 20% of registered voters who were asked.
Other candidates running include Curtis Sliwa, City Comptroller Brad Lander, state Sens. Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie, Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and former City Comptroller Scott Stringer.
At least 12 candidates in NYC’s crowded mayoral primaries
With three months until the mayoral primaries and at least 12 candidates running, the clock is ticking for them to differentiate themselves enough for ranked choice voting.
“Anyone who thinks this is going to be an easy race is dead wrong,” political consultant Hank Sheinkopf said.
At a candidates forum Thursday, mayoral hopefuls couldn’t help but address the elephant in the room: the fact that Cuomo was not in attendance.
“I’m very proud to be here with a man who is now back in New York City after decades living in the suburbs. Andrew, thank you for joining us here tonight,” Stringer said to an empty chair.
Mamdani said he welcomed Adrienne Adams into the race.
“I welcome anyone who’s not a disgraced New York executive, be it former or current,” he said.
“To me, it doesn’t matter who’s jumping in the race. It’s about how I’m laying out a vision for New Yorkers,” candidate Michael Blake said.
Meanwhile, Cuomo, after receiving the endorsement of Teamsters Local 237 on Thursday, sidestepped the sexual harassment allegations he’s long denied when asked about his mistakes in office.
“Would’ve added more police to the MTA,” he said. “But if you knew you were going to face a pandemic, I would’ve done much more preparatory work in the years preceding.”
SOURCE: cbsnews.com