Mayor Eric Adams defends his record at a Gracie Mansion press conference, Sept. 26, 2024 (Credit: Screenshot of press conference)
At a rainy press conference outside Gracie Mansion Thursday, Mayor Eric Adams re-committed himself to serving New York City’s 8.3 million residents, saying, “My day-to-day will not change.”
And in the process, he pitched his political savvy.
“Everyone that knows me knows that I follow the campaign rules and I follow the law. That’s how I live my life,” Adams said.
But it’s not clear that he’ll manage to stay in office long enough to run for re-election next year. And plenty of other candidates are lining up to succeed him.
“He should surrender earlier than he thinks,” said Hank Sheinkopf, a political strategist who worked on Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign and Michael Bloomberg’s mayoral campaign. “Because what the feds are going to do is to lock up more people probably, which reduces the probability that he will be believed. They’re not going to give him the opportunity to try to get out of the woods.”
Adams is facing a tough political situation.
According to a poll published last April by Manhattan Institute, a conservative think tank, 73% of likely voters in New York City disapproved of Adams’ job performance. Only 16% of likely voters said they would choose Adams, while 65% wanted someone else.
Four Democratic politicians have already declared their intentions to run for mayor: former City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Brooklyn State Senator Zellnor Myrie, City Comptroller Brad Lander, and Queens State Senator Jessica Ramos. With the exception of Ramos, the other three candidates have called for Adams to resign.
And lurking behind all of them is former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who left office in 2021 amid a sexual-harassment scandal. A poll conducted last December showed that if Adams were to resign, Cuomo would top the field in a ranked-choice ballot with 24% support, the highest among 12 possible candidates
“Cuomo would be a very serious candidate. He built airports and libraries,” added Sheinkopf. “If he tries to make a moral argument, he’ll lose. But he can run on his accomplishments.”
On Sept. 22, Cuomo spoke to the Bedford Central Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn and reminded the congregation of such accomplishments as updated infrastructure and higher wages. “Cuomo was already signaling to allies that he was preparing to run for mayor,” remarked a source close to the Queens native in an interview with Axios.
Meanwhile, Lander – one of the most progressive politicians in the city – has been visiting CUNY campuses as bargaining sessions drag on between a union and leadership. He has visited decarbonization events at campuses, such the one he visited earlier in September at John Jay College of Criminal Justice in Hell’s Kitchen.
“We need to be thinking years ahead,” Lander told a room of college students. “We need to invest in retirement and infrastructure … Everybody needs to thrive.”
There’s also Stringer, whose 2021 candidacy was tanked by allegations of sexual assault. He is currently pursuing a defamation suit against an accuser.
Stringer wrote on Sept. 25 that Adams should resign and added this: “While the mayor focuses on proving his innocence, the rest of us need to focus on the business of the city – building affordable housing, educating our kids, and keeping this city safe.”
Not every opponent is demanding that Adams step down immediately. When asked about the mayor’s future, Sen. Ramos responded, “I’m not interested in dancing on anyone’s grave.”
But opponents should expect that much of the mayor’s coalition might remain loyal. In the 2021 election, Adams drew much of his support from working-class neighborhoods across the city, particularly in the Bronx, Staten Island, and inland Brooklyn and Queens.
“People think that the white liberals [in New York] have much more to say about things than they do,” said Sheinkopf
And scandals don’t always torpedo political careers.
“When someone is famous, they can say, ‘Hey, I’m corrupt, but I deliver the goods,’” said Peter Loge, a political science professor at George Washington University. “I mean, New York helped invent this with Tammany Hall.”
Adams “will fight this until the end, based upon his character and what I know,” said Sheinkopf. “He will fight this until he can’t fight it anymore.”
About the author(s)
Huiyee Chiew is a Stabile Investigative Fellow at Columbia Journalism School. Her reporting focuses on human rights and social justice issues.
Leonardo Bevilacqua is a past contributor of news features to The Christian Science Monitor where he covered culture and society.