NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams urged to run for mayor, Andrew Cuomo wins endorsement
“Run, Adrienne, run.”
Some New York Democrats are urging Council Speaker Adrienne Adams to toss her hat into the mayoral race as embattled Mayor Eric Adams faces increasing calls for his resignation — all the while ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo has snagged another local club’s endorsement.
Neither the speaker nor the former governor has announced a run for mayor, but Dems across the city are hoping they will add their names to the list of possible contenders against a second Eric Adams term.
Adrienne Adams, the city’s first black council speaker, is being eyed as an alternative to the faltering incumbent — who she has no relation to — and a potential block to a Cuomo mayorship, should the longtime politician enter the race.
“People are talking about wanting Adrienne Adams to run for mayor,” state Assemblywoman Chantel Jackson (D-Bronx) said.
Jackson said a late entry of the Queens Democrat was discussed during the New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican Hispanic & Asian Legislators Caucus’ annual event in Albany over the weekend.
Adrienne Adams received the Shirley Chisholm Award at the caucus’ women’s empowerment event.
She fired up guests with her acceptance speech, including state Attorney General Letitia James, who reportedly chanted “Run, Adrienne, run,” according to an attendee.
The council speaker, who is completing her term this year and recently called on the mayor to resign, declined to comment.
But a Democratic donor said, “I have heard she plans to run.”
The Queens councilwoman, however, took positions that might not endear herself to some mainstream Democrats, including championing a law over the objections of the mayor and the NYPD to require officers to record information on even the most minor interactions with the public — so-called “level one stops” that could be something like speaking to a witness at a crime scene.
The Council, with Adrienne Adams leading the charge, overrode the mayor’s veto.
She also named Brooklyn socialist Democratic Councilwoman Shahana Hanif as a co-chair of a Council task force to combat hate after Hanif accused Israel of instigating Hamas’ barbaric attacks on the Jewish state, angering Jews.
Other Democrats believe the scandal-plagued Cuomo would be the best replacement for Eric Adams.
The Village Reform Democratic Club in Greenwich Village preemptively endorsed Cuomo for mayor Tuesday night despite the former governor not yet declaring his candidacy.
Club president Ray Cline said Cuomo is best equipped to address the quality of life crises — including the safety of the subways, the mentally ill homeless, and open-air drug use — and to stand up to President Trump.
“People living here are fed up with living this way,” Cline said.
“Cuomo is tough enough to deal with President Trump,” he added.
Club members cited Cuomo’s leadership during COVID, his willingness as governor to tackle big issues, and his anti-fracking stance in New York as positive qualities leading to the endorsement, the club said in a statement.
Cuomo — who resigned as governor in 2021 following a slew of sexual misconduct accusations which he denied — garnered more votes than all of the other mayoral candidates combined during the club meeting, Cline said.
The former Empire State head was also endorsed by members of the Staten Island Democratic Party last week.
The candidacy plotting comes as Gov. Kathy Hochul met with key Democratic elected officials and civil rights activist Al Sharpton Tuesday to entertain whether Eric Adams should be removed from office after four top mayoral deputies announced their resignations.
The departures came after Trump’s DOJ ordered Manhattan federal prosecutors to drop the federal corruption case against the mayor, handed down by a federal grand jury last year.
The prosecutors, led by Acting US Attorney Danielle Sassoon, refused and resigned en masse, accusing Trump-aligned officials and Eric Adams’ defense attorneys of engaging in a “quid pro quo” — allegations both parties have denied.
The first-term mayor said he’s not going anywhere and maintains his innocence.
