As Mayor Eric Adams’ reelection hopes continue to dim and former Gov. Andrew Cuomo appears to be on the verge of entering the race for City Hall, some Democratic pols and labor leaders are turning to someone who has shown zero interest in running for mayor: City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.
The Speaker, who has represented a portion of southeast Queens since 2017, is facing growing calls to enter this year’s Democratic mayoral primary. Adams, who leads a district with an active Black middle-class voter base, has served as speaker since 2022 and is term-limited at the end of the year.
According to three sources familiar with the matter, an array of elected officials, labor leaders, and advocates have been urging her to join the race. Among those pushing for her candidacy are state Attorney General Letitia James and leaders of District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal union, as first reported by Politico and confirmed by two sources.
“The groundswell of support from Albany is real,” one source, who was granted anonymity to discuss the private matter, told amNewYork Metro Thursday. “What does that mean for the speaker? She doesn’t know.”
The speaker’s office declined to comment on the prospect of her being recruited to run.
Thea Setterbo, a DC37 spokesperson, said in a statement that the union is “not recruiting anyone to run for mayor.”
“We follow an endorsement process and look forward to the candidates addressing our members’ questions at our mayoral forum on Feb. 26,” she added.
The source said those trying to recruit the speaker to enter the race view her as someone who could stand in the way of Cuomo dominating the current mayoral field, as they have overlapping constituencies. Many local pols fear Cuomo returning to power due to the brash and aggressive governing style that defined his time as governor.
Adams vs. Adams?
One source said they also view her as someone who could be a bulwark against Mayor Adams, whom she is not related to, for the same reason.
While the speaker has often found herself at odds with Mayor Adams over an array of political and policy issues, she has never shown any interest in challenging him electorally. Thus, her leadership style has often been one of cautious public comments and behind-the-scenes negotiations rather than making brash political statements to grab headlines.
The apparent push for the speaker to enter the contest comes as the mayor faces a nearly impossible path to re-election, following President Trump’s Justice Department’s decision to dismiss his federal corruption case last week.
The mayor is facing growing calls to resign or be removed by Gov. Kathy Hochul after former acting US Attorney Danielle Sassoon accused his legal team of engaging in a quid pro quo with top DOJ officials last week. Sassoon charged that Adams’ attorney, Alex Spiro, offered his cooperation with Trump’s mass deportation push in exchange for dropping the charges against him.
Spiro, Mayor Adams, and DOJ officials all deny Sassoon’s accusation. Adams swore under oath that he did not engage in the alleged quid pro quo during a Wednesday court hearing, which he told NY1 shows that it did not happen.
“A question that has been, I think, inappropriately put out there that was in some form of quid pro quo,” Mayor Adams said during the NY1 interview. “Was I forced for my acknowledgment? Was I forced at anything? And under oath, I clearly stated I was not.”
Meanwhile, on Thursday, it was reported that Hochul will likely not remove Mayor Adams from power — but rather impose sanctions designed to curb some of his executive authority.
It also comes as Cuomo appears quite likely to launch his own campaign imminently over the next couple of weeks.
The former governor, who resigned amid nearly a dozen allegations of sexual misconduct that he denies, has consistently led the current field in public polling over the past few months. He also has a massive campaign war chest at the state level that he could conceivably use as a mayoral candidate.
Cuomo is viewed by the current field of Democratic candidates and many other city electeds as a force who would dominate the race if and when he runs.
