Council Member Julie Won and her husband, Eugene Noh, are denouncing what they call “sexist” and “misogynistic” scrutiny of their relationship following Noh’s appointment as campaign manager for Mayor Eric Adams’ re-election bid.
Noh, a longtime political strategist and consultant, was officially announced as Adams’ campaign manager in a press release on Wednesday, July 9. The appointment drew attention due to Won’s recent endorsement of Adams’ opponent, Zohran Mamdani, ahead of the Democratic primary last month, prompting a spate of media stories examining their political differences.
Both Won and Noh have dismissed the coverage as sexist, arguing that neither spouse should be held accountable for the other’s professional decisions.
Adams withdrew from the Democratic primary amid a federal corruption probe that severely damaged his standing within the party. He launched his independent re-election campaign on Thursday, June 26.
Noh confirmed to QNS that he had joined Adams’ team as campaign manager. He has previously served as campaign manager for Won’s successful campaign for City Council in 2021.
A veteran of high-profile political races in New York—including former U.S. Rep. Max Rose’s unsuccessful 2022 re-election bid—Noh said he was drawn to the Adams campaign because of its underdog status.
“Having followed Mayor Adams’s career and his time in office, I knew that he was not the man that he was portrayed and characterized to be,” Noh said. “I built my career on helping underdogs towards upset victories. That’s what I do, and I think that this is the biggest, most consequential race that I could be working on.”
Adams is widely considered an underdog in the general election after Mamdani’s resounding victory over former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in last month’s Democratic primary.
Mamdani’s campaign gained momentum through broad progressive support, including Won’s endorsement at the beginning of June. Won had spent much of the past year publicly calling on Adams to resign.
Since the news broke about Noh’s role in the Adams campaign, both he and Won have strongly pushed back on media coverage focusing on their relationship.
“I think it belies a lazy and, to be honest, a sexist press corps in New York City,” Noh said. “It’s pretty clear that the Council Member and I are two very different people. Even though we are married to each other, it does not mean that the sport of politics is the only thing that we have in common that we discuss.”
Noh said the couple is focused on raising their two young sons, and that politics is largely kept out of their home life.
“The debates don’t arise, and the trauma that I think people wish was there in our home life is non-existent,” he said. “We are just a couple raising our kids, trying to figure out how we’re going to give them the best life that we can.”
Won echoed those sentiments, emphasizing that they are independent individuals.
“Clearly, we are individuals with different political views, as people have witnessed over the years,” she said. “I don’t even understand what generation we’re in now that people still feel the need to ask a woman to answer for their husband.”
Won, who represents the 26th Council district in Western Queens, which covers the neighborhoods of Long Island City, Sunnyside, Astoria, and Woodside, called it sexist to expect her to comment on Noh’s professional choices.
“I do not request permission for endorsements when I make endorsements or discuss them with my husband, the same way he’s had hundreds of clients over his professional career. It is exhausting that in 2025 I am expected to answer for my husband or be responsible for his political views,” she added. “The sexism and misogyny needs to be named and checked.”
Won also noted that the couple deliberately avoids discussing politics at home for the sake of their children.
“We both know we have differing perspectives on politics and policies, so we don’t discuss it at home, especially because we have two little kids now,” she said. “A three-year-old can’t tell the difference between fighting amongst parents and a healthy debate over policies that we disagree on, so we just don’t talk about it at all.”
Won accused critics of using her husband’s political career to undermine her own. She pointed to a 2023 Daily News article resurfacing a decade-old incident in which Noh was removed from Twitter for violating platform rules—including use of a racial slur—as an example of targeted attacks during her fight for an affordable housing development in Long Island City.
Noh acknowledged past mistakes and said political opponents have tried to use them to damage Won’s credibility.
“I know how this game is played,” he said. “The powers that be were looking to discredit my wife, but she has lived a very clean, goody-two-shoes, by-the-book and dignified life.”
The Daily News also reported at the time that Noh was improperly looped in on City Council emails despite not being part of Won’s staff. Noh said at the time that he does not make any decisions for Won as a Council Member.
Noh also pushed back on another Daily News report that quoted remarks he made years ago to campaign staff, such as telling them to “take a lot of Adderall” or “smoke meth” during campaign season. He said the comments were made in jest.
“They were not commands to go and do these things, but just to add some humor. And I did apologize at the time the story broke for anybody it may have offended,” he said.
Looking ahead to November, Noh said he expects high voter turnout and believes Adams can appeal to a growing number of unaffiliated voters, who now comprise roughly 20% of the city’s electorate, according to the Campaign Finance Board.
He also expressed hope that Cuomo would not pursue an independent bid.
“First, I congratulate Zohran on his historic victory,” Noh said. “I admit he may have run an incredible campaign, but Andrew Cuomo, for all intents and purposes, did his best Hillary Clinton or Joe Crowley impression. He hid in a corner and assumed that his name recognition would carry him to victory.”
Noh argued that Cuomo missed his opportunity to stay in the race and said Adams still has a path forward.
“With all that said, I believe that with an incredibly disciplined and high-energy operation, we’ll be able to show New Yorkers exactly what Eric Adams has been able to do for them.”
Adams’ re-election campaign includes several other high-profile additions: Frank Carone, the mayor’s former chief of staff, is serving as campaign chair; Michelle Minguez, executive director of Latino Economic Empowerment and Development, is deputy campaign manager; PR specialist Todd Shapiro has joined as communications director; and New York Post journalist and opinion writer David Kaufman is serving as a campaign advisor.
