New York, June 26 (EFE).- The mayor of New York, Eric Adams, officially announced this Thursday his plans to seek re-election in the municipal elections in November, but in this case as an independent, detached from the Democratic Party under whose banner he won the Mayor’s Office four years ago.
Amid shouts of “Eric, Eric” and “four more years” – which were heard throughout the press conference – he descended the steps of City Hall where a crowd of various ethnic and religious groups awaited him: blacks, Latinos, Jews and Muslims, who patted him on the shoulders and shook his hand.
After several religious leaders spoke, he addressed the crowd. “I am very proud to be here to tell the people that I seek reelection to be their mayor,” indicated Adams, who did not miss an opportunity to criticize the now Democratic candidate for mayor, the Muslim and socialist assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, whom he will face in the November elections.
“These elections are a choice between a blue-collar candidate – as defined – and one with a silver spoon for soup,” said Adams, who chose as his campaign slogan: “Delivers. Never Quits”.
“This is not a socialist city,” says Adams
“This choice is between those who believe in this city and those who don’t. I’ll tell you something: this is not a socialist city. This is a city where you can come to wash dishes and then own a restaurant chain (…),” said Adams, who has called Mamdani a “snake oil salesman.”
Last April, Adams announced in a video that he would seek re-election for a second term as an independent candidate, one day after a federal judge dismissed corruption charges against him, and today he took the step of launching his campaign, which will lead him to face Mamdani and possibly former governor Andrew Cuomo – defeated by Mamdani – who is evaluating his political future, also as an independent.
Another contender in the race will be Curtis Silwa, founder of the Guardian Angels, who for the second consecutive time is trying to regain the Mayor’s Office for the Republicans.
The charges against Adams were dismissed at the request of the Donald Trump administration, the day after he pledged to cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) raids in New York, which drew criticism and protests from pro-immigrant groups and politicians from his own party who interpreted that the mayor asked for that favor in exchange for cooperating with the Republican’s immigration agenda.
“They can call me anything – he said, recalling that he was ridiculed in his poor childhood and criticized at other stages of his life – but I will only answer to one name: Mayor, Adams,” he affirmed.
Shortly after Mamdani’s victory was announced on Wednesday, the mayor met with business leaders seeking support to stop the Democratic candidate, while the latter hopes to gain the support of senior Democratic Party leaders such as Senator Chuck Schummer or Governor Kathy Hochul, who have not spoken out in this contest.
Candidates need to create a coalition between ethnic groups, union leaders, and religious leaders who represent the diversity of New York and help them win the November 4th election.
