City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams’ campaign for mayor picked up a wave of endorsements Tuesday, as a coalition of elected officials and women-led organizations rallied behind her candidacy.
At a press conference in City Hall Park, Higher Heights PAC-NYS, the New Majority NYC, Downtown Women for Change, Council Members Rita Joseph, Mercedes Narcisse, and Nantasha Williams, as well as former Council Member Helen Rosenthal, formally endorsed Adams.
“Adrienne Adams has spent her career fighting for the issues that matter most to Black women, our families, and our communities,” said Glynda C. Carr, president of Higher Heights, a national organization focused on building Black women’s political power. “She is built for this moment.”
Carr added that Higher Heights is excited to amplify Adams’ leadership and to make history by helping elect not only the first City Council speaker as mayor, but also the first Black woman to lead New York City.
When asked about former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, the current front-runner in the polls and a candidate some believe may have strong support from Black voters, Speaker Adams said her campaign has been successful in “telling the truth” about Cuomo. Cuomo has been endorsed by a coalition of Black elected officials, and polling has shown that 79% of Black voters held a favorable opinion of him.
The speaker pointed out that the poll, conducted by the Honan Strategy Group in January, was released before she entered the race in March.
“People seem to have a bit of amnesia when it comes to the former governor and the things that he did and did not do in support — or lack thereof — of our community,” Adams said. “I have been out there telling the truth of what that history really is, and it has been very, very successful. It has been penetrating through our communities.”
Also backing Adams Tuesday was former Manhattan Borough President and City Council Member C. Virginia Fields, who was also the first Black woman to run for Mayor. She said Adams is the best person for the job, stressing that this election cycle was “very important” as NYC faces a crisis “in terms of policies, the economy, budget and also moral character, accountability, and transformational leadership.”
Adams has positioned herself as a steady alternative to what she described as the “drama” of Mayor Eric Adams’ administration, and as a bulwark against national Republican threats, including former President Donald Trump.
“New York needs a mayor who understands these problems because they are living these problems,” she said. “New York needs a mayor who isn’t in it for personal redemption or political ambition. We need a mayor who is in it for us. And by the grace of God and the power of New Yorkers, I will be that mayor.”
As Speaker Adams held her press conference, Mayor Eric Adams was inside City Hall announcing the creation of the Mayor’s Office to Combat Antisemitism. The “first-of-its-kind” office will coordinate an interagency task force to address antisemitic acts, including by monitoring court cases and outcomes.
During the press event, a reporter asked Speaker Adams about an op-ed published in the New York Post in February that accused her of antisemitism — an allegation she “absolutely rejects.”
“As the speaker, I have funded through this council over $18 million to stop anti-hate speech in the Jewish community,” Adams said. “The Jewish community are my neighbors. So I don’t know where the moniker comes from — I’ve got a feeling I know the paper that it comes from, which is normal for that particular paper — but it is absolutely untrue. We work with the Jewish community on a daily basis, and we will continue to do so.”
Adams also addressed the killing of a 16-year-old girl in the Bronx on Monday, who was struck by a stray bullet. She called the incident part of a national crisis of youth gun violence, “spiraling out of control.”
If elected, she said, she would seek to collaborate with other mayors across the country to address the issue collectively, rather than in isolation.
The council members who endorsed Adams praised her for delivering policy victories as speaker, including blocking proposed cuts to pre-K and public libraries, increasing CUNY funding, and establishing a city-funded guaranteed income program for low-income mothers.
“Adrienne is not afraid to stand up to the threats of bullies like Trump, who dare to step on our Constitutional Rights,” said Council Member Mercedes Narcisse. “Adrienne is fighting to make New York affordable so families like yours and mine can start and stay here. We need a mayor with no drama who brings knowledge and results to the job; that’s Adrienne Adams.”
Adams’ growing list of supporters includes major unions such as DC 37 and CWA Local 1180 and rankings from progressive organizations such as the Working Families Party and Make the Road Action. Attorney General Letitia James, U.S. Rep. Nydia Velázquez, and several City Council members have also endorsed her.
