Last month, former Gov. David Paterson urged all of the mayoral candidates besides Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani to coalesce behind one contender, in order to have the strongest chance of besting the democratic socialist frontrunner.
But on Wednesday, Paterson said that idea is now “moot” as he endorsed the second-lowest polling candidate in the race: incumbent Mayor Eric Adams.
Paterson — who supported former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary — cited his decades-long relationship with Adams and lauded the mayor’s management of the city over the past 3 1/2 years in making his endorsement.
“This afternoon, I’m here to stand for someone who has already run this city as mayor for nearly four years, and has made huge changes over the past administration, going back probably to the [Michael] Bloomberg administration,” Paterson said of Adams during an Aug. 13 City Hall news conference. “He is an individual who is dynamic, articulate, receptive, courageous and outspoken. And he’s used all of those skills to bring the city to where it stands right now.”
Adams — a Democrat running as an independent after skipping the party’s primary — sung Paterson’s praises in return. He said an “endorsement of this magnitude is what I look for.”
“[Paterson is] a person who has known me. He knows my heart. He knows my commitment. He has worked with me,” Adams said. “He has been the architect of many of the changes that we have witnessed in government. He’s laid the foundation of smart, pragmatic approaches to dealing with the problems that working people face all the time.”
Paterson lent Adams his support despite the mayor’s fourth-place standing in the most recent polls — often coming behind Mamdani, a Queens Assembly member; Cuomo; and Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa. He does place above independent attorney Jim Walden, who has barely registered with voters.
Paterson argued that Adams finds himself polling in a comparable place now to Mamdani at a similar point in the Democratic primary that he ultimately won. He said he believes Adams’ standing in the polls will improve after Labor Day, when more voters will begin tuning into the general election.
“Eric is kicking it into high gear. He is taking no prisoners. He’s moving forward,” Paterson said. “He is going to try to get to every borough and every inlet in this city to bring his message and to explain a lot that’s going on during this particular time.”
Paterson believes Mamdani had inadequate agenda
After Mamdani won the June Democratic primary, Paterson and other centrist political and business leaders last month suggested that all of his rivals come together behind the one with the best chance of defeating the Democratic nominee.
The former governor said Mamdani is unpalatable because he has not provided adequate details on how he would fund his affordability-focused agenda if Albany does not agree to raise taxes on corporations and the wealthy.
While Cuomo, who has been polling second, suggested that whoever is not in second place to Mamdani by September drop out and support that person, neither Adams nor Sliwa agreed to get on board.
On Wednesday, Paterson said he has now abandoned pushing that strategy due to Adams’ and Sliwa’s apparent resistance to it.
“It was an idea to generate conversation,” Paterson said. “None of the candidates seemed particularly interested. So I consider the issue to be moot.”
But he admitted it would still be better for Adams if Cuomo and Sliwa dropped out and backed him. He said he thinks the mayor would win a “one-on-one” contest with Mamdani.
Paterson said he is backing Adams over Cuomo, who currently has the best chance of overcoming Mamdani, because he believes the former governor did not rise to the challenge of defeating the Assembly member during the primary. He was referring to Mamdani’s upset, nearly 13-point victory over Cuomo.
“He was defeated in the primary by an upset that has ramifications that I think people are still trying to understand,” Paterson said. “And I don’t think that when that challenge was coming in the last weeks that he was addressing it and was as present as I thought he should have been during the campaign.”
However, Paterson made clear that he believes Cuomo should stay in the race.
Most of the institutional Democrats who supported Cuomo during the primary have either jumped ship or stayed quiet during the general.
Several have joined Mamdani, others have backed Adams, and many have yet to decide who to support.
