NYC Mayor’s Race: Eric Adams to be endorsed by slew of law enforcement unions

Mayor Eric Adams is set to receive his first round of major labor endorsements on Thursday from a cadre of law enforcement unions as he seeks reelection as an independent candidate, his campaign confirmed to amNewYork.

A source familiar with the matter said the “many uniformed” police and corrections officers unions — including the Detectives’ Endowment Association, the Correction Officers’ Benevolent Association, and the Correction Captains’ Association—will back the mayor at a Thursday news conference that will likely take place at City Hall. However, the city’s largest police union, the Police Benevolent Association, will not be at the event, the source said.

“They’re trying to give him a boost,” said the source familiar with the potential endorsements.

The development was first reported by the New York Post and Daily News.

Adams’ campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro later confirmed the planned announcement.

The support of several law enforcement unions lends some legitimacy to Adams’ long-shot reelection bid. The mayor, a former NYPD captain, was elected on an anti-crime message four years ago and has sought to emphasize that he delivered and drastically lowered the numbers of murders and shootings during his tenure.

Adams has also often sided with correction officers against policies pushed by criminal justice reformers, such as the City Council’s law to eliminate the use of solitary confinement in city jails.

The potential endorsements mark Adams’ first in an election cycle in which most labor groups that backed him in 2021 defected to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo in the primary and have now backed Democratic nominee Zohran Mamdani.

Adams is running as an independent in the general election after sitting out the Democratic primary due to his now-dismissed federal corruption case.

Over the past few weeks, Mamdani has nabbed the support of most of the city’s other prominent labor unions, including District Council 37 — the largest municipal workers union, 32BJ SEIU, the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, and the United Federation of Teachers. Many of those same unions endorsed Adams four years ago.

The slate of support for Adams shows that Mamdani, who has supported defunding the police in the past but has since moved away from that position, may have a tough time winning over uniformed officers who would report to him as mayor.

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