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Could N.Y. City's Next Chief Executive Actually Be a Verified Socialist?
Mayor Eric Adams’s campaign for re-election is in deep trouble.
Not only has his fundraising dried up, but the City Campaign Finance Board denied him matching funds to the tune of $4 million, "citing his track record of alleged fraud and his campaign’s non-compliance with the board’s inquiries."
The March 23 edition of The New York Times Sunday magazine cover story, "The Rise and Fall of Eric Adams," reads like an obituary.
Adams, the Times reports, is portraying himself as a victim.
At a Black History Month event, the mayor told the audience, "When Jesus was on the cross, he said 'God forgive them for they know not what they do.' All these Negroes who were asking me to step down, 'God forgive them.'"
A desperate Adams has held discussions with GOP leaders about running on the Republican line.
And to improve his standings with conservatives, he attended Trump’s inaugural and hosted Tucker Carlson — a man he has denounced as a purveyor of "racist, anti-immigrant propaganda"— at Gracie Mansion.
Meanwhile, there are nine other candidates duking it out for the Democratic nomination for mayor. Eight of them radical, and one, Fmr. N.Y. Gov. Andrew Cuomo, a left-leaning centrist.
Wealthy Democratic donors fearing a socialist takeover of city hall, convinced City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams (no relation to the mayor), to enter the race.
Frankly, their depiction of her as a moderate is absurd.
Ms. Adams supported defunding the police and led the charge to override the mayor’s vetoes on two law enforcement bills.
One forces police officers to document every contact with people during their tour of duty.
The other ends solitary confinement in city jails.
The mayor rightfully criticized the proposals saying, "These bills will make New Yorkers less safe on the streets while police officers are forced to fill out additional paperwork rather than focus on helping New Yorkers and strengthening community bonds.
"Additionally, it will make staff in our jails and those in our custody less safe by impairing our ability to hold those who commit violent acts accountable."
Of the leftists running, the most extreme is Democratic-Socialist Zohran Mamidani.
The Queens County assemblyman has so far raised a stunning $8 million.
Mamidani has also been endorsed by the far-left Working Families Party, the prominent anti-Israel activist Linda Sarsour, and the bleeding-heart progressive actress, Cynthia Nixon. On an Instagram post, Nixon said “He is a miracle worker.”
The Democratic-Socialists’ platform calls for a freeze on the hiring of police and fire officers; ending all misdemeanors; closing local jails; ceasing police operations in Black and Brown communities; and disarming policemen.
They also want to increase upper tax income rates, real estate taxes, financial transaction taxes, capital gain taxes, and corporate taxes.
Then there’s former governor Andrew Cuomo.
Although the "Stop Cuomo Coalition," and the New York Post, have been pounding him day after day, he has been building a diverse coalition of supporters.
Thus far he's been endorsed by former State Comptroller Carl McCall, Bronx Democratic powerhouse Ruben Diaz Jr., the Staten Island and Brooklyn Democratic chairpersons, 11 assemblymen, four City Council members, and six major unions.
Adrienne Adams campaign suffered a major setback when a coalition of Black legislators from her home county of Queens endorsed Cuomo on March 22.
Mayor Adams was floored when the Democratic leader of his home county of Brooklyn, Assemblywoman Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn, switched allegiances and came out for Cuomo.
Cuomo’s efforts are paying off.
A poll released on March 26 has him leading with 39% of the vote.
In second place with 15% is Mamdani.
The mayor received an embarrassing 7% and Adrienne Adams lagged with 5%.
Because the city has a ranked voting system, if no candidate receives 50% on the first count, the counting process continues until there are only two candidates left.
In the final round of rank choice voting, the pollster, Data for Progress, reported "Cuomo wins outright with 70% of the vote while Mamdami receives 30%.
Cuomo is leading because 74% of New York Democrats told a pollster they agree with Cuomo’s "crisis diagnosis" about crime and the cost of living.
As Times columnist, Bret Stephens recently said "Is there any serious option other than Andrew Cuomo?
"The city is in bad shape. I know a lot of people hate him and he made his share of mistakes as governor.
"Then again, the Moynihan Train Hall and the new LaGuardia Airport terminal are major [Cuomo] achievements that made the city better. And I’m definitely not seeing a more competent or tough-minded alternative."
However, despite leading in the polls, Cuomo could still lose this election.
In recent mayoral primaries only about 12% of registered Democrats have come out to vote — the vast majority extreme leftists.
If middle-and-working-class Democrats disgusted with the City’s decline stay home, as they have in the past, Democrat-Socialist Zohran Mamidani could squeak out a victory.
And if that happens, his socialist policies will drive the City down the road to perdition.
George J. Marlin, a former executive director of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is the author of "The American Catholic Voter: Two Hundred Years of Political Impact," and "Christian Persecutions in the Middle East: A 21st Century Tragedy." Read George J. Marlin's Reports — More Here.
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