AP has announced Eric Adams as the new NYC Dem Nominee, a moderate Democrat, and former NYPD Captain. What does this mean for the city?
One of the most hotly contested mayoral primaries just took place in New York City, consisting of scandals and a wide range of Democratic candidates who have opposing views on significant issues. As of Tuesday, the Associated Press has projected the winner to be Eric Adams, beating widely popular contestants such as Andrew Yang and Kathryn Garcia. As a former New York City Police Department Captain, he centered his campaign around fighting crime in NYC and ran as a moderate democrat.
Adams not only won the Democratic Primary, but it is most likely he will beat Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa and win the role of NYC mayor due to the strong democratic population in New York City. If Adams claims victory in November, he will be New York City’s second Black mayor, following David Norman Dinkins in 1990-1993.
So what does this mean for the Democratic party? Adams won by a narrow lead in NYC’s first attempt at ranked-choice voting, meaning there is some resentment towards his victory. After an endorsement from the New York Times and a significant rise in the polls, many thought the first female mayor of NYC was set in stone. At one point in the race, Garcia was polling 1% above Adams and 4% above Yang. She came second in the race and lost by 8,426 votes or a single percentage point. This made it clear the issues of crime and public safety are still in the hearts of New Yorkers, which resulted in a former NYPD Captain as their next mayor.
In a statement about his victory, Adams said, “While there are still some very small amounts of votes to be counted, the results are clear: a historic, diverse, five-borough coalition led by working-class New Yorkers has led us to victory in the Democratic primary for Mayor of New York City. Now we must focus on winning in November so that we can deliver on the promise of this great city for those who are struggling, who are underserved, and who are committed to a safe, fair, affordable future for all New Yorkers.”
After a time of economic devastation for residents and small businesses, a pandemic that killed over 50k people, and divisive social issues which struck the largest city in the nation to the core, new leadership is necessary in order to solve these problems and save New York City.
However, Adams ran as a moderate candidate and aims to bring bipartisan solutions to the problems NYC is facing. The former NYPD Captain is against defunding the police and instead wishes to solve the problems in the Police Department. He speaks openly about his experience with police brutality and the discriminatory nature of his job as Brooklyn borough president.
The new Mayor of New York City has promised to focus on gun violence and police brutality, along with the other slew of crimes that plague the city. Adams has many responsibilities on his hands, from saving the NYC economy, restoring public safety post-pandemic, and combating the social and political issues which are currently heating up New York City.