By: Jared Evan
It does not quite feel like there is a major race to determine who will lead NYC on the road to recovery after the pandemic wrecked the economy and Mayor de Blasio’s maligned leadership has plunged the city into a never-ending crime wave, however, there have been some developments brewing as we head to June’s primary.
Strangely there has been an astonishing lack of public polling, the few polls published indicate former presidential hopeful Andrew Yang and Eric Adams are the 2 front runners for the Democrat Party. There have been no polls published on the GOP side, with Curtis Sliwa being the only household name in their race.
The NY Times reported that Yang and Adams are going at it in a war of words:
In recent days, Mr. Adams inaccurately said “people like Andrew Yang,” the former presidential hopeful, have never held a job. Mr. Yang’s campaign responded by accusing Mr. Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, of making “false and reprehensible attacks.”
The Adams campaign shot back with a statement claiming the Yang campaign was “attempting to mislead people of color.”
It is important to note, Adams is indeed lying. Mr. Yang, has held many jobs including being an attorney, working for many internet companies during the .com bubble and worked developing exams for Manhattan Prep. It would appear Adams is misleading “people of color”.
Eric Adams’ background is one of public service compared to Yang’s. As a former Transit & NYPD officer and Brooklyn Borough president Adams has NYC credibility but to state his rival “never held a job” and to whip out the race card on his opponent, gives off the impression that he is scared of being defeated by Yang in the primary.
The NY Times believes that the race has been narrowed down already between Yang and Adams. Yang has major name recognition, and Adams has a strong Brooklyn base and backing of major labor and civil service unions, as the “Gray Lady” noted.
Meanwhile the NY Post reported Adams is facing stiff competition in Queens, fending off challenges from former Citigroup executive Ray McGuire and civil rights lawyer Maya Wiley, who have both received endorsements in southeast Queens — one of the city’s largest black population centers.
With more than 40 hopefuls running for mayor, many will vanish after the Democrat and Republican primaries determine the major party’s candidates, while several independents and a libertarian are guaranteed to be on the ballot come November. Regardless of who is grabbing the headlines, this is an unpredictable race.
As far as the GOP primary, Curtis Sliwa, the famous anti-crime activist, animal rights warrior and talk show host, would appear to be the shoe in, however several of his opponents including former NYPD officer Bill Pepitone and well known Dominican American taxi cab activist and business owner Fernando Mateo, could pull off an upset.
