New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is running for mayor, becoming the 10th entrant into the crowded Democratic primary race to unseat Eric Adams.
Speaker Adams confirmed her plans late Wednesday, saying that “it’s time to stand up.”
“New Yorkers can’t afford to live here, City Hall is in chaos, and Donald Trump is corrupting our city’s independence,” she said in a statement. “I never planned to run for Mayor, but I’m not giving up on New York City. Our city deserves a leader that serves its people first and always, not someone focused on themselves and their own political interests. I’m a public servant, mother, Queens girl and I’m running for mayor. No drama, no nonsense—just my commitment to leading with competence and integrity.”
Although she faces daunting hurdles, her entry adds intrigue to the June primary race — in no small part because her political base of Black voters in Southeast Queens overlaps with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s.
But with just over $200,000 in campaign funds compared to seven-figure hauls for her rivals, she will need to raise money quickly to qualify for rapid funds and improve her low name recognition. A Quinnipiac University poll released Wednesday found she had 4% support among registered voters. (The same poll showed Cuomo leading the field at 31%, with Mayor Adams a distant second at 11%.)
In her State of the City speech on Tuesday, the speaker hinted at her likely run by positioning herself as a conciliatory, compassionate leader — highlighting the council’s efforts to reverse Mayor Eric Adams’ budget cuts to libraries, parks, and cultural institutions.
“We need solutions more than slogans, service rather than saviors, and partnership over patriarchy,” she said in the speech. “The dignity and trust in government leadership has been shaken in our city, and it must be restored.”
She has no relation to Eric Adams — indeed, some commentators have speculated that her surname could be a hindrance if voters confuse her with the unpopular mayor — but the two were classmates at Bayside High School decades ago. She endorsed Eric Adams during his 2021 mayoral campaign, but the two quickly emerged as political rivals after she was elected speaker as a dark-horse compromise candidate.
The 64-year-old speaker is hardly a political lifer — having formerly worked as a corporate trainer and, earlier, as a flight attendant before entering politics as the chair of her local community board. She has served on the council since 2017, but is term-limited from office after this year.
