Former New York Governor and Democratic figure Andrew Cuomo officially announced his candidacy for the Mayor of New York City on Saturday afternoon, challenging incumbent Mayor Eric Adams and other candidates.
Cuomo wrote on the social platform X, “Our city is facing a crisis, and that’s why I am running for Mayor of New York City. We need to make government work and provide effective leadership.” In a video lasting over 17 minutes, he stated, “This city feels threatened, out of control, and in crisis,” attributing these conditions to the actions of our political leaders or, more accurately, the lack of wise actions by many of our political leaders.
Currently, there are around six to seven individuals, including Cuomo and Adams, vying for the party’s nomination for Mayor. According to recent polls, Cuomo is likely leading among them.
A poll conducted in December last year showed Cuomo garnering 32% support in the first round of the city’s ranked-choice voting system, while his nearest competitor received only 10% support. Another poll in January this year indicated that he had 43% support in the first round of voting, with Adams trailing at 13%.
Cuomo served as the Governor of New York for a decade (2011-2021) before resigning due to a sexual harassment scandal. An independent investigation led by New York State Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat, found that Cuomo had sexually harassed nearly ten women. Cuomo has refused to accept the investigation’s findings, denied all allegations against him, and stated that he resigned to avoid disrupting government operations.
It is expected that during the primary campaign, his opponents will criticize him for lying about his handling of issues at nursing homes during the pandemic, signing controversial bail reform legislation, and advocating for congestion pricing in New York City.
Another Democratic primary candidate, former New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, accused Cuomo of treating New York City as his “personal punching bag” during his tenure as Governor, claiming that he “slashed MTA funding, plunged the subway system into crisis, diverted funds to upstate ski resorts, and attempted to cut billions in Medicaid spending for public school students and city residents.”
When announcing his mayoral candidacy, Cuomo briefly touched on his controversial tenure as Governor, stating, “Did I always get it right during my years in government? No, of course not. If I knew then what I know now, would I have done things differently? Of course. Have I made mistakes? Absolutely, some of which are painful. I believe I have learned a lot from them and have become a better person because of it. I hope to demonstrate that every day in the future.”
Incumbent Mayor Adams, who was widely seen as a Democratic star when he won in 2021, saw some of his closest allies embroiled in a series of scandals later on. In September last year, he was accused of bribery and wire fraud, among other charges, but he has denied the allegations, pledging to continue participating in the Democratic Party’s mayoral primary.
His trial was originally scheduled to start in April, just two months before the Democratic mayoral primary in June. The federal judge presiding over the case has indefinitely postponed Adams’s trial and instructed all parties to submit briefs in March explaining the legal standards required to dismiss the case, as well as the implications of dismissing the case.
(References from reports by “The Capitol Hill Post” and “The New York Post”)