Gotham Gazette

The Place for New York Policy and politics

Mayor 2021

Mayor 2021

  • Eric Adams Launches General Election Campaign With De Blasio’s Endorsement

    e7zs ibxeaa43cw 2

    (Photo: @kallos)


    Eric Adams, the two-term Brooklyn borough president and Democratic mayoral nominee, kicked off his general election campaign on Monday with a rally at City Hall Park where he was endorsed by dozens of Democratic elected officials, including Mayor Bill de Blasio.

    “I'm going to work harder, intentional, determined," Adams said, standing with members of Congress, the state Legislature, the City Council and labor leaders. “I'm going to give New Yorkers the spirit that just as they get up every morning and fight for this city, you're going to have a

    ...
  • WATCH: Experts Analyze Mayoral Primary and What Comes Next

    civic conversation july22

    Donna Jean, Ben Max, Howard Wolfson, Laura Nahmias, L. Joy Williams


    An expert panel gathered Thursday to analyze the Democratic primary for mayor and what comes next. At a free online event hosted by Citizens Union Foundation and moderated by Gotham Gazette editor Ben Max, panelists Howard Wolfson (former deputy mayor, now education lead at Bloomberg Philanthropies), Laura Nahmias (former Daily News editorial board member, now writer of Fun City on Substack), and L. Joy Williams (political strategist, analyst, and activist) shared

    ...
  • How Kathryn Garcia Defied the Odds But Came Up Just Short

    7 absentee votes to win

    Kathryn Garcia (photo: @KGforNYC)


    When the New York City Board of Elections certified the results of the 2021 Democratic primary for mayor on Tuesday, it showed Kathryn Garcia losing to Eric Adams by just 7,197 votes. In the first citywide election using ranked-choice voting, the primary likely to determine the next mayor was decided by a difference of only 0.8%, with just over 942,000 Democratic votes cast.

    Garcia conceded the race two weeks prior, on July 7, congratulating Eric Adams for his win after she had defied virtually all

    ...
  • How Eric Adams Brought It Home

    1 how ea won

    Eric Adams (photo: @ericadamsfornyc)


    Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams emerged victorious last week in the Democratic mayoral primary and is very likely to become the next mayor of New York City. He ran a campaign largely focused on public safety, while weathering pointed attacks from his opponents on his record and vision for the city, which includes a wide variety of ideas on many issues. As several other candidates foundered, Adams sailed steadily to a narrow win, buoyed by a message that

    ...
  • An Initial Look at Voter Turnout in the 2021 New York City Primaries

    2 initial turnout

    New York City voters voting (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    Nearly 1 million New York City voters cast ballots in the mayoral primaries last month, according to unofficial results released by the New York City Board of Elections, marking the city's most participated-in local election in decades. While still low by historical standards, the turnout dwarfed the 2013 primaries -- the last mayoral race to have both Democratic and Republican primaries and no incumbent running -- by roughly 245,000 votes.

    Combined Democratic and

    ...
  • In Mayoral Primary, Spending in Support of Adams More Than Combined Total for Garcia and Wiley

    combined total primaries

    (l-r) Eric Adams, Kathryn Garcia, Maya Wiley


    Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams claimed victory in the Democratic mayoral primary on Tuesday, with 50.5% of ranked-choice votes after almost all absentee votes were counted, beating former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia by one percentage point. He credited “an historic, diverse, five-borough coalition led by working-class New Yorkers” for propelling him to victory.

    But both because of and in order to assemble that coalition, Adams was the beneficiary of the the second-most

    ...
  • Max Politics Podcast: Breaking Down Mayoral Primary Results, with Bob Hardt

    Breaking Down the Mayoral Primary Results, with Bob Hardt

    City Hall (photo: Benjamin Kanter/Mayoral Photo Office)


    July 7, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: Breaking Down the Mayoral Primary Results, with Bob Hardt

    Bob Hardt, New York political director for Spectrum News, including NY1, joined the show to dissect the Eric Adams' win in the Democratic primary for New York City mayor, the larger race, and what comes next.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter ...

  • Max Politics Podcast: Jumaane Williams on the 2021 Primary Results & What Comes Next

    Jumaane Williams on the 2021 Primary Results & What Comes Next

    Public Advocate Jumaane Williams (photo: Neha Gautam/Office of the Public Advocate)


    July 7, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: Jumaane Williams on the 2021 Primary Results & What Comes Next

    Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, on his way to a first full term in the citywide position, joined the show to discuss his goals for the future, addressing gun violence, Eric Adams' win in the Democratic primary for mayor, his relationship with Adams, and more.

    Listen to the

    ...
  • Eric Adams Wins Democratic Nomination for Mayor of New York City

    1 eric adams apparent

    Eric Adams (photo: office of Eric Adams)


    With nearly every vote counted and the latest unofficial tallies for the June election released on Tuesday, Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams took a seemingly insurmountable lead in the Democratic mayoral primary and claimed victory.

    Given the city’s overwhelming Democratic enrollment advantage, Adams will be heavily favored in the general election against Republican Curtis Sliwa and is likely to become the second Black mayor of New York City. 

    The city Board of Elections on

    ...
  • Max Politics Podcast: Analyzing the Mayor's Race While Awaiting Primary Results

    Gotham Gazette:

    The eight top Democrats


    June 30, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: Analyzing the Mayor's Race While Awaiting Primary Results

    Top political consultants Stu Loeser and Neal Kwatra joined the show to break down the Democratic primary for mayor as the city awaits results.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter @TweetBenMax. You can listen to the show through the embedded audio below or download the episode wherever you get your podcasts, under "Max & Murphy," and listen

    ...
  • Board of Elections Releases Corrected Initial Unofficial Ranked-Choice Runoff, with 120,000+ Absentee Votes Uncounted

    garcia wiley eadams

    Maya Wiley, Kathryn Garcia, and Eric Adams


    The New York City Board of Elections on Wednesday released a corrected tabulation of preliminary, unofficial ranked-choice votes from the June mayoral and comptroller primary elections, a day after an initial release that included erroneous numbers. 

    On Tuesday, the BOE published an unofficial tally that included roughly 135,000 more ballots than were cast by primary night. The extra ballots were said to be left over from a test run prior to what was supposed to be the initial RCV runoff count

    ...
  • Board of Elections Sows Chaos in Mayoral Race with Errors in First Unofficial Ranked-Choice Count

    voting nyc ballots pandemic

    Voters voting (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    The New York City Board of Elections began tabulating preliminary, unofficial ranked-choice votes cast in this year’s primary elections on Tuesday, offering what was thought to be a glimpse of the possible result of races across the city even though more than 120,000 absentee ballots have yet to be counted at all. But not long after the BOE published its first preliminary ranked-choice runoff in the Democratic primaries for mayor and comptroller, it became evident that errors had been made and the

    ...
  • ‘All Kathryn Number Twos’: Garcia Looks to Absentee Ballots and Ranked Choices for Path to Victory

    3 kg abs

    Kathryn Garca with Andrew Yang and supporters (photo: @KGforNYC)


    Kathryn Garcia still sees a path to becoming New York City’s next mayor, despite the fact that the initial tally of in-person Democratic primary votes puts her in third place behind Eric Adams and Maya Wiley. Garcia, like Wiley, is confident that her campaign is “on the pathway to victory” with 120,000-plus absentee votes still to be counted and the ranked-choice runoff to come, she told Gotham Gazette’s Ben Max as she reflected

    ...
  • Max Politics Podcast: Kathryn Garcia Sees a Path to Victory

    kat garcia post1

    Kathryn Garcia with supporters (photo: @KGforNYC)


    June 24, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: Kathryn Garcia Sees a Path to Victory

    Democratic mayoral candidate Kathryn Garcia, in third place after the initial tally of in-person primary votes, joined the show to discuss her path to victory through absentee ballots and the ranked-choice runoff, key moments from her campaign, how she's adjusted to becoming a politician, and more.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter ...

  • Max Politics Podcast: The Power of The New York Times Endorsement

    nt nty

    The New York Times (photo: google images 2020)


    June 23, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: The Power of New York Times Endorsements

    Mara Gay of the New York Times editorial board joined the show to react to the initial batch of vote tallies in the 2021 New York City primary elections and the role the editorial board played in its apparently powerful endorsements of Kathryn Garcia for Mayor, Brad Lander for Comptroller, and Alvin Bragg for Manhattan District Attorney.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you think, on Twitter ...

  • What We Know After Primary Night in the Citywide and Borough-wide Races

    mayor voting nyc

    Mayor votes (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayor's Office)


    Though voting in the Tuesday primary has concluded, the election is far from over. Absentee ballots have yet to be counted and ranked-choice votes have yet to be tabulated. While New Yorkers won’t know the final results from election night for possibly a few weeks, there are early unofficial results available and other notable numbers to watch.

    What we know so far is the first-rank votes of those who cast ballots in person, either through early voting or on primary day. In the race for mayor, about 750,000

    ...
  • A Mom for Mayor?

    3 leading pitch

    Maya Wiley, Kathryn Garcia, Dianne Morales


    “A mom can just see it -- the potential, the promise, and the challenges to overcome -- so should a mayor,” said Maya Wiley, a Democratic candidate for mayor, in a campaign ad entitled Mom. It’s part of a slew of promotional material from Wiley promising to “save a generation of kids from the trauma of crime and injustice” and place her status as a mother central to the case she’s been making to voters.

    A number of Wiley’s campaign ads show a subheading beneath her name that reads: Civil Rights

    ...
  • 'This Is The System We Chose': New York City's First Ranked-Choice Mayoral Vote Unfolds

    how primary votes

    Voters voting (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    As the final vote in the consequential Democratic mayoral primary nears, controversy has erupted around the new ranked-choice voting (RCV) format and the tactics some campaigns are using to wrangle votes.

    Supporters of RCV have said the system forces candidates to seek a broader base of support. But after candidates Kathryn Garcia and Andrew Yang teamed up this past weekend in the hopes of being the second-round pick of each other's supporters, Eric Adams' campaign and its

    ...
  • What Have The Top Democratic Mayoral Candidates Actually Accomplished?

    what have leading

    l-r: Kathryn Garcia, Eric Adams, Scott Stringer, Andrew Yang, Maya Wiley


    The Democratic mayoral race is the most diverse it has ever been in the city’s history, both in terms of the candidates and the records they bring to the table. In the top tier of eight candidates, there are two sitting elected officials, two former top de Blasio administration officials, a former presidential candidate, a former Wall Street executive, a former Obama cabinet secretary, and a former nonprofit leader.

    In the last two weeks, though the race remains

    ...
  • What Is Maya Wiley's Mayoral Campaign Policy Platform?

    event maya wiley

    Maya Wiley, left (photo: Wiley campaign)


    After months honing her public image and developing her campaign platform, Maya Wiley now embodies two distinct archetypes of mayoral candidate: she is a standard-bearer of the progressive left and the type of political hopeful that expresses her zeal for executive leadership with lengthy policy papers.

    A civil rights attorney, former counsel to Mayor Bill de Blasio, and MSNBC commentator, Wiley has stepped into the spotlight in recent weeks as the foremost -- and most viable -- progressive in a packed

    ...
  • Ray McGuire's Strengths and Weaknesses as He Runs for Mayor

    ray mcguire sw2

    Ray McGuire (photo: McGuire compaign)


    [This article is part of a series on the leading Democratic mayoral candidates' strengths and weaknesses.]

    Ray McGuire has a good story to pitch to New Yorkers. His rags-to-riches journey of growing up poor in Ohio, working hard and getting a few breaks to eventually become one the few top Black executives on Wall Street made for a compelling narrative for a candidate for mayor. He could lend his business acumen and global banking

    ...
  • Maya Wiley's School Choice

    maya wil edit

    Maya Wiley (photo: @mayawiley)


    Maya Wiley is seeking the Democratic nomination for mayor as one of the leading progressives in the race, leaning heavily on her accolades as a civil rights attorney. Her education platform includes a number of the most aggressive and embattled proposals to integrate the city’s deeply segregated schools and she has said her position is forged by her own experience going to a segregated elementary school. But as she has sought the progressive mantle and pledged decisive action toward racial equality, Wiley has not emphasized school

    ...
  • 'A Very Tough April and May': What's Gone Wrong for Andrew Yang's Mayoral Campaign?

    2 how much yang

    Andrew Yang (photo: @AndrewYang)


    Andrew Yang, the entrepreneur and former Democratic presidential candidate, seemed to be dominating this year’s mayoral race, with early poll numbers showing him well ahead of the other candidates running in this month’s primary. But the honeymoon period for his campaign ended, with personal and policy gaffes and experience gaps possibly catching up with him as more voters tuned into the race. Several polls released Monday, three days into early voting and just over a week before primary day, show Yang slipping toward the

    ...
  • Max Politics Podcast: Joe Lhota on Becoming a Democrat and the Importance of the Mayoral Election

    38950751312 79b5fd4024 c

    Joe Lhota (photo: Marc A. Hermann/MTA New York City Transit)


    June 16, 2021 - Max Politics Podcast: Joe Lhota on Becoming a Democrat and the Mayoral Election

    Joe Lhota -- the 2013 Republican nominee for Mayor, former MTA chair, and former deputy mayor -- joined the show to discuss changing his party affiliation to Democratic, the future of the GOP, and what voters should keep in mind as they evaluate the leading choices in this primary election.

    Listen to the conversation and let us know what you

    ...
  • Paths to Victory: Which Voters are the Democratic Mayoral Candidates Aiming For?

    4 paths victory aim

    Voters voting (photo: Michael Appleton/Mayoral Photography Office)


    With just one week left till primary day and early voting already underway, the Democratic candidates for mayor are in a mad dash to make their final impressions with voters. The final official TV debate is set for Wednesday, June 16, and will see the top eight candidates take the stage again with just a few days before primary day, June 22. But while that debate is meant for “leading contenders,” it's becoming clear that some of those candidates have virtually no shot at winning the

    ...