Photo: AFP
It sounds like New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is going to jump into the race to be mayor in New York. Adams gave a speech last week declaring that somebody has to be “the soul of the city”, and insiders have felt that she would decide if she’s in or out of the race after delivering the State of the City address, which happened Tuesday. If she were to declare she’s running, Adams would join a growing field that already includes Mayor Eric Adams and former Governor Andrew Cuomo. But could she actually win the Democratic primary when June finally arrives? Former City Council Minority Leader Joe Borelli still keeps tabs on the city’s political happenings. He appeared on 710 WOR’s Mendte in the Morning program to assess the realistic chances of an Adams win.
Borelli told host Larry Mendte that ranked-choice voting makes the race too wide open to call. “Whoever has consolidated that number two position, it’s going to become a race against that person versus Andrew Cuomo, because that person will then try to rustle up all the ranked-choice support from the candidates that are ranked below them, so there is no way to tell. Can Adrienne Adams win? Possibly. Is she in a pole-position? Probably not… but remember, it’s a Democratic primary, so there still is the opportunity for that left lane to go forward. I just don’t think she really has the depth of support and the name recognition that she thinks she has at this point.”
In fact, Borelli sees one dark horse who might upset the race for Gracie Mansion: “Look at [State Representative] Zohran Mamdani. I don’t even know him, I’ve never met him, but I’ve been watching the videos and the digital content that he’s been making. He is, by far, running the best campaign right now, bar none. I mean, he has these engaging videos... Stuff like that is what separates you from the pack when you’re one of six or seven people and you’re struggling to make an impact or get attention.”