Two powerful labor unions that backed Eric Adams in the 2021 mayoral election are now turning their attention to another Adams — City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams — for this year’s mayoral race, which has been upended by DOJ efforts to get the incumbent’s indictment dropped.
The Trump Justice Department’s request to dismiss the mayor’s corruption case — with the understanding that it could be brought back — has, in many observers’ minds, ironically left the mayor more politically vulnerable than when he was just facing indictment. That’s because the terms of the dismissal have led many to believe Adams is beholden to Trump.
Against that backdrop, leaders at DC 37 and 32BJ, two of New York’s largest unions, are privately urging Adrienne Adams to run for mayor, according to multiple sources directly familiar with the outreach.
Beyond being seen in some circles as a potent option given the uncertainty surrounding the mayor, the speaker is also considered a potential alternative to former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who leads in most early polls even as he has yet to officially enter the race.
The private push for the speaker marks a particularly sore spot for Mayor Adams.
The two unions, which between them represent hundreds of thousands of New York City workers and are known to launch rigorous get-out-the-vote efforts, endorsed the mayor in the 2021 election and were seen as key to his narrow victory in that race.
In the case of 32BJ, which represents about 80,000 building service and custodial workers in the city, Manny Pastreich, the union’s president, has been in direct talks with the speaker, urging her to consider a run, sources told the Daily News. Just last month, Pastreich met privately with the mayor at Gracie Mansion in talks that sources say were at least in part about politics.
Top officials at DC 37, the city’s largest municipal union representing some 150,000 active city workers, has similarly been urging the speaker to run, as first reported by Politico earlier this week, and the involvement of 32BJ signals New York’s influential labor movement is seeing her as a viable candidate.
Pastreich declined to discuss private discussions he has had with the speaker, but voiced support for her in a statement while stressing his union hasn’t endorsed anyone yet in the mayoral race.
“Adrienne Adams has been a great ally to 32BJ and working people,” his statement said. “If she decides to run, she’ll join a race with other strong candidates.”
One of the sources familiar with the labor outreach to Adrienne Adams told The News the union leaders are especially interested in urging her to mull a campaign as a backstop to Cuomo, who’s expected to join the crowded mayoral field as early as next week.
“They don’t think Eric can win and they don’t want Cuomo,” the source said.
Another powerful union seen as key to Eric Adams’ 2021 success, the Hotel and Gaming Trades Council, has signaled it plans to back the mayor.
The speaker declined to comment Friday. Vito Pitta, the mayor’s campaign attorney, didn’t return a request for comment.
In addition to the mounting labor support, State Attorney General Letitia James, a longtime nemesis to Cuomo, has been privately pushing the speaker to mount a run in June’s Democratic mayoral primary, according to sources.
AP
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo. (AP)
Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 amid sexual harassment accusations that he denies, has consistently polled at the top of the 2025 mayoral field, with some seeing him as a seasoned government veteran who can turn the page on Mayor Adams’ tumultuous tenure.
Conversely, Cuomo’s political strength is closely tied to outer-borough moderate voters, a base both Speaker Adams and Mayor Adams also court. Should the speaker enter the race, the ex-governor’s lead in the race could be complicated by that calculus.
The speaker would, however, face a major challenge in trying to run for mayor. Term-limited from serving another four years in the Council, she has no campaign infrastructure to speak of and less than $220,000 in her campaign account, just as the mayoral race is kicking into high gear with most candidates boasting millions of dollars in fundraising already.
The declared candidates already challenging the mayor include Comptroller Brad Lander, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and Queens state Sen. Jessica Ramos.
Mayor Adams, meantime, is facing what appears at this point to be a challenging path to reelection. Indicted last year by federal prosecutors in a campaign finance corruption case, the mayor has been facing record low approval ratings.
His political prospects were complicated even further two weeks ago when President Trump’s Department of Justice moved to drop his indictment with some unusual caveats. Under the dismissal sought by Trump’s DOJ that’s still pending approval from a federal judge in Manhattan, Adams’ indictment would be tossed out with the wrinkle that it could be brought back as early as November.
In the interim, Trump’s DOJ spelled out in a dismissal motion that the president expects the quashing of the mayor’s case will enable him to play a bigger role in the Trump administration’s efforts to target undocumented New Yorkers for deportation.
Those unconventional dismissal terms have led both allies and critics of Adams to reason he’s a “hostage” to Trump’s agenda, and four of his own deputy mayors submitted resignations this week due to concerns about his ability to lead the city independently. The mayor has said there was no quid pro quo with the Trump administration.
Gov. Hochul has explored the option of using her authority to remove Adams from office, though she said Thursday she’s holding off on doing so “at this time” in favor of seeking to implement more state oversight of his administration.
Amid the turmoil, there are few outward signs of Adams’ bid for reelection. He has no campaign website, no campaign staff besides Pitta and hasn’t held any official campaign events this cycle even as the June 24 primary looms just months away. Adams is expected to participate in a mayoral candidate forum next week, his first of the 2025 election cycle.
Further complicating his candidacy: Adams’ fundraising has shown signs of tapering off in the most recent reporting periods, while the city Campaign Finance Board continues to withhold millions of dollars in public matching funds from his reelection effort due to his indictment, which charges him with, among other things, taking illegal political donations and bribes from Turkish government operatives. He has pleaded not guilty.
Chris Coffey, a political strategist who worked on Andrew Yang’s unsuccessful 2021 mayoral run, noted petitioning in the 2025 race starts next week, making Adams’ apparent lack of a campaign operation more puzzling.
“It feels like the mayor is in a lonely place,” said Coffey.
Basil Smikle, the former executive director of the New York State Democratic Party, said amid such a miasma of political turmoil Speaker Adams would bring a sense of stability to City Hall.
But he noted the speaker has a lot of ground to catch up on.
“It’s a lot to ask of her in a short period of time,” he said, “and so I could understand some reluctance.”
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