(New York) The outgoing mayor of New York, Eric Adams, on Thursday gave his support to the former governor of the state, Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent in the race for his succession after losing the Democratic primary to the favorite of the polls, Zohran Mamdani.
“I think it’s imperative to really wake up the black and people of color communities that have suffered from gentrification, to make them understand how important this election is,” Eric Adams said in an interview with New York Times.
“I’m going to walk with former Governor Andrew Cuomo in these neighborhoods to mobilize them,” added the second African-American mayor in the city’s history.
Democrat Eric Adams had chosen to run as an independent in his own right before abandoning the race at the end of September in the face of polls which gave him less than 10% of voting intentions.
PHOTO HIROKO MASUIKE, AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE
Democratic candidate for New York mayor Zohran Mamdani
Until then he had not given any voting instructions, but had quite clearly attacked Zohran Mamdani, a 34-year-old elected official from Queens representing the left wing of the Democratic Party, of Indian origin and of Muslim faith.
By supporting Andrew Cuomo, a 67-year-old former governor who left office after accusations of sexual assault which did not result in indictments, Eric Adams is trying to help him catch up with his young opponent.
Before voting opens on Saturday, polls show Mr. Mamdani winning on November 4 with a lead exceeding 10 points over Mr. Cuomo.
The first mayor of New York indicted in the exercise of his mandate, Mr. Adams, an atypical political figure from the right wing of the Democratic Party, pleaded not guilty in September 2024 to corruption and illegal campaign financing in a case involving Turkey.
The councilor assured for months that his legal troubles were due to his disagreements on immigration with previous president Joe Biden, and made a rapprochement with the Trump administration.
In February, the Justice Department ordered prosecutors to dismiss his indictment.
