NYC Mayor Eric Adams to endorse Gov. Kathy Hochul
Gov. Kathy Hochul, left, watches as New York City Mayor Eric Adams speaks at the Fulton Street Station in Manhattan on Jan. 6. Credit: Office of the Governor
New York Mayor Eric Adams will endorse Gov. Kathy Hochul on Wednesday, giving a boost to the incumbent facing a primary fight and perhaps dealing a blow to a challenger, Tom Suozzi, who had long touted his work with the mayor.
Adams is set to make the announcement with Hochul in the morning in Manhattan, campaign officials confirmed.
Rep. Suozzi (D-Glen Cove), who is challenging Hochul in the Democratic June 28 primary, last year turned down an offer to become Adams’ deputy mayor. Suozzi, in his campaign, has frequently invoked Adams — especially on the issue of rising crime rates and bail laws — and tailored his appeal to some of the same moderate Democratic voters who helped Adams break through a crowded Democratic mayoral field last year.
But Adams also has worked closely with Hochul on multiple issues since taking office in January. And it’s no surprise that he would endorse an incumbent, especially one who is seen as leading in the polls, one analyst said.
“The last thing any New York City mayor needs is a hostile governor. Adams endorsement: Smart politics,” Hank Sheinkopf, a veteran Democratic strategist, wrote in an email.
The endorsement will occur one day before what is scheduled to be the last Democratic debate before the primary, featuring Hochul, Suozzi and New York Public Advocate Jumaane Williams. It will air at 7 p.m. Thursday on NBC-4 and Telemundo.
Suozzi, in a statement, said: “I still consider Eric Adams a brother, but if he wants to stop surging crime in New York City, he will need a new governor in Albany who will fix bail reform. I will.”
Both Suozzi and Adams have urged state legislators and Hochul to amend bail laws to allow judges to detain a defendant the judge might consider dangerous. Suozzi has said crime is his top campaign issue.
Hochul noted that she pushed through a change that allows judges to consider the nature of a crime and defendant’s history, which she says makes for a stronger law than a subjective assessment of dangerousness.
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Urologist sexual abuse case ... Carcinogens found in West Islip ... Lab results for Bethpage park drums ... Rangers win game 2
