CoJo ends mayor bid, citing work & health

City Council Speaker Corey Johnson on Thursday pulled the plug on his bid for mayor, saying he would focus instead on the city and his own mental-health issues.

“It was no secret that I had been considering a run for mayor, and that I have put my campaign on pause for the past six months,” the Manhattan Democrat said in a statement announcing he was dropping out.

“I felt strongly that it was the right thing to do considering all that our city has been going through, including COVID-19, the resulting shutdown and economic pain, and the long-overdue national reckoning on race.

“Just as I was open about the fact that I was considering a run for mayor, I now want to be open about the fact that I have made the difficult decision not to run.”

Johnson, 38, later told The Post that “something had to come off my plate,” noting he was already dealing with his work at City Hall, an ongoing struggle with depression, and a life — and city — “upended” by the pandemic.

“I’m used to being a social person, I enjoy going to City Hall, I enjoy going to events, and all of a sudden — life was upended,” Johnson said.

“When I was trying to figure out how to balance all of these things,” he said of his work and mental health, “I knew I needed to focus on getting better and getting back to 100 percent.

“One of those things had to give,” he added.

“I wasn’t going to not be speaker, I wasn’t not going to focus on my health — something had to come off my plate.”

Johnson’s exit leaves city Comptroller Scott Stringer and Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams as the front-runners for the 2021 Democratic mayoral primary to replace the term-limited Mayor de Blasio. Each has raised more than $2 million so far.

But they will likely face challenges from Maya Wiley, who is a former top adviser to de Blasio, and former city Sanitation Commissioner Kathyrn Garcia. Both are expected to make late-splash entrances into the race.

Johnson’s decision to drop out of the 2021 mayoral race is a “great loss” to New York City, said gayrights activist Allen Roskoff, a pal of the speaker.

“I’m disappointed because I know Corey would be an excellent mayor. It’s a great loss to the City of New York because Corey is energetic and progressive,” said Roskoff, head of the Jim Owles LGBT Democratic club.

“I know that Corey will be serving us in another capacity.”

I wasn’t going to not be speaker, I wasn’t not going to focus on my health — something had to come off my plate. — Council Speaker Corey Johnson