‘Believer’ Blaz finally says it: Eric’s the one for mayor
It’s ring-kissing time for Eric Adams.
Mayor de Blasio and dozens of other prominent Democrats lined up behind Adams at a news conference Monday to officially endorse him and help kick off the general election phase of his all but surefire campaign to become the city’s next mayor.
De Blasio, who has for months spoken highly of Adams’ mayoral bid without making his support official, broke his endorsement silence in a surprise appearance toward the tail end of the news conference in City Hall Park.
“I’m here to endorse Eric Adams because I believe in him,” de Blasio said to cheers, having walked over to the park after giving his daily press briefing. “We’re going to pass the baton to a great leader. He’s taking up this moment — a huge challenge, no doubt, a huge challenge — but I can tell him: My team and I are gonna do everything, everything to give you everything you need to be ready.”
After his remarks, de Blasio embraced Adams. “Go get them,” de Blasio could be heard whispering into the Brooklyn borough president’s ear.
Adams is widely expected to beat Republican candidate Curtis Sliwa in November’s general contest, considering the city’s heavily Democratic electorate.
Still, the Brooklyn beep vowed to keep hitting the campaign trail until the race is won.
“You don’t win a baseball game in the eighth inning. No premature celebration. We have another inning to go,” Adams said. “We have to make sure that our message continues to resonate.”
Among the scores of elected officials and labor leaders in the crowd to endorse Adams were Reps. Grace Meng (D-Queens) and Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan, Brooklyn), who respectively backed Andrew Yang and Scott Stringer in the mayoral primary race.
Both Meng and Nadler said it’s high time to coalesce around Adams.
“I’m really proud of the campaign that Eric ran,” Meng said. “Even if we were with different people, you cannot discount the fact that Eric has been an amazingly tireless fighter for the people of New York.”
There were also progressive members of the City Council in the audience, including Manhattan Councilwoman Carlina Rivera, a front-runner in the race to become the next speaker, giving Adams an appearance of support from the party’s left wing, with which he has clashed repeatedly over issues like public safety and policing.
Though she did not attend the news conference, former Sanitation Commissioner Kathryn Garcia, who came in second in the Democratic mayoral primary, issued a statement endorsing Adams. Maya Wiley and Yang, the other top contenders in the mayoral race, notably did not offer endorsements Monday.
Adams, who landed in some hot water last month for telling supporters at a fund-raiser that he’s “running against a movement” of progressives, suggested some intraparty feuding is “healthy” for Democrats.
“We’re still family,” he said. “We’re supposed to do that. Don’t let people think that because we debate and argue that we’re not still family. It is a way of coming together and hearing the various voices of this amazing Democratic Party.”