Mayor Adams dismisses early push for 2025 primary challenge against him: ‘I got a city to govern’
Mayor Adams scoffed Tuesday at an early push from progressive Democrats to challenge him in the 2025 election, ridiculing the efforts as “people who are meeting in a basement somewhere” while at the same time affirming he takes every potential primary rival seriously.
Adams, who has drawn the ire of the city’s organized left over his public safety policies and advocacy for deep social service budget cuts, made the dismissive remarks after being asked by the Daily News about longtime LGBTQ activist Allen Roskoff’s recent launch of a campaign to recruit a 2025 primary challenger against the mayor.
“I don’t know if you realized it, he didn’t endorse me the last time,” Adams said of Roskoff, who used to count the mayor as a friend. “I’ve known him for years, and so what do you do, you stay up at night and worry about people who are meeting in a basement somewhere saying, ‘How do we stop Eric Adams from being mayor?’ I can’t do that, I got a city to govern, and I enjoy every second of fighting on behalf of New Yorkers.”
When asked why his reelection campaign has already raised millions of dollars if he’s not concerned about challengers, the mayor said he considers any possible primary opponent “formidable.”
“You don’t discount anyone when you’re running a campaign. Anyone who does that is foolish,” the mayor said. “I do the fullness of my job. The fullness of my job is to govern, the fullness of my job is to protect the city, to move the city forward, and to raise the money to be able to campaign in the future — it’s part of the job.”
Before Adams answered The News’ inquiry about the fund-raising component, Deputy Mayor for Public Safety Phil Banks, who attended the livestreamed briefing, could be heard loudly sighing before muttering, “stupid a– f—ing question.”
Asked after the briefing if Adams stood by Banks’ expletive-ridden remark, City Hall spokesman Charles Lutvak said, “Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.”
Roskoff’s so-called “Coalition for Mayoral Choice,” the launch of which was first reported by The News last week, aims to scout for candidates willing to mount a 2025 bid against Adams and then narrow it down to one candidate progressives can coalesce around. In an interview earlier this month, Roskoff said his team has already met with several local elected officials and activists who are interested in joining the coalition.
Asked for a response to Adams’ comments about his 2025 effort, Roskoff said he’s saddened by what he sees as his conservative political turn that started during his 2021 mayoral campaign.
“He changed, we did not change. He was never a lefty, but he was a friend on many issues, and that’s why we endorsed him many times,” Roskoff said, referring to endorsements his organization, the Jim Owles Liberal Democratic Club, issued for Adams’ state Senate and Brooklyn borough president campaigns years ago.
“We were friends and then when he ran for mayor, he became total ‘law and order,'” Roskoff added. “He did a 180-degree turnaround on some issues regarding criminal justice that I find very offensive.”
Roskoff’s effort comes as a number of local left-wing lawmakers are calling for a 2025 primary challenge against Adams — and some of them are not ruling out throwing their own hats in the ring.
“I’m open to the idea,” Queens state Sen. Jessica Ramos, who’s among a handful of potential Adams challengers, said when asked if she’s considering a 2025 campaign in a PIX11 interview that aired Sunday. “There’s still some time, I do think that someone should primary the mayor.”
Anyone going up against Adams in 2025 would likely face a major fund-raising deficit.
The mayor, who maintains close ties to several of the city’s politically influential labor unions, has so far raised more than $2.7 million for his reelection bid, according to his latest campaign finance disclosure, putting him at a significant advantage.
In his Tuesday briefing, Adams said he wishes he didn’t need to fund-raise so much, in part due to recent controversies that have emerged in the wake of six of his supporters being indicted on criminal charges that they orchestrated a sweeping straw donor scheme to benefit the mayor’s 2021 campaign.
“You think I like doing these large number of fund-raisers, asking people to raise money, doing all the filing, worrying about people going through and calling all my donors, and saying, ‘Did you actually donate to Eric?'” he said. “You think I want to do this? You know how much time it takes away from governing?”