Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is ‘confident’ she will be able to fundraise and collect assist shortly sufficient to be aggressive within the Democratic main for mayor. Wednesday, March 12, 2025.
Picture by Lloyd Mitchell
Adrienne Adams, the Metropolis Council Speaker who just lately entered the 2025 NYC mayor’s race, stated on Wednesday that she is “confident” her marketing campaign can shortly fundraise and amass assist regardless of her late entrance into the crowded discipline.
The speaker is underneath strain to lift cash speedily and construct momentum for her marketing campaign simply over three months earlier than the June 24 Democratic main.
The reasonable Black lawmaker launched her marketing campaign final week with early assist from elected officers, together with Deputy Council Speaker Diana Ayala (D-Manhattan), state Sen. James Sanders Jr. (D-Queens), and Meeting Member Andrew Hevesi (D-Queens), amongst others. Whereas she waved away the notion of constructing alliances with different Democratic candidates to reap the benefits of the town’s ranked-choice voting system, she insisted she will be able to drum up assist throughout the town.
“My candidacy stands alone. I have a clear path and a clear way that I want to get to this win,” she stated. “Mine is going to be building a strong coalition between all of the boroughs.”
Metropolis Council Speaker Adrienne Adams talking on March 4, 2025Photo by Lloyd Mitchell
Speaker Adams is leaning closely on her expertise as a seasoned legislator who has represented a portion of voter-rich southeast Queens since 2017. She has served as council speaker since early 2022 and is term-limited on the finish of this 12 months.
The speaker is pitching herself as a reliable chief who isn’t saddled by immense baggage like the present mayor, Eric Adams, or former Gov. Andrew Cuomo—the frontrunner within the race.
“There is a desire for steady leadership that works for New Yorkers and doesn’t come with the distractions or scandal,” she stated. “I keep saying no distractions, no scandal, no nonsense.”
Speaker Adams has led the council for a number of years, throughout which period she and the mayor have clashed over a slew of points. These embrace the mayor’s deep funds cuts, laws requiring the NYPD to report on extra low-level pedestrian stops, and the steadiness of energy in Metropolis Corridor.
Relating to fundraising, the speaker stated she expects to obtain matching funds “in time” however expressed uncertainty about qualifying for public {dollars} by subsequent Monday’s Marketing campaign Finance Board submitting deadline.
In response to CFB information, she at the moment has $211,000 in her marketing campaign account and should increase an extra $250,000 in small-dollar donations from 1,000 New York Metropolis residents to qualify for matching funds.
“As far as the Monday deadline is concerned, we’re not going to make any predictions, we’re not taking anything for granted either,” she stated. “We’ve been aggressively fundraising for less than a week. So put that together.”
After exhibiting nearly little interest in working for mayor throughout a lot of her tenure, Speaker Adams jumped into the race on the urging of Democratic heavyweights like state Lawyer Basic Letitia James and the municipal workers’ District Council 37, New York News beforehand reported. They enlisted the speaker within the hope that her candidacy may block the mayor from profitable re-election and, maybe extra realistically, Cuomo from taking his place.
