Adrienne Adams, City Council speaker, enters NYC mayor's race

New York City’s council speaker, Adrienne Adams, announced Thursday she’s seeking the Democratic mayoral primary nomination, motivated to run by what she considers to be President Donald Trump's endangering of the city’s independence.

Adams made her announcement in a news release. She plans to host a campaign kickoff Saturday afternoon in her home borough of Queens.

In a prepared statement, titled "ADRIENNE FOR THE PEOPLE," Adams did not mention Eric Adams, the incumbent mayor, by name. But she hinted at his criminal case and the allegation he struck a corrupt bargain with the Trump administration to dismiss the indictment in exchange for help carrying out Trump’s immigration crackdown.

The mayor has denied all wrongdoing.

"New Yorkers can't afford to live here, City Hall is in chaos, and Donald Trump is corrupting our city's independence. It’s time to stand up," she said in the statement. "I never planned to run for mayor, but I’m not giving up on New York City. Our city deserves a leader that serves its people first and always, not someone focused on themselves and their own political interests. I’m a public servant, mother, Queens girl and I’m running for mayor. No drama, no nonsense — just my commitment to leading with competence and integrity."

Adrienne Adams is the second newcomer to the mayor's race in less than a week. On Saturday, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who is also from Queens, announced he is a candidate. Several opinion polls have shown Cuomo as the front-runner.

Eric Adams said Thursday he was pleased candidates rumored to be entering the race finally  are.

"Come one, come all," he said, responding to a question about the speaker at an unrelated event in Manhattan about quality-of-life enforcement.

"You know, how many people were in the shadows for so long? They were running shadow campaigns. They were not being scrutinized. They were not being questioned," he said. "You didn't know what their positions were."

Cuomo placed first in a poll released Wednesday by Quinnipiac University — with a double-digit lead — at 31%. The mayor was second, with 11%, according to the poll. Adrienne Adams was in seventh place, with 4%, tied with State Sen. Jessica Ramos, who is also from Queens.

The primary election is in June.

For the first time since he entered the race, Cuomo answered a few questions Thursday from reporters who hadn’t been selected in advance.

Queries included his top three mistakes (he said he regretted not adding more cops to the MTA police force to supplement the NYPD's head count, not preparing better for the pandemic and sometimes being too impatient; Cuomo did not answer whether he’s "apologized to those groups that you said you feel like you've hurt"), whether he supports Gov. Kathy Hochul's fight to keep congestion pricing (he supports the policy, which he passed as governor but has questioned whether now is the right time for it) and his residency (Manhattan, since the fall).

Adrienne Adams, who isn’t related to Eric Adams, enters the race weeks after rumors that she was being nudged to run in order to blunt the prospect of a Cuomo victory. Those who were pushing her to run considered the current field unlikely to be able to beat Cuomo, sources have told Newsday.

Those who had been trying to recruit Adrienne Adams to run include the state’s attorney general, Letitia James, former Mayor Bill de Blasio, Rep. Gregory Meeks (D-Queens) and the Rev. Al Sharpton, Newsday reported last month.

The 64-year-old speaker, who is from southeast Queens, is likely to draw outsize backing from some of the same voters as Cuomo and Eric Adams. If elected, she would be the city's first female mayor. She and Eric Adams attended Bayside High School together.

By Matthew Chayes

matthew.chayes@newsday.comchayesmatthew

Matthew Chayes, a Newsday reporter since 2007, covers New York City.