As federal investigators swarm Mayor Adams' administration, the top Republican in the New York City Council is considering running for mayor, The Washington Post has learned.
Assembly Minority Leader Joe Borelli (R-Staten Island) has told aides he will run for mayor if embattled Mayor Eric Adams resigns before his term ends at the end of next year, according to sources.
“Given the rapidly changing political climate, he, like many New Yorkers, is very concerned that the next election could become a race to see who can move furthest to the left, and the public should not tolerate that,” a source close to Borelli said.
If Adams resigns before the end of his term, a nonpartisan special election will be held. Candidates do not run in a primary and appear on the ballot without party affiliation.
Sources say Borelli has no interest in going head-to-head with Adams in the 2025 general election because it would put him at a huge disadvantage in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans by more than seven to one.
But a nonpartisan election would see many left-wing candidates running and splitting the Democratic Party vote, potentially giving Borelli a better chance of emerging as the top conservative candidate.
Comptroller Brad Lander, former Comptroller Scott Stringer, State Sen. Jessica Ramos of Queens and State Sen. Zellnor Miley of Brooklyn are among a long list of Democrats who have already announced their candidacy, and Adams' campaign is smelling blood as his approval rating among voters plummets.
“In a crowded field with ranked choice voting and a growing number of progressive candidates, I think someone like Joe who can unify Republicans and conservative Democrats will have a path to victory,” a Republican source said.
“I think Joe can win the citywide special election.”
Democratic Party officials mocked Borrelli, noting that he lost the citywide public attorney election in 2019 to left-leaning Jumaane Williams by a 5-to-1 margin.
“Joe's profile has improved. [since then]”But there are too many Democrats in New York City who are not willing to cross party lines,” said a senior New York City Democratic Party official.
Adams, a moderate Democrat who has routinely angered the party's far-left wing by siding with Borelli and Republicans on public safety and other policy issues, has come under fire amid ongoing federal investigations into his 2021 campaign fundraising, aides and other allies.
The mayor maintained that he is not the subject of any investigation and that his office and the elections commission are cooperating fully with federal authorities.
The mayor said Tuesday he was “committed” to serving out his term and seeking reelection, but declined to say whether he would resign if he were to face criminal charges.
“I'm not going to deal in hypotheticals.” he told reporters..
New York Police Commissioner Edward Cavan resigned on Thursday under pressure from City Hall, a week after federal agents seized his electronic devices as part of a massive corruption investigation into possible peddling and other wrongdoing.
Borelli declined to comment.
