The Seven Democratic Candidates Going Up Against Eric Adams in the New York City Mayoral Primary Election
By: Celeste Flynn
Published: 2/9/2025
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On Wednesday January 22 at 7:30 pm, Three Parks Independent Democrats, an Upper West Side political activism group, invited Democratic candidates for the New York City Mayoral primary election to speak and promote interest in their campaigns. The primary is scheduled for June 24th with the general election being held on November 4th. All of the currently confirmed democratic candidates showed up except for incumbent Mayor Eric Adams who has faced immense controversy following his indictment in September of 2024. The event was organized by District Leader Teresa Canter and had about 80 people in attendance, most over the age of 50. Although audience members brought up numerous topics concerning candidates’ plans for the city, the main question on everyone’s mind was ultimately which of the candidates has what it takes to challenge the Adams administration.
Mayor Eric Adams; CNN
The first speaker, former Bronx Assemblyman Rev. Michael Blake, established a compelling platform with his fast-paced list of plans for the city and his charismatic persona. After introducing himself by telling everyone to raise both hands and shake them in the air so he could “shake everyone’s hands” he evidently runs a large portion of his campaign on being sociable and a man of the people. Blake laid out his plans for universal child care, affordable housing, mental health services, climate jobs, and reproductive justice. The foundation of his speech held on to the idea that the people of New York City are “spending too much, getting back too little.” This touched on a principle area of concern for most audience members during the event: affordability.
Rev. Michael Black; Facebook
Zohran Mamdani; NYS Assembly
Seeing as New York City is one of the most expensive cities in the world to live in, it was no surprise that affordability was one of the main topics of interest for candidates and audience members. New York State Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani of Long Island City, with a campaign relying on nostalgia, a big dimpled smile, and a strong socialist ideology, introduced his ambitious plan for free public transportation on buses. Mamandi cited a 2023 study where one bus route in each borough was fare free for 6-12 months. The results of this study found about a 30% increase in ridership and an almost 20% decrease in assaults on drivers systemwide. The project did find that over $12 million was lost in revenue over a nine month period. Mamandi acknowledged that a significant amount of funding would need to be provided in order to permanently implement the project but did not give a specific amount.
Similarly, on the topic of affordability and transportation, there was a significant focus on congestion pricing. Brad Lander, the current New York City Comptroller and controversially one of the biggest advocates for congestion pricing, discussed his plan to make the city “safer, more affordable, and more livable.” He spoke proudly about his work on implementing congestion pricing and emphasized that he has been working on affordability his entire career. His plans for the MTA, using the funding from congestion pricing, are to replace the station gates with designs similar to those found in Paris and London (and help stop fare evasion), put ticket collectors on buses, and fund an MTA police system instead of using the NYPD. Lander has also currently raised the most money for his campaign of any candidate at more than $3.2 million dollars. This is especially attractive to voters who are focused on getting Eric Adams out of office.
Brad Lander; x.com
Former New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer is catching up to Adams’ funding with about $2.4 million dollars. It is unsurprising that Stringer would be a popular candidate with his passionate speeches and demeanor similar to that of a college football coach, preparing his players for the playoff game. Out of all of the candidates speaking at the Three Parks event, Stringer was certainly the most quotable. Exemplified through his prideful claim, “we are the greatest city in the world and we should start acting like it” as well as repeating what seems to be a foundational principle of his campaign: “competence, experience, and vision.” Stringer’s vision includes divesting $4 million from fossil fuels, implementing a watchlist on effective budgeting, building “Mitchell-Lama 2.0” (an affordable housing plan with roots back to the ‘50s), and developing a childcare plan - specifically one where children are able to stay in school until 4:30pm.
Scott Stringer; NYPost
However, the candidate with the greatest focus on childcare was State Senator Jessica Ramos. Ramos is the only female candidate in the race and emphasized being a mother to two sons. Of the option for female politicians to either embrace being a woman or disregard it entirely, Ramos has evidently chosen the former. She also made a point of the fact that she is the only candidate to have worked at City Hall, giving her an edge with experience, and is proud of contributing to passing legislation that raised the minimum wage. Her plan includes expanding Universal Pre-K and child care eligibility. When asked by an audience member her thoughts on bringing civics into classrooms, Ramos agreed strongly while adding that we should “bring back reading comprehension” - something a high school newspaper is able to get behind! Additionally, Ramos has a head start on improving mental health services, a topic discussed at the event by only her and Michael Blake, with her Harmony NYC plan. Like every other candidate, Ramos of course remembered to mention affordable housing as well.
Jessica Ramos; ABC7 New York
Zellnor Myrie, a state senator with a speaking cadence perfect for slam poetry, did not list off his plans for the city like the other candidates but instead discussed how in 2018, “rogue democrats” stopped legislation from being passed. He described how budget cuts have harmed Black communities and for this he blames former Governor Andrew Cuomo. When asked about his affordable housing plan he discussed the Tenant Protection Act and plans to fully fund Area Median Income (AMI) projects. Myrie, similar to Mamdani, appealed to the audience by telling anecdotes of his own life. When the topic of community policing came up he mentioned how he was once pepper sprayed and how his mother was robbed at gunpoint, emphasizing the need for an improved police force.
Zellnor Myrie; Politico
The last candidate speaking at the event, with a similar emphasis on solving the issue of crime, was Whitney Tilson. Tilson is a former hedge fund manager and proudly promoted himself as the only candidate who is not a career politician. He also described himself as the “only change candidate” and a “hardcore lifelong Democrat.” Tilson discussed the amount of crime in the city and plans to address it with more police officers and investments in “specific communities.” He also blames bail reform for contributing to the amount of crime in the city, saying that it means there are less consequences.
Whitney Tilson; Buzzfeed
Evidently, the Democratic candidates for the New York City Mayoral Primary Election are not going to be extremely polarized on most issues but will have their particular areas of interest. Every candidate who spoke at the event understands that they and every audience member in the room have two common enemies: Eric Adams, and, as Whitney Tilson would say, “Donald fricking Trump.” Many are afraid that the Trump administration will target New York City due to previous legislative opposition and the people are in need of a mayor that will protect them. While typically the winner of the Democratic primary in New York City is expected to be mayor, talk of Eric Adams switching parties, and the potential for former governor Andrew Cuomo to enter the race, make the outcome of this election unclear.
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