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Mayor Eric Adams officially kicked off his re-election campaign Thursday, pitting himself as the blue collar candidate saving the city from “silver spoon” socialist Zohran Mamdani.
Adams, speaking from City Hall’s steps to a raucous crowd of more than 100 supporters, argued his battle-tested record showed he deserved four more years as New York City’s mayor.
“It’s a choice between a candidate with a blue collar and one with a silver spoon,” he said, referring to Mamdani.
Hizzoner’s announcement came after Tuesday’s Democratic mayoral primary, in which the dark-horse candidate Mamdani stunningly bested former Gov. Andrew Cuomo.
The mayor’s speech leaned heavily on faith and his personal backstory, from his dyslexia to formative childhood arrest to being labeled a “criminal” as mayor.
“If you’re going to be a man of people who are going through a lot, you must be a human being that has gone through a lot,” he said.
Adams also tried to knock down Mamdani – whose campaign focused on affordability – attacking his background as the privileged son of an academic and a famed filmmaker.
He also took a veiled swipe against Mamdani’s social media-heavy campaign, contending he instead was focused on bread-and-butter issues for New Yorkers.
“I’m not interested in Twitter politics, but in getting trash pickup,” Adams said.
The forward-looking event, however, had some reminders of the scandals that plagued Adams’ first term.
Brianna Suggs, the top campaign fundraiser whose shocking federal raid last year first revealed the corruption probe into Adams, was spotted at the event.
She stood alongside Winnie Greco, a longtime Adams aide who resigned from City Hall after her properties in the Bronx were raided by FBI agents.
English (US)