Cuomo ramps up mayoral plans after Adams' indictment

NEW YORK — The indictment of Mayor Eric Adams is emboldening former Gov. Andrew Cuomo to jump into the crowded race for New York City mayor.

Since last year, Cuomo has been signaling to some insiders he was disinclined to run against Adams, given their shared base of predominantly moderate, Black Democratic voters.

But the Democrat's calculus has shifted amid Adams’ deepening legal troubles, which crescendoed with the unsealing of a five-count criminal indictment that alleged the mayor received favors and campaign contributions from the Turkish government in exchange for official actions.

“I think he’s going to run,” said Chris Coffey, a former adviser to ex-Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Andrew Yang’s 2021 mayoral campaign. “He was probably going to run no matter what, and a weakened, or out-of-the-race Eric Adams is a better bet for him.”

Cuomo has reached out over the last year to New York business and labor leaders about a run for mayor.

“He has previously said he has no plans to make plans, and that hasn’t changed,” said Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi.

His political team has laid the groundwork by trying to give Cuomo an aura of inevitability, positing he would be a sure winner in a 90-day, nonpartisan special election if Adams were to leave office — though the competition would actually be stiff, and Cuomo has to contend with baggage of his own.

Cuomo would, in part, rely on his near-universal name identification. He’d also likely benefit from a special election in which independent voters could cast ballots if Adams doesn't serve out his term — though the mayor is vowing to fight the charges and remain in office.

But Cuomo is also risk averse. He would not want to run for mayor — or his old job as governor — unless he views it as a slam dunk.

No matter what, he would have to deal with the problems of his recent past in his first political campaign in six years.

Cuomo left office amid allegations of sexual harassment and inappropriate behavior, which he has denied.

He has also been slammed by a Republican-led House panel investigating his handling of the Covid pandemic and nursing home deaths during the public health crisis. Cuomo was accused by the subcommittee of inappropriately contacting a witness in order to influence his testimony.

Azzopardi, the Cuomo spokesperson, called the claim “a true shark-jumping moment from the MAGA clown car.”

Still, left-leaning advocates believe Cuomo would be rejected by voters.

“In this moment, New Yorkers are craving a leader with the utmost integrity and Andrew Cuomo is not that,” New York Working Families Party Co-Director Jasmine Gripper said.

There are questions, too, over whether he would be able to garner enough support from Black leaders and voters — a crucial part of his base — if Adams remains in the race.

In a show of force, Adams on Thursday morning appeared alongside prominent Black civil rights leaders and clergy during a chaotic news conference at Gracie Mansion who insisted they would remain loyal to the mayor.

“I’m asking all New Yorkers to hear his side and let him have his day in court,” said Hazel Dukes, the president of the NAACP New York State Conference.

Cuomo last weekend spoke at a Brooklyn church with a predominantly Black congregation and slammed the far left while blasting the city’s migrant crisis as “out of control.”

Ruben Diaz Sr., a Pentecostal minister from the Bronx and a conservative Democrat who served in the state Legislature and City Council, has also been courted by Cuomo.

The two last spoke during the summer, and Diaz — who supports Donald Trump — came away from the conversation believing Cuomo was ready to run.

“He told me the only way that he could run for mayor would be if Adams would not run or if something happens to him,” Diaz said. “What happened yesterday I believe that he will be running.”

An electoral victory for Cuomo would also offer a measure of personal redemption following his spectacular fall from power three years ago. The Democrat was a nationally known political celebrity during the early months of the pandemic until a torrent of scandals led to his resignation.

Privately, he also has spoken with former New York City Council Member Andy King, a Bronx Democrat expelled from the chamber in 2020 following allegations of sexual harassment and ethical misconduct.

King maintains ties to the powerful union 1199 SEIU and has influence in the Co-op City neighborhood in the Bronx.

King said in an interview he is praying for Adams but believes Cuomo would be a strong contender in the race for mayor.

“I would be able to identify anybody whose record was ignored, their lifelong testimony gets discarded,” he said. “You can’t take away someone who has done the work for the last 10 years.”