Eric Adams introduced Thursday that he won’t search the Democratic nomination for mayor — as a substitute pushing all his chips in on a longshot run as an unbiased candidate.
Hizzoner dropped the bombshell information in a marketing campaign video announcement — simply someday after a federal choose killed his corruption case for good.
“More than 25,000 New Yorkers signed my Democratic primary petition, but the dismissal of the bogus case against me dragged on too long making it impossible to mount a primary campaign while these false accusations were held over me,” Adams mentioned within the six-minute spiel.
“But I’m not a quitter. I’m a New Yorker,” he continued. “And that is why today, although I am still a Democrat, I am announcing that I will forgo the Democratic primary for mayor and appeal directly to all New Yorkers as an independent candidate in the general election.”
The embattled mayor insisted the Large Apple could be higher off with out clashing rhetoric from progressive and conservative sides – arguing he has all the time put New Yorkers “before politics and party.”
“I firmly believe that this city is better served by truly independent leadership, not leaders pulled at by the extremists on the far left or the far right, but instead those rooted in the common middle, the place where the vast majority of New Yorkers are firmly planted,” Adams mentioned.
These near Adams instructed The Put up the mayor had been mulling an unbiased bid to retain his seat in Metropolis Corridor for weeks as his historic legal case dragged out.
The mayor, for his half, addressed the costs in his marketing campaign replace, acknowledging that the high-profile case might have shifted voters’ views.
“I know that the accusations leveled against me may have shaken your confidence in me and that you may rightly have questions about my conduct,” he mentioned.
“And let me be clear, although the charges against me were false, I trusted people I should not have and I regret that. But the issues I face are nothing compared to yours.”
“Ultimately, it will be up to you who runs this city for the next 4 years,” he added. “As someone who has always fought for you and who is accountable to only you, I hope I can earn your vote.”
Nonetheless, the key shift to the final election, which was first reported by Politico, will likely be a steep uphill battle to alter voters’ minds after a primary time period marred by scandals and plummeting ballot numbers.
Some imagine the prolific campaigner could make a “Lazarus-like” political comeback whereas others imagine his goose is cooked.
Adams will now submit petitions to the Board of Elections on Could 27 – as a substitute of Thursday when different Democrats, together with former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, have been planning on.
The mayor, who wants roughly 3,750 extra to qualify for the race, solely has $3 million money readily available as of final month after an abysmal first marketing campaign submitting interval introduced in simply $36,000.
In the meantime, his announcement got here lower than 24 hours after Manhattan federal Decide Dale Ho launched his long-awaited determination on whether or not to just accept the controversial dismissal of costs sought by President Trump’s Justice Division.
Ho dismissed the case with prejudice – which means it could actually’t be introduced once more.
His opinion went additional than DOJ officers’ request to dismiss with out prejudice, which he wrote reeked of the Trump administration making an attempt to carry future prosecution over Adams’ head.
