Mayor Eric Adams expressed confidence Tuesday morning that Governor Kathy Hochul would come out on top in a bid for her first full term as governor after voting for the incumbent at his Brooklyn polling site.
When asked by a reporter if he could work with Republican Congress Member Lee Zeldin should he win the governor’s race, Adams replied, “ I don’t even know why I need that question, Kathy’s winning tonight.”
“I’m looking forward to continuing the partnership that we’ve had,” he added. “So, I cast my vote for her and I’m excited about continuing some of the stuff we’ve done.”
Hizzoner made the remarks while taking questions from reporters after casting his ballot at P.S. 81 Thaddeus Stevens Elementary School in the Bed Stuy section of Brooklyn.
Adams and Hochul have often touted their strong working relationship, bringing the city and state together to tackle issues like subway crime and to bring a new life sciences hub to the Kips Bay section of Manhattan. They’ve held their collaborative spirit in stark contrast to the bitter feud between their predecessors former Mayor Bill de Blasio and ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo.
In the last two weeks of the election, Adams has hit the campaign trail for Hochul, trying to drive turnout among critical Democratic voting blocs in areas like southeast Queens and Brooklyn, which have high concentrations of African American voters.
However, the mayor and governor have disagreed at times over how best to tackle the current crime wave that has gripped the city.
Adams has repeatedly called on Hochul to make changes to the state’s cash bail system that would allow judges to weigh a suspect’s “dangerousness” when deciding whether to set bail. He even demanded several times that she call a special session of the state legislature to make the changes he seeked.
But after making several other changes to the bail laws during this year’s state budget cycle that gave judges more discretion in cases involving guns and repeat offenders, Hochul has refused to add a dangerousness standard.
Adams has backed off that line of attack in the weeks before the election and even came together with Hochul recently to announce a new surge of NYPD and State Police officers in the city’s subways. In response to a question from PoliticsNY, Adams said he thinks Hochul has had a strong record on combating crime and that was reflected in her closing message.
“She has just been a real partner dealing with the removal of guns off our street,” Adams said. “You knew that was my focus. I thought it was important. Jan. 6th, she was in the subway station with me dealing with subway violence. What she did a few weeks ago to continue the next phase of that. It’s been a real W and I think she has really hammered out that message that we are going to create a safe state.”
