Democrat Eric Adams wins race for New York City mayor
Published:Wednesday | November 3, 2021 | 9:26 AM
NEW YORK (AP) — Democrat Eric Adams has been elected New York City mayor, defeating Republican Curtis Sliwa on Tuesday in a contest far easier than his next task: steering a damaged city through its recovery from the coronavirus pandemic.
Adams, a former New York City police captain and the Brooklyn borough president, will become the second Black mayor of the nation's most populous city.
David Dinkins, who served from 1990 to 1993, was the first.
“Tonight, New York has chosen one of you -- one of our own. I am you. I am you,” Adams told a jubilant crowd at his victory party at a hotel in his hometown borough of Brooklyn.
“After years of praying and hoping and struggling and working, we are headed to City Hall.”
Adams' victory seemed all but assured after he emerged as the winner from a crowded Democratic primary this summer in a city where Democrats outnumber Republicans 7 to 1.
As a candidate, Adams referenced his working-class roots and being raised with five siblings by a single mother who cleaned houses.
He described carrying a garbage bag of clothes to school out of fear his family would be evicted.
He brought a photo of his late mother with him Tuesday as he voted in Brooklyn.
He teared up as he described his life as a classic New York story, rising from a poor upbringing to become the leader of the city.
Adams, 61, will take office on January 1 in a city where more than 34,500 people have been killed by COVID-19, and where the economy is still beset by challenges related to the pandemic.
The tourism industry hasn't come back yet.
Office buildings remain partly empty, with people still working from home.
Schools are trying to get children back on track after a year of distance learning.
After he finished speaking, Adams was joined onstage by Governor Kathy Hochul, who pledged “a whole new era of cooperation” between the state in the city, after eight years in which the former governor, Andrew Cuomo, was constantly at odds with Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“We will fight for you, not fight each other anymore,” she said.
De Blasio, a Democrat, was limited by law to two terms.
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