By Robert Hornak
In September, Mayor Adams was indicted for soliciting illegal campaign contributions and accepting bribes that go back a decade. With the election for Mayor of NYC coming next year, and Adams planning to run for a second term, NYC’s political world is in chaos.
Adams trial is scheduled for April, well before the June primary. But after petitions need to be submitted by candidates confirming what office they will run for next year. According to the Campaign Finance Board, there are now 32 candidates registered to run for mayor in 2025.
However, no Republican candidate has filed yet. Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, who ran in 2021, has declared he will run again, but due to his radio hosting gig on WABC Radio, he has not filed to run yet.
This has led some to speculate that Adams, who also has to deal with the court of public opinion and a number of very well-known and well-funded democrats preparing to challenge him next year, could possibly avoid the crazy democratic primary by becoming a republican.
After all, Adams did spend a little time as a republican, changing his registration in 1997 at the same time Rudy Giuliani was running for a second term and when many democrats were crossing over to support Rudy after his incredibly successful first term. But that clearly wasn’t a comfortable fit for Adams, who flipped back four short years later and well before he ran for State Senate in 2006.
When asked if he would consider changing his party registration now, Adams didn’t clearly rule it out. This has set the non-stop news world on fire, endlessly speculating that Adams could make the flip. They are not, however, asking the one question that really matters – would he be welcome in the Republican Party.
The affinity they point to is two-fold. First, that Adams, after defending NYC’s sanctuary city status and welcoming illegal immigrants to flood into the city, made some comments critical of Biden’s open border policy and, more importantly, the lack of federal funding for the myriad of services Adams was providing. Second, Adams claimed the DOJ was targeting him with Trump-style lawfare after his pleas for that additional federal funding.
A deeper look at these issues would indicate a cynical opportunism, as well as the multitude of other issues where Adams has taken positions antithetical to most republicans.
On immigration, Adams only problem was the lack of federal funds for migrant services, even as thousands of NY’ers are living on the streets. Adams claim of lawfare, while convenient, is farcical. If Adams committed the campaign finance violations he is accused of, something others have gone to jail for, he clearly broke the law. Unlike Trump, who was attacked in novel ways where the activity alleged isn’t clearly criminal, even if it occurred.
Then there is the rest of the Adams agenda. In spite of Adams tough talk on crime, the NYPD still has its hands tied. City streets feel less safe than they have since pre-Guiliani. Crime in many categories is up, while Adams denies there is a problem. He has refused to take on sanctuary status and use his emergency powers to facilitate the removal of criminal gang members.
He put migrant shelters in residential communities across the city. And, in the ultimate insult, he pushed through his City of Yes rezoning scheme that will allow multiple family dwellings to be built in neighborhoods for one and two-family homes.
Every step of the way Adams has shown his values are starkly in opposition to those of most republicans and the idea that he would be embraced by many in the party, or could win a republican primary, is misguided at best.
Robert Hornak is a professional political consultant who has previously served as the Deputy Director of the Republican Assembly Leader’s NYC office and as Executive Director of the Queens Republican Party. He can be reached at rahornak@gmail.com and @RobertHornak on X.
