Eric Adams
Son of a cleaning lady, ex-cop, vegan – this is New York’s new mayor
As expected, Democrat Eric Adams won the mayoral election in New York. According to concurring reports from several television stations, the black ex-police officer clearly prevailed against Curtis Sliwa of the Republicans. New York, a city of 8.8 million people, has been liberal for years. The victory of the Democrat Adam was therefore almost a formality. The 61-year-old will be the second black mayor in the history of the megacity from January. In January, he replaces Bill de Blasio, who was banned from running after two terms. Adams is considered a moderate politician. Previously, he had been the district mayor of Brooklyn, New York. One of the most difficult tasks he has to face is likely to include the city’s economic recovery from the corona pandemic. He also sees the fight against crime as one of his most important tasks. In the election campaign he had spoken out against budget cuts in the New York police. He had also announced measures against overpriced living and promised investments in schools and new bike paths.
A former cop now runs New York. In the largest city in the United States, Eric Adams not only has to find the right balance in dealing with police and crime – but also the way out of the corona crisis.
Eric Adams comes from a poor background, faced police violence and then became a police officer himself before moving into politics. The 61-year-old will now continue his fight against the grievances in his hometown of New York from the top level: As expected, the Democratic candidate won a clear victory in the mayoral election. The former policeman and convinced vegan prevailed against the Republican Curtis Sliwa without difficulty.
At first, unofficial figures from the electoral body saw Adams ahead of about 66 to 28 percent. The ex-cop will succeed the rather unpopular Mayor Bill de Blasio in January. The Democrat was no longer allowed to run after two terms in office.
“We are losing the beauty of our diversity”
In his victory speech, Adams conjured the cohesion among the people in the largest city in the USA, which had recently suffered: “We are so divided right now. And we are losing the beauty of our diversity.” It doesn’t matter whether you’re from neighborhoods in Manhattan, Queens, or Brooklyn, or where you go to pray. “Today we take off the jersey of our neighborhoods and we put on a jersey: Team New York!”
Adams, previously the mayor of Brooklyn, was elected the second African American in history to head the United States’ largest city. “Tonight I made my dream come true,” said Adams after his election triumph. Now he wants to remove the obstacles for all New Yorkers that keep them from “realizing their dream”.
Soar over Manhattan on top of One Vanderbilt
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Adams faces great challenges. The mayor’s office in the Democratic stronghold of New York City has long been considered the “second toughest job” in the United States after that of the President. And the mountain of tasks is particularly high now.
The metropolis with more than eight million inhabitants is not only trying to overcome the devastating effects of the corona pandemic. Dealing with the virus – such as the compulsory vaccination for city workers imposed by incumbent Mayor Bill de Blasio – also creates political explosives.
Crime and housing that is too expensive
New York also suffers from high crime rates, poverty and a lack of affordable housing. The devastating flash floods in early September with several deaths made it clear that the city urgently needs to prepare for the effects of climate change. And as in many other US cities, there are calls to reform the police, which have come under criticism for violence against blacks.
Adams can draw on his own experience with the police. Born the son of a cleaning lady and a butcher, Adams was a police officer himself for 22 years before moving into politics. In 1995 he founded an organization of black police officers to fight racism among the security forces.
Adams had witnessed police violence himself as a teenager when he was a member of a gang. At the age of 15, he was repeatedly kicked by two police officers after he was arrested. At that time he decided to become a police officer himself: “I didn’t want other children to have to go through what I went through,” he wrote in 2014 in the New York Times. “I wanted to change something from the inside out by becoming a police officer.”
Adams has opposed calls from sections of the Democratic left to withdraw funds from police forces across the country after the violent death of African American George Floyd in May 2020. Rather, he wants to strengthen the police in order to combat the crime rate that has increased during the corona pandemic. New York will not recover from the corona pandemic and attract important economic tourists “if people are gunned down in Times Square,” he said in the summer.
Emphasizes business-friendly
Adams, who sat in the New York State Senate for years, belongs to the moderate Democratic wing and is also decidedly business-friendly. With this course, he won the Democratic primary elections for mayor’s office in June. “His style will be that of a moderate pragmatist rather than an ideological liberal,” says politics professor Robert Shapiro of New York’s Columbia University.
Adams, who completely cut animal products from his diet after being diagnosed with diabetes in 2016, also has the reputation of a man who shows presence, who can lend a hand and make decisions, while the unpopular incumbent de Blasio has often been criticized as being too hesitant.
“This is a city where the mayor is the dominant political force,” says New York University urban policy expert Mitchell Moss. “It takes someone who knows how to use authority.” Adams has “the personality that New Yorkers want in office”. The 61-year-old will take up his new position at the turn of the year.