‘I am so proud of who we are’: Topeka mayor, Kansans respond to slights from NYC mayor

Topeka Mayor Mike Padilla clapped back after New York Mayor Eric Adams made a snide comment on the Golden City.

During a prayer breakfast on Tuesday, Adams claimed that it was God’s will that he would be the mayor of one of the largest cities in the world.

“He could have made me the mayor of Topeka, Kansas,” Adams said at the interfaith breakfast hosted at the New York Public Library.

In response, Padilla told The New York Times that Adams could have left Topeka out of his speech.

“He could make his points without trying to diminish our great city, and I wish he would,” Padilla told The Times. “As Topeka’s mayor, and as a lifelong member of this community, I am so proud of who we are, and what we stand for.

The city of Topeka’s Twitter page even responded with a video promoting the capital city and a tweet that read:

“You think you know, Topeka, @NYCMayor? Think again! #TopekaProud.”

The New York mayor also called out Kansas last September.

The mayor said that “Kansas doesn’t have a brand,” while referring to how recognizable New York’s image is.

A few weeks later, the Big 12 conference jokingly responded with a picture of Adams holding up a University of Kansas football jersey with coach Lance Leipold.

“New York City Mayor Eric Adams now knows Kansas is a brand,” the tweet read.

It’s not clear if Adams’ remarks are all in good fun or if he actually has issues with the Sunflower State, but the ongoing joke is running dry for some.

“This is the second time the mayor of New York City has minimized the people of Kansas in public remarks, this time with the direct mention of Topeka, “ Padilla told the Times. “The comments made by the mayor at a prayer breakfast are concerning and unprofessional and there is no need to repeat what was said.”

Former Topeka Mayor Michelle De La Isla also added her two cents:

“I’m sure Mayor Adams had no ill intent in his remark and was probably thinking of somewhere in Middle America that was not as big a community as New York. … That being said, I am grateful to God to have had the privilege to be the mayor of Topeka,” De La Isla told the Topeka Capital Journal.

Other Kansans also took to social media to respond to the New York mayor: