NYC Council Speaker Corey Johnson drops out of 2021 mayoral race
And he’s out.
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson on Thursday ended his 2021 bid for mayor just months after a bruising budget battle that put him on the outs with many of the city’s progressive forces.
Johnson, who represents Chelsea, the West Village and parts of Midtown, was regarded as a leading contender before COVID-19 hit the city.
His boosterism and openness for a short time served as an antidote to Mayor de Blasio’s awkwardness and prickly demeanor — but the protests after George Floyd’s death and the Council’s handling of the NYPD in its budget irked many liberals who felt the Council should have reduced police funding more drastically.
“Just as I was open about the fact that I was considering a run for mayor, I now want to be open about the fact that I have made the difficult decision not to run,” Johnson said in a statement released Thursday, shortly after the Daily News broke the story of his change of heart.
“This challenging time has led me to rethink how I can best be of service to this city, and I have come to the conclusion that this is not the right path for me," he said.
In his statement, Johnson added that he’s been dealing with depression over the last few months.
“I’ve been open about my sobriety, which along with my partner and mother, has been instrumental to me during this difficult time,” he said. “I believe it’s important to be open about this as well. Too often mental health issues are shrouded in secrecy and stigmas, which causes people struggling with these issues to feel alone. I encourage anyone who is experiencing a mental health condition to seek help. I did and I am better for it.”
Colleagues and friends of Johnson’s have described him as withdrawn in recent weeks, and many had been predicting that he would eventually drop out of the race.
“I don’t know if he wants to be speaker,” said a Council member who requested anonymity to avoid retaliation. “The current marching orders are, ‘Let’s do small things that no one cares about. We’re not taking on any big fights.’ ”
Before COVID-19 and the tumult it brought with it, Johnson projected an effusive, optimistic flair that cast him as a potential front-runner in the 2021 mayoral contest.
He danced in the street at last year’s Gay Pride parade — with video of him racking up nearly 110,000 page views on social media. He posted videos of himself singing along to Lady Gaga on Twitter. And he pushed Mayor de Blasio to adopt the Fair Fares program, which reduced the cost of riding the subway for poor New Yorkers.
But over the summer, Johnson drew the wrath of both liberals and conservatives over $1 billion in budget changes to the NYPD. Lefties accused Johnson of failing to defund the force, a demand that emerged from nationwide anti-police-brutality protests, with protesters at one point coming to the home of Johnson’s boyfriend and committing vandalism.
Right-wingers said Johnson was betraying New York’s Finest. For his part, Johnson sounded an apologetic tone over the bill, though he also slashed the discretionary funding of the “No” votes, which some saw as an act of revenge.
“To everyone who is disappointed that we did not go farther ... I am disappointed as well,” he said at the time.
Even with Johnson’s exit from the mayoral race, there’s a crowded field of candidates.
The contenders include Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams, city Comptroller Scott Stringer and Maya Wiley, a former top aide to Mayor de Blasio.
In spite of a brutal year for Johnson, insiders say he shouldn’t be counted out yet. Congress and the state Senate are viewed as future possibilities for the speaker.
With Shant Shahrigian
