Democratic mayoral candidate Eric Adams meets NY congressional delegation in Washington, D.C.
Brooklyn borough president Eric Adams met with members of New York’s congressional delegation on Capitol Hill on Tuesday as he portrayed himself as a moderate mayor-in-waiting who will hit the ground running following the general election in November.
The Democratic nominee for mayor discussed public housing, climate policy and other issues with powerful Beltway insiders including fellow Democratic New Yorkers: Reps. Jerry Nadler, Hakeem Jeffries, and Sean Patrick Maloney.
“(On) January 1, when I’m governing, it’s about making sure that we have everyone at the table to govern the city,” said Adams, referring to inauguration day for the next mayor of New York City.
Adams opened the meeting about how he patched things up with an estranged sister after their mother died last spring, a parable he used to signal his goal to achieve reconciliation with those on the left.
Now that the mayoral primary is history, he insisted that there is no bad blood with the likes of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) who endorsed rival Democratic candidate, Maya Wiley. AOC attended the meeting but did not speak, sources said.
“I’m not running against a member of Congress. I’m running against a philosophy,” Adams said. “And while you campaign, you point out your different philosophical beliefs.”
Adams still faces a general election campaign against Republican nominee Curtis Sliwa but he is considered an overwhelming favorite.
Despite his effort to make nice, Adams derided democratic socialists like AOC just days ago for what he called a campaign to take control of big cities from coast to coast.
The retired police captain added that he doesn’t support “disbanding” the NYPD, an apparent reference to AOC’s support for the Defund the Police push.
Adams wants to bolster his political circle but also burnish his credentials as a national Democratic leader with strong law enforcement credentials.
He won effusive praise from a handful of lawmakers who spoke after the meeting, most of whom said they can’t wait to start working with him in 2022.
“I look Eric Adams in the eye and I see the face of the Democratic Party,” said Maloney, who leads the national Democratic effort to hold the House of Representatives. “It is a diverse blue-collar coalition that is the beating heart of this party.”
