Kathryn Garcia gets coveted New York Times endorsement for NYC mayor
The editorial board of the New York Times on Monday endorsed Kathryn Garcia for mayor, giving the longtime civil servant a potentially major boost in the crowded contest.
The Times lauded Garcia as “a go-to problem solver for the past decade” as she ran the city’s Sanitation Department, overhauled public housing amid a scandal over lead paint, and more.
An endorsement from the Times, which many New York Democrats take as gospel on the issues of the day, is among the most coveted kudos in city politics.
The paper’s selection of Garcia comes as she’s been polling around the middle of the pack — and as frontrunners Eric Adams, the Brooklyn borough president, and businessman Andrew Yang engage in an increasingly heated war of words.
“We’re thrilled to have the endorsement. This is a campaign that’s built to win,” Garcia’s communications director Lindsey Green told the Daily News.
At a recent forum for women candidates for mayor, Garcia outlined her moderate stances and made the case for female leadership. She would be the city’s first woman mayor if she wins.
“Women in leadership positions treat the people around them differently and are really much more effective at building teams and inspiring people to work incredibly hard,” Garcia said last week.
At her campaign launch in December, she outlined three priorities if elected mayor: “a strong recovery, excellent basic services and fighting climate change.” Her planks ranged from general goals like boosting economic opportunity and cutting government waste to specifics like universal broadband internet and free child care “for the most vulnerable families.”
The mayoral candidates are scheduled for their first televised debate this Thursday on NY1.
“We plan to go out there and speak to the voters directly,” Green said. “Kathryn will give them her message and we will continue doing the work we’ve been doing in the field.”
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