After news broke that New York City Mayor Eric Adams is expected to face federal charges, according to two sources familiar with the matter, many of his political allies and adversaries seized the opportunity to call on him to step down from his position.
Other Democrats who had previously announced their intention to run against Adams in the primary ahead of the 2025 election said Wednesday night that the mayor should resign. That includes City Comptroller Brad Lander, former City Comptroller Scott Stringer, Brooklyn State Senator Zellnor Myrie and Queens State Senator Jessica Ramos.
Here is what each of the candidates said:
Brad Lander:
"First and foremost, this is a sad day for New Yorkers. Trust in public institutions — especially City Hall — is essential for our local democracy to function and for our city to flourish. The hardworking people of New York City deserve a city government and leadership they can trust. Right now, they don’t have it.
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Mayor Adams, like all New Yorkers, deserves due process, the presumption of innocence, and his day in court. However, it is clear that defending himself against serious federal charges will require a significant amount of the time and attention needed to govern this great city.
The most appropriate path forward is for him to step down so that New York City can get the full focus its leadership demands.
At this urgent moment, the City’s leaders must focus on how we can best enable steady governance so that New York City can move forward and thrive. As the comptroller of the city, I will do everything I can to help ensure this happens."
Scott Stringer:
"Eric Adams is indicted. There is simply zero chance that the wheels of government will move forward from this full steam ahead. Instead, we are left with a broken down trainwreck of a municipal government.
The mayor needs to resign for the good of the city. His legal fight is not our fight.
While the mayor focuses on proving his innocence, the rest of us need to focus on the business of the city – building affordable housing, educating our kids, and keeping this city safe.”
Zellnor Myrie:
"This is a sad day for the city, and especially painful for so many Black New Yorkers who put our hope and faith in this Mayor.
We live in the greatest city in the world — and the Mayor must be fully focused on delivering for the millions who call it home. Many like my parents come here in search of opportunity; others like myself are born and raised by this vibrant city. Each New Yorker deserves a Mayor who is dedicated to serving our communities, and who upholds the dignity and integrity this office requires.
We need a leader who is fully focused, without distraction, on the enormous challenges we face — from housing affordability to public safety. A mayor under the weight of a serious indictment can no longer do that — and today I am calling on him to resign."
Jessica Ramos:
"Today is a difficult day for New York City. No one wants to see our leaders fail, and these charges against Mayor Adams feel like a profound betrayal.
As a lifelong New Yorker and a public servant, I am heartbroken by what we've witnessed under this administration. When New Yorkers put their trust in Mayor Adams to revive a city in mourning and an economic tailspin, they hoped for a new beginning. Instead, life has only gotten harder.
The mayor has a fundamental responsibility to be hones with New Yorkers. That is the first and most important part of the job. So we cannot — and should not — ignore these allegations of corruption. If convicted, it would be a grievous abuse of power and a betrayal to voters, taxpayers, and working families.
Like me, Mayor Adams grew up in a working-class family and dedicated himself to public service. And while I believe he wants to see New York City thrive, his actions in office suggest he has confused his own interests with those of the city.
Over the past two and a half years, this administration has made the city more expensive, while those close to the mayor have benefited financially. That's a betrayal of every hardworking New Yorker.
Weeks of FBI raids, indictments, and resignations have shaken our city. Right now, New Yorkers feel frustrated and abandoned. This, above all else, is unforgivable.
A new day for our city is long overdue."
Hours before the charges were announced, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez called on Adams to resign, the first nationally prominent Democrat to do so. She cited the federal criminal investigations into the mayor’s administration and the string of unexpected departures of top city officials.
“I do not see how Mayor Adams can continue governing New York City,” Ocasio-Cortez wrote on the social platform X.
Adams reacted with scorn, dismissing Ocasio-Cortez as self-righteous.
Aside from individual politicians, the New York Working Families Party issued a statement of their own, which also calls on Adams to step down.
"Mayor Eric Adams can no longer govern. He has lost the trust of the everyday New Yorkers he was elected to serve. Our city deserves a leader we can trust and who is not engulfed in endless scandals," the statement read. "“The City Charter mandates that if the Mayor resigns, the Public Advocate becomes the interim Mayor. Fortunately for the people of New York, we have a Public Advocate who is ready to step in and lend stability to the city in this difficult moment.”
If the mayor were to resign, Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, a member of the Working Families Party, would become interim mayor.
But not everyone has called on Adams to step down. Former New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, Adams' predecessor, struck a fairly different note.
"I have two reactions. They probably sound kind of different from each other. One is, of course, shock and concern for our city," de Blasio said during an interview with CNN. "And then another is a very strong reminder that innocent until proven guilty is the American way. I went through an experience with a Southern District where I saw a lot of things that did not come true despite allegations. I do think we have to be really careful here. We haven’t seen anything specific. We don't know what this is yet. We haven't heard a defense."
