For nearly two weeks, Mayor Eric Adams has insisted that he would not resign over the investigations swirling around his administration, and he stuck to that message on Wednesday night as news of his indictment on federal charges became public.
But at least one person has been readying himself for a different outcome: Jumaane Williams, who, as New York City’s public advocate, would become mayor if Mr. Adams stepped down.
Mr. Williams has been slowly working behind the scenes to prepare for the job, and began talking with his allies about the scenario as early as last year, not long after the mayor’s cellphone and other electronic devices were seized in November, according to two people familiar with the matter.
More discussions have taken place this month in the wake of the abrupt resignation of Lisa Zornberg, the mayor’s chief legal counsel. Mr. Williams has also spoken with his staff, including the public advocate’s counsel, about how a transition might proceed, according to a person familiar with the matter.
Mr. Williams told reporters recently that he doubted the mayor’s ability to navigate the federal investigations, and that he was ready to take over if necessary.
“That’s part of the job,” he said. “Is it something that you want to happen? No.”
As news of the mayor’s indictment circulated, the list of Democrats calling for his resignation grew to include at least three of Mr. Adams’s primary challengers and the Working Families Party, a prominent progressive group.
Mr. Williams, however, did not call for the mayor to step down. His office released a statement saying the indictment was “incredibly serious.”
“As the facts emerge, the public advocate will have more to say to the people of New York City, and right now, he is focused on how best to ensure that New Yorkers can regain trust, confidence and stability in city government,” the statement said.
If Mr. Williams were to become mayor, his agenda would be a stark departure from the tenure of Mr. Adams, a moderate Democrat with a law enforcement background and a pro-business agenda.
Mr. Williams, a staunchly progressive Democrat, built a reputation for speaking out against discriminatory practices and getting arrested to protest them. He has become a fierce critic of Mr. Adams, especially over the city’s increasing reliance on stop-and-frisk policing tactics.
His potential ascension would set the stage for a special election that could draw the four Democrats who have already entered next year’s mayoral race, as well as a formidable undeclared candidate: former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. Mr. Williams would likely run in the election, which could take place by the end of the year.
The four candidates currently competing against Mr. Adams are Brad Lander, the city comptroller; Scott Stringer, a former comptroller; Zellnor Myrie, a state senator from Brooklyn; and Jessica Ramos, a state senator from Queens. All of them are politically to the left of the mayor and Mr. Cuomo, who resigned in 2021 over a sexual harassment scandal.
Mr. Cuomo has been trying to make a return to politics, and is considering running for mayor. Mr. Cuomo would likely prefer to run in a special election with a truncated timeline, where he could rely on name recognition and avoid months of additional scrutiny.
Over the last week, the candidates and would-be candidates have sought to portray themselves as alternatives to Mr. Adams. Mr. Lander met with business leaders at a breakfast in Manhattan, where he cast himself as a responsible fiscal manager and pledged to end street homelessness of severely mentally ill people.
Mr. Cuomo, who has been grappling with the fallout over his response to the pandemic, spoke on Sunday at Bedford Central Presbyterian Church in Brooklyn and portrayed the city as out of control.
Without naming Mr. Adams, Mr. Cuomo said that political leaders were “all talk but no action,” adding that “government is supposed to build, accomplish, improve your life.”
Former Gov. David Paterson told City and State that Mr. Cuomo joked to him recently that he would prefer to run for governor, but that he would settle for mayor.
Mr. Paterson said in an interview that a matchup between Mr. Williams and Mr. Cuomo would be interesting, and that Mr. Williams was “not someone to take lightly.”
“He’s a very smart person — he’s very likable and very thoughtful,” he said.
Mr. Williams, 48, a former City Council member, was elected public advocate in 2019. He ran unsuccessfully for lieutenant governor the year before and for governor in 2022.
He has spoken candidly over the years about seeking therapy for mental health challenges, his family’s fertility challenges and living with Tourette’s Syndrome.
When Mr. Adams took office in January 2022, Mr. Williams tried to find common ground with him on issues such as gun violence, and was measured in his criticism. But their relationship soured earlier this year over the How Many Stops Act, which required the police to record more information about the people they question in the hopes of reducing illegal stops.
Mr. Adams vetoed the legislation, which Mr. Williams had sponsored. The City Council overrode the mayor’s veto.
“The thing about Jumaane that is different and really distinguishes him from Eric Adams and other people in the city is that he is a trusted leader,” said Jasmine Gripper, a co-director of the left-leaning Working Families Party. “He will lead from a place that is deeply rooted in helping the most marginalized communities.”
Mr. Williams would be the first public advocate, a position created in 1993, to become acting mayor. If that were to happen, he would set a date for a special election to pick a mayor, likely within the next three months, according to the City Charter. The earliest it would happen would be late November.
The thought of Mr. Williams becoming mayor, even temporarily, has raised concerns among some business and real estate leaders who object to his progressive background.
“It’s a prospect I don’t want to consider,” said Bruce Teitelbaum, a real estate developer who recently expressed support for Mr. Adams in an ad in the Flatbush Jewish Journal.
As of now, Mr. Adams has made it clear that he intends to stay in office and contest the charges, saying in a video that he would “fight this with every ounce of my strength and spirit.”
If Mr. Adams remains in office, Gov. Kathy Hochul has the power to remove him. But the pair have been aligned on many issues, and she has been generally supportive of the mayor during the course of the investigations.
At the mayor’s town hall meeting on Monday, Maria Forbes, the leader of a tenant group in the Bronx, said that after navigating the criminal justice system for her own son, who is in prison, she believed in due process for Mr. Adams.
She had mixed feelings about Mr. Williams, but her face lit up at the prospect of voting for Mr. Cuomo: “That’s my friend.”
“I think that he would be able to run and operate the city,” she said.
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