After months of shunning his rivals at political candidate forums, Mayor Eric Adams was finally going to make his debut at a gathering on Wednesday night run by a major New York City union.
It didn’t happen.
Mr. Adams withdrew at the last minute from the forum, telling reporters on Wednesday afternoon that his defense lawyer recommended he skip such events at least until his next federal court case hearing on March 14.
He also expressed frustration that there were other candidates who were “in the shadows” and were not participating in the forums.
“Everyone that’s running should be in the room,” the mayor said before an appearance at a senior center in Brooklyn. “No candidate should be able to stay on the sideline and just send out innuendo.”
Mr. Adams mentioned no names, but former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, the putative front-runner in the race, has been taking steps to announce his entry as early as this weekend.
The host of the forum, District Council 37, the largest union of New York City municipal employees, has been a key ally of Mr. Adams. The union endorsed Mr. Adams in March 2021 during the last mayoral race, providing key support.
The union sent an email on Wednesday afternoon letting reporters know that Mr. Adams would “no longer be able to participate in tonight’s forum at the advice of his legal counsel.”
Mr. Adams, who is awaiting a decision from a judge over whether to drop federal corruption charges against him, said there would be plenty of time for debates and forums.
The mayor’s re-election campaign has been almost nonexistent. He has been relying on his bully pulpit as an incumbent and city-sponsored town halls to give campaign-style speeches. He has not hired a campaign manager or a campaign spokesperson. His fund-raising has slowed, and he faced a major setback in December when he was denied millions of dollars in public matching funds.
His rivals in the June Democratic primary immediately criticized the decision. Brad Lander, the city comptroller, said that if Mr. Adams “can’t speak to the 150,000 D.C. 37 members who keep our city running, then he isn’t fit to be their boss.”
Zellnor Myrie, a state senator from Brooklyn, said that the decision was “disrespectful to these hard-working public servants who show up every day — and deserve the mayor’s time and respect.”
Mr. Lander and Mr. Myrie planned to attend the forum, along with four other Democrats in the race: Jessica Ramos and Zohran Mamdani, two state lawmakers, and Michael Blake and Scott Stringer, two former elected officials. The candidates have appeared at a series of forums hosted by advocacy groups since October, and Mr. Adams attended many forums during the 2021 race.
Mr. Adams, who is confronting record low approval ratings and backlash over his relationship with President Trump, also received criticism on Wednesday over his comments a day earlier at a Black History Month event at Gracie Mansion, where he compared himself to Jesus and lashed out at his critics.
“This is a biblical moment,” Mr. Adams said. “When Jesus was on the cross, he said, ‘God, forgive them for they know not what they do.’ All these Negroes who were asking me to step down, God forgive them.”
When Mr. Adams was asked about his comments on Fox 5 on Wednesday and his choice of language, he said that he was speaking to the people who called on him to step down.
“Those who have called for me to allow my flame to prematurely be extinguished, that’s who I’m talking about,” he said.
The post Adams Backs Out of Mayoral Forum at Last Minute, Citing Lawyer’s Advice appeared first on New York Times.
