Adrienne Adams, the City Council speaker vying to become the first female mayor of New York City, received the backing of three major unions on Wednesday, shaking up a Democratic contest two months before the primary.
The labor endorsements, which came alongside a separate endorsement from Letitia James, the state attorney general, were a signal that not all of New York’s institutional support will fall to the front-runner, former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, and they could prompt others to reconsider his air of inevitability.
Ms. James, who is broadly popular among Democrats in New York, appeared with Ms. Adams at a campaign rally in Manhattan on Wednesday, along with leaders of the three unions: District Council 37, the city’s largest municipal union; Unite Here Local 100, which represents hospitality workers; and Communications Workers of America Local 1180, which represents social service workers.
Ms. James said that Ms. Adams had the experience and integrity to lead the city. She encouraged voters not to “look to the past” or to candidates seeking “political revenge or even redemption” — an indirect but clear reference to Mr. Cuomo.
“She has shown us what she can do as speaker,” the attorney general said of Ms. Adams. “She’s saved our libraries, saved our child care centers, expanded affordable housing.”
New York is the only major American city that has never elected a woman as mayor. Kathryn Garcia, the former sanitation commissioner, came close in 2021, losing to Eric Adams by roughly 7,200 votes in the Democratic primary.
Ms. Adams announced her campaign later than the eight other major Democratic candidates in the June 24 primary, and she has yet to break through in public polling and raise enough donations to qualify for public matching funds.
Leaders have raised concerns that it is harder for female candidates to secure donations and endorsements, and they often face skepticism from voters, in addition to outright sexism, when seeking an executive job like president or mayor.
Christine Quinn, a former City Council speaker who ran unsuccessfully for mayor in 2013, called the endorsements a “big shot in the arm” that would give Ms. Adams “more troops in the field.” Ms. Quinn noted that she herself had led in early polls before the landscape changed, illustrating that there was still time for Ms. Adams to rise.
“She seems to be full of energy, and I think New Yorkers are connecting with her,” she said.
Mr. Cuomo has won support from most major unions so far. But District Council 37 represents roughly 150,000 members and more than 80,000 retirees, and its endorsement of Mr. Adams in the 2021 mayor’s race helped him win a competitive Democratic primary.
The union released a statement on Tuesday night naming Ms. Adams as its first choice, followed by Zohran Mamdani and Zellnor Myrie, two state lawmakers, calling them “pro-worker candidates.”
Henry Garrido, the president of DC 37, said at the rally that members had concerns over changes Mr. Cuomo made to the pension system as governor and compared him to Eliot Spitzer, another former governor who resigned in disgrace. Mr. Spitzer ran for city comptroller in 2013 but lost to Scott Stringer, who is now running for mayor.
Asked if he was worried that Mr. Cuomo would retaliate against union members if he wins and becomes mayor, Mr. Garrido acknowledged that the former governor’s penchant for revenge was one reason the union had not endorsed him. Nonetheless, he said that he was not afraid of Mr. Cuomo.
Mr. Adams, who is not related to the City Council speaker, has record-low approval ratings and decided to run as an independent in the general election in November. He was indicted last year on federal corruption charges that were later dropped under pressure from the Trump administration.
Ms. Adams is running on a message of experience and integrity, highlighting her role negotiating the city’s $114 billion budget and offering herself as a scandal-free alternative to Mr. Cuomo and Mr. Adams. Mr. Cuomo resigned in 2021 after a series of sexual harassment allegations that he denies; Mr. Adams was the first sitting mayor in the city’s modern history to face a federal indictment.
Ms. James has an acrimonious history with Mr. Cuomo: She led a state investigation into the allegations against him and released a scathing report that found that he had harassed at least 11 women. Mr. Cuomo has argued that the allegations were politically motivated.
Ms. James considered running for mayor herself, but decided to stay in her current job, where she has repeatedly challenged President Trump in court. Ms. James encouraged Ms. Adams to run for mayor, and will now use her political capital to help her.
Ms. James praised Ms. Adams for “leading the city’s fight against the Trump administration,” including her opposition to allowing federal immigration authorities to open offices at the Rikers Island jail complex.
Given her history with Mr. Cuomo, Ms. James could be a particularly sharp weapon against his candidacy. She said she would campaign with Ms. Adams, help her raise money and visit Black churches, arguing that Mr. Cuomo’s visits to those churches were a “disgrace.” She called herself and Ms. Adams “women of faith.”
“We don’t go to churches just around election time — we go to church every Sunday,” she said.
The campaign still seems like an uphill battle. Mr. Cuomo has a substantial lead in polls and has won support from key elected officials, including Representative Gregory W. Meeks, the Queens Democratic chairman who is an ally of Ms. Adams. Mr. Cuomo has also quickly amassed a large campaign war chest, and a super PAC backing him has raised $5 million.
Ms. Adams has received support from the left-leaning Working Families Party, which endorsed her and three other Democrats: Brad Lander, the city comptroller; Mr. Mamdani, a state assemblyman; and Mr. Myrie, a state senator.
Mr. Mamdani is in second place behind Mr. Cuomo with about 16 percent of voters, according to a recent Siena College poll. Ms. Adams and Mr. Lander each had 6 percent in the poll, and Mr. Myrie had 4 percent.
Democrats who oppose Mr. Cuomo are starting to coalesce behind Ms. Adams, Mr. Mamdani and Mr. Lander, hoping that they will work together and encouraging voters to list all three under the city’s relatively new ranked-choice voting system.
Ms. Adams, a moderate Democrat from southeast Queens who often notes that she is a mother of four and grandmother of 11, said at the rally that she would work with Ms. James to protect New Yorkers from the Trump administration’s agenda.
She portrayed herself as fighter for working-class New Yorkers, sharing that her mother had worked as a correction officer at Rikers Island and her father had driven a mail truck — in contrast to Mr. Cuomo, whose father was governor and who has often lived outside the city.
“He’s not a regular New Yorker,” she said. “You are. I am.”
Emma G. Fitzsimmons is the City Hall bureau chief for The Times, covering Mayor Eric Adams and his administration.
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