Good morning. It’s Wednesday. Today we’ll look at how open primaries would work in New York City, as a special panel appointed by Mayor Eric Adams considers the idea.
New York City’s mayoral race has certainly been eventful to say the least. After Zohran Mamdani’s primary win, some Democrats are strategizing to find ways to defeat him. And a city panel is considering overhauling the whole primary system. Let’s get into it.
A special city panel appointed by Mayor Eric Adams is considering asking voters to approve an open primary system to allow those who aren’t registered with a party to vote in primary elections, according to my colleague Emma Fitzsimmons. The panel, a charter revision commission, released a 135-page report outlining the proposal, along with several others that could be on the ballot in November.
New Yorkers may be wondering, what’s with all these changes?
Ranked-choice voting came on the scene in 2021. If the panel places an open primary system on the ballot in November and voters approve it, it would take effect in 2029. Hold tight, there’s more. The charter commission is also considering moving elections to even years to align with presidential elections. If a majority of voters approve that proposal, it would require a change to the State Constitution.
Right now, only New Yorkers who are registered as Democrat and Republican are able to vote in New York City primaries, and only in their party’s primary. The open primary would allow all registered voters to cast their ballots, and the top two candidates would battle it out in the general election.
Although the system would be new to New York, it’s not new. California has a “jungle primary” where the top two vote-getters, regardless of party, move to the general election. Texas and Virginia primaries are open, and a voter does not have to be a registered member of a party. The winners of each party’s primary moves to the general.
The panel conducted a hearing on Monday to garner public feedback on open primaries, but reviews were mixed.
At the hearing, Brad Lander, the city comptroller, said that open primaries would harm political parties and attempt to “overturn an election we just had.”
A mix of leaders with various political ideologies — from progressives to Republicans — oppose the plan. Joann Ariola, a Republican City Council member from Queens, said it would “effectively usher in a one-party rule.”
On the other hand, some groups are receptive but argue that it’s not the time to throw another curveball at New York City voters who are still adjusting to ranked-choice voting.
The commission is expected to make a final decision by July 21 about what to include on the ballot.
Can Mamdani foes get it together?
New York City’s mayoral race calls to mind the Spiderman pointing meme — with former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Adams, two Democrats planning to run in November as independents, calling for each other to bow out.
Something that shouldn’t be lost on Mamdani’s opponents is that Democrats outnumber Republicans six to one in the city. In order to defeat Mamdani, the independents — Cuomo, Adams and Jim Walden — and the Republican candidate, Curtis Sliwa, need to rally behind a candidate to avoid splitting the vote in five ways.
In their piece, Jeffery C. Mays and Nicholas Fandos report that calls for unity among independents mirror the strategy that left-leaning groups used to defeat Cuomo in the primary. But whether the independents and Republicans can find common ground is not clear.
New Yorkers, buckle up. It’s only July.
Weather
Expect a mostly sunny day and a temperature reaching 90. In the afternoon and evening, there is a chance of rain and thunderstorms, with a drop to about 75.
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Former N.Y.P.D. chiefs accuse Adams of enabling corruption
Mayor Eric Adams, already struggling to forge a path to re-election, took a blow this week to the tough-on-crime image that he considers one of his main selling points, when four former top police officials accused him of enabling corruption in the Police Department.
The accusations, laid out in lawsuits filed by the four former chiefs in state court on Monday, portray a department where allies of Adams, a former police captain, engaged in rampant cronyism and sold promotions for $15,000.
All four of those suing had decades-long police careers and, among them, helped lead units dedicated to professional standards and internal affairs investigations. In their suits, they say they were subject to retaliation if they balked at what they considered improprieties.
One of the four, James Essig, was the chief of detectives when he resigned in August 2023. He says Edward Caban, the commissioner at the time, forced him out after Essig objected to the promotion of unqualified officers to elite detective roles and specialized units.
The other plaintiffs are Christopher McCormack, the former assistant chief of detectives; Matthew Pontillo, the former deputy chief of professional standards; and Joseph Veneziano, who was once second in command at internal affairs.
In an interview with my colleague Maria Cramer, Essig said he wanted “accountability” for those whose decisions had “killed morale” and had hurt the careers of dozens of officers who were forced out or left the department because they were troubled about its direction.
“They used the Police Department as their own little playground,” Essig said. His suit names as defendants Caban, Adams and Jeffrey Maddrey, a longtime ally of the mayor and the chief of department who resigned in December after a lieutenant accused him of coercing her into sex in exchange for overtime opportunities. Maddrey has denied the lieutenant’s allegations.
Kayla Mamelak Altus, an Adams spokeswoman, said the administration would review the suits.
“The Adams administration holds all city employees — including leadership at the N.Y.P.D. — to the highest standards,” she said in a statement.
The Police Department declined to comment.
Lawyers for Caban, who resigned last September amid a federal investigation focused on several administration officials, said the suits had “no merit.” Maddrey’s lawyer said he had not seen Essig’s suit yet.
Shortly after Caban resigned, Adams appointed Jessica Tisch as police commissioner. She has shaken up the department’s executive staff, replacing the head of internal affairs and other key positions as she worked to restore stability to the agency’s upper echelons.
— Ed Shanahan
METROPOLITAN diary
Planting, interrupted
Dear Diary:
We had recently moved into a prewar apartment in Chelsea when I volunteered to do the plant containers and window boxes in front of the building.
I missed working in what I considered to be a traditional garden as I had done at our old house in New Orleans, but I was apprehensive about creating my floral vision on a busy New York street.
The possibility of people bothering me as they walked by made me ill at ease. For me, gardening had always been a private and quiet activity.
“Well,” my husband said, “at least you’ll get to play in the dirt again.”
Putting on my headphones to discourage the possible interruptions of passers-by, I got down to business.
When the plants and flowers were finally in place I stood back on the sidewalk, sweaty and dirty, to admire what I’d done.
A dapper young man stopped and looked at my arrangements and then at me, as if he wanted to say something.
Slightly annoyed, I took off my headphones.
“That’s beautiful,” he said. “If you were in Brooklyn, you’d definitely win their flower box contest.”
I smiled. His compliment had quickly changed my sour attitude.
“Really?” I said. “Thank you!”
Later that day, an older man smiled as he looked at me and my floral creation.
“I’d marry you if I wasn’t already married,” he said. We both chuckled.
The next week, a woman stopped to admire my display while I was watering.
“I started walking down this street just to see your flowers,” she said.
I don’t wear my headphones anymore.
— Jeannie Glisson
Illustrated by Agnes Lee. Send submissions here and read more Metropolitan Diary here.
Glad we could get together here. — S.L.
P.S. Here’s today’s Mini Crossword and Spelling Bee. You can find all our puzzles here.
Stefano Montali and Ed Shanahan contributed to New York Today. You can reach the team at [email protected].
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Samantha Latson is a Times reporter covering New York City and a member of the 2025-26 Times Fellowship class, a program for journalists early in their careers.
The post A Primer on Primaries for New Yorkers appeared first on New York Times.
