What To Expect From Mayor Adams

Plus: a nail-biter in New Jersey [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] What To Expect From Eric Adams, New York City's 110th Mayor By [Max Rivlin-Nadler]( and James Ramsay [Eric Adams inside a diner] Ted Shaffrey/John Minchillo/AP What was a foregone conclusion by early July became official last night, as Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams cruised to victory in the general election for mayor over Republican Curtis Sliwa. Adams, a former NYPD officer, will be the city’s second Black mayor, after David Dinkins, and the first to have attended a New York City public high school since Abe Beame in the 1970s. His primary campaign weathered a series of questions about his residency ([if he, in fact, lives in New Jersey]( his personal finances ([whether he paid taxes]( on a co-op he owns), and whether a prospective mayor of New York City should be [telling transplants to move away]( from the city. Over the next several weeks, Adams will begin to hire a staff and appoint commissioners, giving some indication as to what kind of mayor he'll be. During his primary campaign, Adams said he’d be interested in hiring a female police chief, and he's already begun a national search for the position, sending out questionnaires to potential candidates for the job. But since securing the Democratic nomination in July, Adams has otherwise only hinted at what he plans to do once in office. In the last several months, he’s been seen meeting with prominent Democrats and [Republicans]( [fundraising relentlessly]( and returning from [semi-secret vacations](. Adams' victory can largely be attributed to his biography and personal appeal to working-class, outer-borough voters who gravitated to his message of fighting crime and getting rat infestations under control, all while his Democratic primary challengers flooded the election with wonky policy proposals on housing and economics. "When you talk to people who have lived with rats in their homes, who have been begging elected officials to take an issue like that at all seriously, they don’t know anyone — except for Eric Adams. He hears their issues," said Fordham professor Christina Greer. Still, close watchers of Adams' political career have found a consistent pattern of [contradictory behavior]( and idiosyncrasies. He's a former cop, but also a police reformer; he was a Republican for several years, but also [calls himself a progressive]( and while he will be the city's first biking mayor, he's also known for driving ... [on sidewalks](. In his [victory speech]( last night, Adams continued his streak of being less than concerned with ideological purity, pledging to play nice with both corporate titans ("We have to get this out of our head: that our C.E.O.s in this city don’t want to participate in the uplifting of our inner city") and gang leaders ("do I sit down and talk to gang members who are trying to get their life right? You're darn right I am"). [As Brian Lehrer noted on WNYC]( this morning, another telling moment in last night's speech came when Adams did something that "may not be fashionable these days": He talked earnestly and positively about the American Dream. "We're the only country on the globe with 'dream' attached to our name," Adams said. "There's no Polish Dream. There's no French Dream. But dammit, there's an American Dream! We have to allow those 10 million dreams to come alive and to benefit from what this country has to offer." If such rosy words don't tell us what kind of policies will come out of an Adams administration, they at least hint at the personality who's taking over after eight years of a mayor known for loving the Red Rox, his gym, and [Ohio](. "Having a mayor who walks around the entire city and is happy to be here? That’s a huge change from what we’ve had," said Christina Greer. "But soon enough, he’s going to have to start making some decisions." --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- Nail-Biter In New Jersey: Governor's Race Is Too Close To Call [By Nancy Solomon]( [Gov. Phil Murphy at a rally, with his kids behind him] Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/AP/Shutterstock New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy and his Republican challenger, Jack Ciattarelli, are battling for the lead as votes come dribbling in, marking a stunning turn of events that upended the Democratic incumbent's double-digit lead in the polls. It is too close to call the race — the two candidates are within a few thousand votes of each other, and the lead is seesawing as returns are reported. It could also take a week to finish counting around 500,000 mail-in ballots, and either campaign can request a recount. Even though Ciattarelli ran in the 2017 Republican primary for governor, he was largely unknown across the state. But he turned out votes in the Republican stronghold districts of Ocean and Monmouth counties, and also did well in suburbs across the state. Morris County, which had recently been shifting blue, supported the Republican. Though New Jersey has 1 million more registered Democrats than Republicans, the state has more independent voters than members of either party, and that silent majority spoke yesterday. New Jersey also has the highest property taxes in the nation, which is an issue that has toppled previous Democratic governors, despite taxes rising just as much under Republicans. Ciattarelli focused his campaign on those high taxes and hit Murphy in advertisements and in two debates over a video tape of Murphy saying that "if taxes are your issue, then New Jersey probably isn’t your state." Murphy has said the quote was taken out of context, because he was speaking to a business group and explaining that New Jersey will never be able to compete with low-tax states, but that businesses come for the highly-educated workforce, the proximity to major cities, and the state’s mass transit. While Murphy spent the last four years delivering on a series of campaign promises — raising the minimum wage, boosting pre-K funding, legalizing cannabis, and raising taxes only on people making more than $1 million a year — he couldn't shake the image that he raised taxes on everyone. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- For Further Reading [voting booths]( 'A BLACK EYE FOR DEMOCRACY' [Voters Reject Ballot Measures Aimed At Making Voting Easier]( New Yorkers did not pass ballot measures that would've allowed same-day voter registration and "no-excuse" absentee voting. [a headshot of Alvin Bragg]( ALL THE OTHER RACES [Here's Who Won In New York City's Down-Ballot Contests]( Democrats won the elections for comptroller, public advocate, Manhattan DA, and four of five borough presidencies. [Buffalo Mayor Byron Brown at his victory speech]( FROM WBFO IN BUFFALO [Mayor Byron Brown Claims Victory As Write-In Candidate]( It appears that the incumbent mayor still beat democratic socialist India Walton, who won the Democratic primary. [Mayor de Blasio at the Columbus Day Parade]( HE'S DEFINITELY PROBABLY RUNNING [De Blasio Files Paperwork For Possible Gubernatorial Run]( "I'm really looking forward to getting into this bigger discussion about where this state is going," the mayor told NY1. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- [the logo for the Brian Lehrer politics podcast] [How Election Day Played Out In Cities Across The Country]( Pittsburgh and Boston both elected progressive mayors, while Minneapolis voted not to abolish its police department. Overall, what did yesterday's election results say about the national mood? 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