Governor Hochul Will Not Force Mayor Adams Out Despite Facing Pressure To Remove Him From Office

Governor Hochul plans to announce Thursday that she will not use her constitutional authority as governor to remove Mayor Eric Adams from office.Instead, Ms. Hochul plans to announce a series of legislative guardrails to increase oversight on the mayor’s office. These measures, first reported by NY1, include creating a new state deputy inspector general to watch over the city and Mr. Adams actions.Ms. Hochul will also announce the establishment of a legal fund for the city comptroller, public advocate, and City Council speaker — positions all currently held by anti-Trump, Democratic allies — to sue the Trump administration when Mr. Adams is reluctant to do so. These proposed guardrails to the mayor’s power will require the approval of the state legislature and the City Council.“This move is to say to the left, I’m with you, and to say to the black community, I’m with you,” a Democratic strategist, Hank Sheinkopf, tells The New York Sun. “By not removing him, she’s hoping it’s a little harder for Cuomo, and that the people will not hold it against her next year when she runs for reelection.”Ms. Hochul has faced mounting pressure in recent days to remove the mayor from office. She met with the Reverend Al Sharpton, City Comptroller Brad Lander, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, and other “key leaders” on Tuesday to discuss a removal.“I recognize the immense responsibility I hold as governor and the constitutional powers granted to this office,” Ms. Hochul said in a statement Monday night. “In the 235 years of New York State history, these powers have never been utilized to remove a duly-elected mayor; overturning the will of the voters is a serious step that should not be taken lightly.”After his meeting with the governor, Mr. Sharpton said Ms. Hochul would not come to a decision until after Mr. Adams’ court hearing on Wednesday. The presiding judge in Mr. Adams’ bribery, campaign finance, and corruption case did not rule on whether to drop the charges at that hearing. Trump’s acting deputy attorney general, Emil Bove, who issued the order to drop Mr. Adams’ charges, denied the existence of any quid pro quo between Mr. Adams and President Trump at the hearing. Mr. Adams denied all the charges against him.Mr. Adams is refusing to resign, despite increasing calls from within his party to do so. Several high-profile Democrats, including Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Congressman Ritchie Torres, and Democratic State Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins have joined the chorus this past week. Ms. Hochul’s expected announcement Thursday afternoon is in many ways a compromise solution. She is choosing not to overturn the will of voters by removing a sitting mayor who has not been convicted of any charges. She is also appeasing members of her party that allege Mr. Adams is compromised and willing to do the bidding of Mr. Trump only to stay out of jail.“I was hoping for something stronger,” a Democratic strategist, Michael Hardaway, tells the Sun. “I was hoping that she was going to remove him if he could not prove that he could be independent of the President.”Mr. Hardaway says “the devil’s in the details” of what Ms. Hochul proposes. Mr. Adams is facing a primary in June that, polls show, he is likely to lose. “I don’t know how creating this kind of commission would be effective, given that the guy is on his way out anyway,” Mr. Hardaway says of Mr. Adams.“And as it relates to this defense fund, I don’t know how effective that will be in really creating change, because we need a mayor who is independent of the President,” Mr. Hardaway says. Another Democratic strategist, Bill Caruso, disagrees. “I applaud the Governor’s decision,” he tells the Sun. “I believe the Governor is excerpting the appropriate oversight to ensure that the tax payers are protected without a heavy handed tactic that would have likely backfired politically. This is a responsible move.”A former New York State Senator David Carlucci proposed a similar compromise solution to Hochul’s to the Sun on Wednesday, saying Ms. Hochul “needs to set up a committee and make sure that there is some protocol put in place for the governor now and for future governors.”“To just sweep this under the rug and say the governor is not going to investigate any further, I think would be very damaging to the governor politically. More importantly, it would cause havoc in the city of New York,” Mr. Carlucci said.Ms. Hochul faced potential backlash from voters if she removed Mr. Adams, the city’s second black mayor. Eight black state legislators sent a letter to Ms. Hochul on Wednesday warning her that black voters would not forget if she forced the mayor out.“As Black legislators we have seen this over and over again: double standards and unfair process when it comes to our leaders. If a move against the mayor is made without a justifiable legal reason, our communities will never forget it,” the letter said.Ms. Hochul is running for reelection next year. Several moderate Democrats have come out in recent days against Ms. Hochul removing Mr. Adams. Mr. Adams’s office did not immediately respond to the Sun’s request for comment. He abruptly left a press conference Thursday afternoon when questioned about Ms. Hochul’s decision.“While the circumstances surrounding the dismissal of mayor’s pending criminal investigation are concerning, removing the democratically elected mayor, I believe would’ve have created even more political problems for Democrats,” Mr. Caruso said.

Governor Hochul Will Not Force Mayor Adams Out Despite Facing Pressure To Remove Him From Office

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