New York City’s Mayor: Someone’s Gotta Do It 

Photo via New York Latin Culture Magazine

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In most campaigns, sexual scandals are the downfall of a candidate’s polling numbers. For the next mayoral election coming up this November, these allegations are commonplace and are hardly proving to be deterrents for voters. 

The 2021 New York City mayoral bid which voted in current mayor Eric Adams saw the downfall of candidate Scott Stringer due to sexual assault allegations. This time, Stringer is running with company on that front among his competitors, some of which are leading the pack. 

As of writing this article, former NYC governor Andrew Cuomo is leading by a substantial margin in the polls. What should raise some red flags about that sentence is that Mr. Cuomo resigned as governor after multiple sexual assault accusations in 2021. Several protest efforts against Cuomo have ensued since his campaign announcement.  

March 2, 395 Hudson St. at one of Cuomo’s campaign speeches | Photo via Dean Moses 

One would be remiss to leave out incumbent mayor Eric Adams’ own share of accusations, specifically a woman claiming he sexually assaulted her in 1993. Although there was never official confirmation, it is troubling nonetheless how common these cases are. 

In fact, three out of the last four mayors of NYC have had serious allegations of sexual misconduct made against them, including Michael Bloomberg and Rudolph Giuliani. The frequency of these incidents in this city’s leadership is disheartening, and it shows no sign of going away anytime soon, even though there is ample opportunity for the city to choose otherwise for itself.  

Despite being among the largest and most progressive cities in the United States, NYC has yet to elect its first female mayor. In a poetic twist of fate, leading female candidate City Council Speaker Adrienne E. Adams shares the last name of the current mayor. Unfortunately, it is more likely that one of the scandal-surrounded male candidates will be elected than a woman this year. 

New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams | Photo via Bronx Times

Speaker Adrienne Adams addressing the audience at the National Action Network Convention in New York, US, on Thursday, April 3, 2025. Photo via Bloomberg

Having to accept these scandals as a fact of political life offers no boost to voter participation, which is already shockingly low among the five boroughs. Across New York City, only about 23% of eligible voters turned out to vote. The city seems to be left without a compelling candidate who evokes trust and respect from the populace. 

It speaks volumes that the city will rally to see a Timothée Chalamet look-a-like competition or wait for hours to get into an interactive botanical Lego experience (just to get turned away at the door, I might add), yet doesn’t seem interested in its local elections.  

One is left to wonder: Are the current local politics really the best that this city of over 8 million residents has to offer? Surely the city capable of producing the most iconic buildings, people, and cultural achievements, from the Harlem Renaissance to the two-dollar pizza and drink meal, would be able to produce a more appealing pool of candidates.   

Americans often classify themselves as being hopeless or dismissive in cases of politics, and in the case of a race like this, that feeling is more than reasonable. Nevertheless, giving up is certainly not a valiant or helpful option.  

It is not this article’s intention to dictate to anyone how they should vote, but rather to be a reminder that last time around, the city’s elected administration did not exactly run smoothly, and that now the burden is on us, New Yorkers, to leverage our political power to try and change that. The decision we make this year will determine the next four years, and it behooves us all, the voters, to elect an administration that we can be proud of. 

One simple remedy for voter ignorance is reading an article from a nonpartisan publication that includes the candidates and a few sentences about their platform. A lot of time remains between now and November with the primaries taking place this June. If you are lacking in local bureaucratic knowledge, it’s better to start sooner rather than later.  

Here’s to hoping spring fever riles up some vigor for municipal elections and that maybe one day, we’ll get a mayor that offers a student discount for the Metro North.  

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This article was edited by Hayley Dunn and Chapin Fish.