The New York City primary election to select the Democratic nominee for mayor is Tuesday.
Before heading to the polls, get to know the candidates:
Adrienne Adams, Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
Adrienne Adams
Adrienne Eadie Adams was elected by her colleagues as Speaker of the New York City Council in January 2022 — becoming the city’s first-ever African American speaker.
Adrienne Adams was first elected to the City Council in 2017 to represent District 28. (District 28 is made up of the Queens’ neighborhoods of Jamaica, Richmond Hill, Rochdale Village and South Ozone Park.)
Adams has worked to tackle issues plaguing the city, including advancing women’s health by expanding access to reproductive healthcare and supporting crime victims.
Adrienne Adams (no relation to current Mayor Eric Adams) is a mother and lifelong New Yorker (Queens’ native).
According to her official campaign website, Adrienne started her career in public service on the local community board after a nearly two-decade career in the private sector as an executive trainer and childcare instructional trainer.
Michael Blake, Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
Michael Blake
Michael Blake is a Bronx native and the youngest son of Jamaican immigrants. He founded Atlas Strategy Group, Inc., a company focusing on economic empowerment for minority, women and small businesses.
Blake also founded the Kairos Democracy Project, a non-partisan 501(c)(4) for the social welfare of communities of color and youth.
Blake’s platform is built on the belief New York City residents “deserve better jobs, better housing, better schools, and safer communities.”
According to his campaign website, he is committed in supporting the child from “cradle to career” and is set on guaranteeing economic security for all as well as focusing on the safety of communities, addressing the opioid crisis and accessible education.
Part of Blake’s campaign is also focused on a housing plan that also promotes affordability.
Among other points that Blake’s campaign hopes to address is the senior population, with key policies centered on treating the aging community with urgency, as well as investing in the needs, including by expanding housing, food accessibility and healthcare.
Andrew Cuomo, Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
Andrew Cuomo
Andrew Cuomo, the former governor of New York, officially entered New York City’s race for mayor in March.
The move by the 56th governor of New York has been long-anticipated as many political insiders considered it only a matter of time before Cuomo threw his hat in the ring.
Cuomo made his candidacy official on Saturday, announcing his candidacy in a 17-minute video uploaded to his campaign website. In that video, Cuomo pitches his return as a way to pull the city from social and political turmoil, highlighting moderate positions on crime and his long history of political accomplishments.
Cuomo resigned from office in August 2021, amid sexual harassment allegations, which he staunchly denies. Hochul, a fellow Democrat who had been Cuomo’s lieutenant, inherited the job and was reelected the following year.
In January of 2024, the Department of Justice found that the former governor subjected at least 13 women to a “sexually hostile work environment” while in office.
Cuomo was widely seen as a reassuring figure in the early months of the pandemic, but his reputation suffered after revelations that his administration released an incomplete accounting of the number of deaths at nursing homes and assisted living facilities.
Cuomo’s mayoral campaign focuses on increasing affordable housing, expanding affordable healthcare, implementing universal K-3, transportation affordability and improving incomes, among other points.
Brad Lander, Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
Brad Lander
Brad Lander, New York City’s current comptroller, has spent his public service career in a variety of roles including as an affordable housing leader. He also served in the City Council.
As comptroller, Lander serves as the city’s chief financial officer, a role in which he sees over the city’s public pension funds and leads the financial health of the city and its hundreds of public servants. He also serves as the city’s budget watchdog and accountability officer.
Lander is running for mayor on a campaign focused on affordability, including when it comes to affordable housing by fixing NYCHA, according to his campaign. Another priority of his is “to get seriously mentally ill people off the streets and subways.”
Lander said he plans to stand up for immigrants, protect reproductive rights, stand up for the LGBTQ+ community, close Rikers Island, expand childcare and afterschool programs, and transform the city’s libraries “into fully funded, civic hubs—expanding hours, building new branches, modernizing infrastructure, improving worker conditions, and defending libraries as vital spaces for democracy, learning, and community life.”
According to his campaign, Lander also wants to solve the city’s rat problem.
Recently, Lander made headlines when he was arrested by federal agents at an immigration court as he was “escorting” a person out of a courtroom, linking arms with the individual authorities were looking to detain.
Zohran Mamdani, Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
Zohran Mamdani
Zohran Mamdani is a state lawmaker who is running for mayor. A self-described democratic socialist, Zohran was born in Uganda, but raised in New York City.
Mamdani is running his campaign on a platform focusing on lowering the costs of New Yorkers while making their lives easier.
When it comes to the topic of housing, Mamdani hopes to freeze the rent, build affordable housing, crack down on bad landlords and support homeowners.
He also looks to make the city safer by creating a Department of Community Safety “to prevent violence before it happens by prioritizing solutions which have been consistently shown to improve safety. Police have a critical role to play. But right now, we’re relying on them to deal with the failures of our social safety net—which prevents them from doing their actual jobs.” Mamdani ‘s proposal would invest in citywide mental health programs and crisis response, expand gun violence prevention programs and increase funding to prevent hate violence.
Mamdani’s campaign is looking to tackle rising costs, including food prices by creating a network of city-owned grocery stores.
Mamdani is also proposing making public transportation more reliable, safe and accessible.
Among other proposals, Mamdani also wants to expand education, including for early childhood.
Zellnor Myrie, Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
Zellnor Myrie
Current State Sen. Zellnor Myrie is also running for New York City Mayor. He was first elected in 2018 from Central Brooklyn.
According to his campaign biography, “in his first six months in office, [Myrie] helped pass the Reproductive Health Act to guarantee abortion rights in New York, groundbreaking climate change legislation, the Child Victims Act and tougher gun control laws, and the strongest pro-tenant rent laws in a generation.”
As state senator, Myrie wrote the nation’s first state gun industry liability law, taking aim at irresponsible dealers and manufacturers.
Myrie serves District 20 which encompasses the Central Brooklyn neighborhoods of Crown Heights, East Flatbush, Park Slope, Prospect Heights, Prospect Lefferts Gardens and Windsor Terrace.
Myrie is running his campaign on fighting for affordable housing, stopping gun violence, strengthening public education, enhancing voting rights, fighting climate change, defending abortion rights, as well as demanding better healthcare, including reproductive health as well as addressing the maternal health crisis.
Additionally, among Myrie’s campaign platforms, is standing up fro consumer rights.
Jessica Ramos, Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
Jessica Ramos
Another state senator that is running in the New York City mayoral race and is scheduled to participate in Wednesday’s debate is Sen. Jessica Ramos.
As Democratic-Working Families senator, Ramos also serves as the chair of the Labor Committee, while representing District 13, which includes the neighborhoods of Jackson Heights, East Elmhurst, and Corona in Queens.
Aside from the Labor Committee, Ramos serves on the finance, budget and revenue, transportation, cannabis and state-Native American relations committees, among various others.
Ramos was born in Elmhurst to an undocumented seamstress and printing pressman. She was raised in Astoria. She currently lives in Elmhurst.
Ramos’ campaign plan is running on key issues including affordable housing, public safety, environment, immigration, education and childcare, as well as healthcare.
When it comes to affordable housing, Ramos’ plan focuses on protecting tenants while expanding opportunities.
Ramos wants to fight gun violence and hate crimes, while investing in mental health response teams and reentry support among other public safety proposals.
Additionally, when it comes to immigration, Ramos wants to expand housing access, strengthen legal services, and support workforce development while advocating for federal reforms.
Scott Stringer, Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
Scott Stringer
Former New York City comptroller, Scott Stringer is also running for New York City mayor.
A native New Yorker, he also served as a state assemblyman (from 1993-2005), Manhattan Borough president (from 2006-2013), and then comptroller (from 2014-2021).
Stringer’s campaign focuses on public safety and quality of life for New Yorkers, ethics and corruption, housing, sanitation, and budgetary changes.
His safety and quality of life plan includes rebuilding and refocusing the city’s NYPD capacity, leveraging technology for policing, as well as transit safety.
Stringer also plans to tackle “big money” while bringing full transparency to City Hall.
Additionally, he also want to develop city-owned properties that are underused into affordable housing, while at the same time revitalizing current public housing.
Access to education is also a main point in Stringer’s campaign.
Whitney Tilson, Democratic candidate for New York City mayor.
Whitney Tilson
Whitney Tilson is an investor and activist who was born in New Haven, Conn. and raised in Tanzania and Nicaragua.
As a founder of Teach for America and the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, Tilson has been a longtime advocate for education reform and minority-owned businesses, according to his official biography.
Tilson helped build and operate a COVID-19 field hospital in Central Park during the height of the pandemic, according to his official biography. He also traveled to Ukraine to deliver aid.
Tilson’s plan also focuses on fixing New York City Public Schools by adopting stronger leadership, hiring exceptional teachers, adopting rigorous curricula to make students more competitive in the world, support individualized innovation, among other points.
His plan for addressing city crime is centered on three points: investing in impacted communities, hiring more officers, and making crime illegal by among other things, fighting against bail reform.
Tilson’s plan also tackles the housing crisis in New York City. According to Tilson’s campaign website, he hopes to tackle this issue by simplifying zoning laws, consolidate oversight, reimagine manufacturing districts through upzoning, among other proposals.
Dr. Selma Bartholomew
Dr. Selma Bartholomew was born in Granada but grew up in Harlem. At 16, she went college, where she earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics and physics from Lehman College. As a young mother, she pursued two master’s degrees simultaneously: one at Adelphi and one at Fordham, and later earned her doctorate.
As an educator, she taught at all levels: preschool, university, and even to inmates.
Bartholomew founded her own company in 2008 during the recession, becoming one of the few certified minority-owned businesses.
Bartholomew’s priorities include restoring public safety, cleaning up the city, providing mental health services to the homeless, facilitating educational accessibility, and improving the housing system and senior programs.
Bartholomew said she will work toward safety and will engage and reward (with free rides) frequent riders, those who will report, but never intervene, regarding people with mental illness who need help, sick passengers, and good Samaritans. She also claims that, in her first 100 days as mayor, she will strengthen relationships with business and property owners and launch a citywide campaign to clean homes and apartment buildings.
Paperboy Love Prince
Paperboy Love Prince is an artist who attended the University of Maryland College Park where they earned a degree in computer science and journalism. Paperboy also attended the University of Alicante in Spain and studied international relations and government.
As an artist, Paperboy has organized events and concerts.
In 2020, Paperboy ran for Congress, where he obtained 20% of the vote without raising much money for their campaign.
Among Paperboy’s priorities are housing for all, a job guarantee for all with $2,000 a month for universal basic income, universal health coverage, a safer city, education, ending homelessness, and making the city greener.
