New York City Democratic mayoral primary debate: five key takeaways
In the first debate of the New York City Democratic mayoral primary, nine candidates took the stage and fielded questions on housing, affordability, crime, policing, public safety, political regrets and how each candidate would handle the Trump administration if elected.
The candidates included former New York governor Andrew Cuomo; democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani; the New York City council speaker, Adrienne Adams; the current New York City comptroller, Brad Lander; former comptroller Scott Stringer; former Bronx assemblyman Michael Blake; state senators Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos; and former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson.
The current mayor, Eric Adams, was not present on Wednesday as he is running for re-election as an independent candidate, although he ran as a Democrat in 2021.
A few takeaways from the debate:
Throughout the debate, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo, the current frontrunner in the race, was grilled on his record by his Democratic rivals.
Cuomo spent much of the night sparring with progressive state assemblyman Zohran Mamdani, who is polling second. Mamdani accused Cuomo of being beholden to wealthy donors and corporate interests, saying Cuomo prioritized the '1%, the billionaires and the profitable corporations', over 'working-class New Yorkers'.
Cuomo dismissed the 33-year-old as inexperienced, calling Mamdani 'very good on Twitter and with videos' but saying he was someone who 'produces nothing'.
'He's been in government 27 minutes, he passed three bills, that's all he's done,' Cuomo said. 'He has no experience with Washington, no experience with New York City.'
Trump came up several times, as the candidates agreed the next mayor must be ready to stand up to his administration if elected mayor, though they differed on who was best equipped to do so.
'I know how to deal with Donald Trump because I've dealt with him before,' Cuomo said, citing his experience as New York governor.
Mamdani warned that 'President Trump will target whomever is the next mayor of this city' and said that is 'important that we have a mayor who will fight back and that is what I will do'.
'I am Donald Trump's worst nightmare as a progressive Muslim immigrant who actually fights for the things that I believe in,' Mamdani added. 'And the difference between myself and Andrew Cuomo is that my campaign is not funded by the very billionaires who put Donald Trump in DC.'
Cuomo fired back, saying that 'Donald Trump would go through Mr Mamdani like a hot knife through butter'.
'He would be Trump's delight,' Cuomo added.
Mamdani countered: 'It's true that I don't have experience with corrupt Trump billionaires that are funding my campaign. I don't have experience with party politics and insider consultants. I do have experience, however, with winning $450m in debt relief for thousands of working-class taxi drivers and actually delivering for working-class people.'
Adrienne Adams, the speaker of the New York city council, said she would take legal action against Trump when necessary.
Asked how they would respond if the Trump administration ordered city-run hospitals to stop providing care to undocumented patients or risk losing millions in federal funding, all candidates voiced strong opposition to Trump's recent crackdown on immigration in general.
'You cannot give in to Mr Trump and his demands,' Cuomo said. 'If you give in to him, he is a bully, I know him well, if you give in to him today, you will be giving him your lunch money for the rest of your life.'
'You have to fight him and the way you fight him is not by suing him,' the former governor said. 'We need a national coalition, which we can put together of like-minded states and cities that will oppose these actions and then we're going to have to eventually beat him politically in Congress.'
Whitney Tilson said that if Trump were to act 'illegally to try and blackmail us, you have to sue to restore that funding', adding that he was 'appalled by what Trump is doing to terrorize immigrant communities' and would 'fight him tooth and nail'.
Mamdani said that New York City was 'under attack by an authoritarian Trump administration'.
'The way that we fight back is ensure that our local institutions continue to provide the services to each and every New Yorker,' he said. 'We will tell those institutions that we will provide that funding and we will get that funding by taxing the 1% and the wealthiest corporations.'
Pressed about his administration's handling of nursing home deaths during the Covid-19 pandemic – a 2021 report by the New York attorney general found that his office undercounted thousands of deaths of state nursing home residents – Cuomo defended his record, claiming the numbers were not, in fact, undercounted.
He also denied the sexual harassment allegations against him that led to his resignation. 'I said at the time that if I offended anyone it was unintentional but I apologize and I say that today,' he said.
Asked about their biggest political regret, city council speaker Adrienne Adams took a swipe at the current mayor. 'My biggest regret is believing that Eric Adams would be a good mayor for all New Yorkers,' she said.
The city's comptroller, Brad Lander, said that he regretted not pushing 'for more housing in his Brooklyn district when he was a city council member'.
Mandani used the moment to target Cuomo once more, saying that 'as a Democrat, one of my regrets is having trusted the leaders within our own party, leaders like Andrew Cuomo'.
Cuomo, on the other hand, said his biggest regret was 'the state of the Democratic party', which prompted backlash from other candidates on stage. 'No personal regrets?' asked Adrienne Adams. 'No regrets when it comes to cutting Medicaid or healthcare? No regrets when it comes to slow-walking PPE and vaccinations in the season of Covid to Black and brown communities? Really, no regrets?'
Cuomo said her claims were 'not accurate', adding: 'Medicaid went up under me. I pushed President Trump to give us everything he had, leading the way during Covid.'
The moderators asked the candidates how much they pay in rent or mortgage in New York City. Adams said she owned her home and that it was paid off; Mamdani said he pays $2,300 a month in rent for a rent-stabilized apartment in Astoria.
Blake said he spends about $1,800 for a home that he owns, while Myrie said his rent-stabilized apartment was $1,300 a month and Ramos said her rent was $2,500 a month. Lander said his mortgage was $3,300 a month.
Cuomo said that he pays $7,800 a month, while Tilson said that he owned his home and paid about $5,000 per month in maintenance fees and taxes. Stringer said he pays $6,400.
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