Indicted Adams' ex-advisor Ingrid Lewis-Martin working on mayor's re-election bid
Lewis-Martin helped organize campaign volunteers during a virtual campaign meeting, according to detailed information about the meeting obtained by the News. During the call, Lewis-Martin instructed dozens of volunteers on how they could canvas and phone bank for the mayor.
Lewis-Martin, Bernard Adams, the mayor's brother, and David Vassel, the executive director of the Bronx Bethany Cooperative Corporation, walked Adams volunteers through a script to ask their friends and family to also pitch in their time for the campaign.
Winnie Greco, an ex-senior advisor to the mayor whose homes were raided by the feds, was on the meeting. Greco handed out t-shirts at the campaign launch Friday, as well. Former State Sen. Malcolm Smith, who was convicted on federal corruption charges in 2015, also participated in the call.
Todd Shapiro, a spokesperson for the campaign, said that Lewis-Martin, Smith and the other are not getting paid for their work nor do they have formal titles.
'As the Mayor has made clear, many individuals who are not working in government roles or for the campaign in any official capacity are allowed to volunteer to get out the vote,' Shapiro, who himself is working on a volunteer basis, said.
'They are simply private citizens who support the Mayor. Just because someone isn't on your payroll doesn't mean they shouldn't be allowed to attend events or show support for a candidate they believe in.'
The mayor, whose last year in office has been marked by investigations, indictments and an alleged deal with the Trump administration, formally launched his campaign for re-election Thursday with a rally on the steps of City Hall. Adams is running as an independent.
Lewis-Martin was charged along with her son with taking $100,000 in bribes from two businessmen in exchange for stepping in with city regulators on their behalf. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
She resigned from her post shortly before being hit with the charges, following a string a top officials who stepped down from their administration roles after being ensnared in probes.
Prior to that, Lewis-Martin had worked for Adams for decades as one of his closest friends.
Smith served seven years in federal prison for attempting to bribe his way into getting the Republican nomination in the 2013 mayoral race. He was also present at the mayor's campaign kick-off event.
Frank Carone, Adams' longtime political confidant and chairman of his reelection effort, said he didn't know what exact roles Lewis-Martin and Smith were playing. He did confirm they remain staunch supporters of the mayor, though, and defended their involvement.
'They, like many many New Yorkers, are concerned and will exercise their first amendment right to express it — that's all there is to it,' Carone said.
Adams' team sees his prospects of re-election as generally having improved as a result of Zohran Mamdani's stunning victory against Andrew Cuomo in the Democratic primary.
There are signs the city's business and real estate classes may coalesce behind Adams as their best shot at defeating the democratic socialist. It remains to be seen if the vast financial resources poured into Cuomo's run will be diverted to Adams.
'We know what we're up against. We saw Andrew Cuomo get whooped, trying to be nice here, he got whooped, he got spanked,' Bernard Adams said according to audio of the call. '… God has put us in a position to win. That's the only way to put it — we're in a position to win.'
The mayor himself joined the call for about ten minutes, thanking the team for their efforts.
'The assignment for the week is to open a Twitter account,' the mayor said to his volunteers on the call. '… Sign up so you can post and you could put some positive energy out.'
Among the factors seen as contributing to Mamdani's win was a high level of enthusiasm for his candidacy on social media.
Adams said his team has found office space in Manhattan and is currently looking for a second location in Brooklyn.
One participant on the call asked if he would wrap his weed delivery car with an image of the mayor in support of his reelection bid. 'The campaign can't ask you to do that,' the mayor's brother replied but added that they could send a pdf over.
With Chris Sommerfeldt
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