It’s not precisely a people-powered marketing campaign.
NYC Council Speaker Adrienne Adams’ lengthy shot mayoral bid is getting a monetary enhance from a bevy of pols, metropolis employees and people doing enterprise with Metropolis Corridor — prompting critics to accuse the Queens Democrat of leveraging her put up to bolster her political ambitions.
Adams raised $126,033 in the course of the first week of her marketing campaign, of which $13,348 – or 10.5% — was pocketed via 62 donations from elected metropolis officers and their workers; metropolis employees, and lobbyists and different operatives with enterprise earlier than the town, based on her newest marketing campaign filings.
Lots of the contributions are $250 or much less and anticipated to finally qualify for an 8-to-1 taxpayer-funded match — seemingly bringing her early haul from these bureaucrats and different bigwigs to greater than $50,000.
It’s the tip of the iceberg because the lawmaker strikes forward together with her marketing campaign, critics contend.
“The truth that she will be able to’t elevate grassroots cash and, as an alternative, depends on lobbyists, metropolis contractors and elected officers tells you precisely who’ll she’ll serve if she’s elected – and it’s not the individuals,” mentioned Curtis Sliwa, the presumptive Republican mayoral nominee.
The Guardian Angels founder additionally accused the speaker of getting a historical past of catering to “particular pursuits” teams.
“If this isn’t felony it needs to be,” mentioned lawyer Jim Walden, who can be working for mayor as an unbiased. “…For this reason everyone seems to be sick and uninterested in profession politics.”
Adams’ donations embody a mixed $2,303 from far-left Public Advocate Jumaane Williams and 7 Democratic council members that might swell to greater than $14,000 if the speaker qualifies for matching funds as she expects to later this spring.
Twenty-one donations got here from Metropolis Council workers and different metropolis workers, totaling $2,185, and 25 got here from metropolis lobbyists totaling $6,760.
The speaker — who just isn’t associated to her political rival Mayor Eric Adams — had a marketing campaign conflict chest of $276,256 as of March 13, together with $211,404 she transferred from her earlier council marketing campaign.
Council members’ early need to spice up her mayoral run is reciprocal.
Speaker Adams doled out $1,000 donations to a overwhelming majority of the 51-member council’s political campaigns a number of years in the past — an unprecedented transfer that helped her preserve the management put up, The Submit reported in January 2023.
Adams’ spokesperson Lupe Todd-Medina defended the donations.
“You’ll be able to inform lots a few candidate by who backs them,” Todd-Medina mentioned, citing experiences of mayoral frontrunner Andrew Cuomo gathering tens of 1000’s of {dollars} from donors and associates of President Donald Trump.
“That’s the distinction between a public servant who’s in it for the individuals — and a profession politician who’s solely in it for energy,” she added.
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