Former City Comptroller Scott Stringer is launching an exploratory committee to run for mayor in 2025, he confirmed to amNewYork Metro on Thursday.
The committee’s formation allows Stringer to begin fundraising as he mulls officially throwing his hat in the ring in next year’s Democratic primary against Mayor Eric Adams.
Stringer told amNewYork Metro he thinks the city needs a “new direction” to deal with pressing issues like its fiscal and housing crises.
“We have a lot of economic challenges ahead of us,” Stringer said. “I think we need a mayor who brings a unique leadership skills, plus a financial background that can deal with some of these issues. The reality is, crime is up and housing is down, education is flat. We need a mayor who knows how to invest in working people and middle class.”
However, Adams has pointed to bringing murders and shootings down and gains in job numbers coming out of the pandemic as the signature accomplishments of his administration two years into his tenure.
Stringer, the city’s former chief bean counter, said he will spend the coming months speaking to New Yorkers to assess the level of support for his run.
“I’m going to use this time to meet with people from around the city,” he said. “I’m going to meet with them in their living rooms, meet with them where they live, to discuss how we can build out a city of tomorrow. And so I’m excited about the challenge. I know it’s not an easy journey. But I think the city’s worth fighting for.”
Not the first potential challenger
The move, first reported by multiple outlets, makes Stringer the first formal challenger to launch a bid against Adams. Murmurs about who could potentially take Adams on have swirled for months, as he has been politically weakened by both professional and personal crises.
Other potential challengers who have been floated include state Senators Jessica Ramos (D-Queens) and Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn), and Brooklyn Borough President Antonio Reynoso.
This would mark Stringer’s second attempt at the city’s top job after he unsuccessfully ran in 2021, when his campaign was felled by sexual misconduct accusations. He fiercely denies the allegations and has sued his first accuser for defamation — an action that was thrown out in court, but he is now appealing.
Wants a mayor to ‘think bigger’
The former comptroller said his many years in city and state government — he has served as Manhattan borough president and in Albany’s lower chamber — make him the competent hand needed to guide the city through the ongoing migrant influx.
“It is pretty pathetic for children and parents to be sleeping on the floor of a gymnasium in the greatest city on the world in the world,” Stringer said, referencing incidents where the city has housed migrants in schools temporarily due to a lack of other space.
“We need a mayor who’s going to think bigger, who can forge real relationships from the White House and state house and I believe I have that skill set,” he added.
Stringer’s announcement comes as Adams has been marred by record-low poll numbers resulting from his handling of the migrant crisis and his cuts to key city services. He is further weighed down by an FBI investigation into his 2021 campaign’s fundraising practices — looking into whether it worked with the Turkish government to recieve illegal donations in exchange for political favors.
But Adams does have a significant cash advantage over any potential opponent, having already raised nearly $3 million.
In response to Stringer’s move, Adams’ campaign provided a comment from former 32BJ SEIU president Kyle Bragg defending the mayor and dunking on the former comptroller.
“Eric Adams has led us through multiple crises as mayor and brought the city back,” Bragg said, a statement. “Where has Scott Stringer been that entire time?”
