Eric Adams eyes independent NYC mayoral run as campaign stalls, support falls: He owes a lot of money
He’s gone from swagger to stagger.Embattled Mayor Eric Adams is mulling running as an independent if he loses the upcoming Democratic primary — and that’s even if he decides to make a re-election bid as he faces increasingly hopeless electoral prospects, The Post has learned.Hizzoner has been largely absent from the race, and even bailed on a recent high-profile forum with his challengers — with roughly 100 days until the June 24 primary.Source close to the mayor said he’s unlikely to campaign while his federal corruption case hands over his head — as Judge Dale Ho continues to weigh whether to agree with President Trump’s Department of Justice to drop the charges.Adams has a lot of ground to cover — his poll numbers are abysmal against crowded field of challengers, including the formidable former Gov.Andrew Cuomo.
He also has a mountain of debt to contend with, as he owes his defense lawyers more than $700,000.“He has a decision to make,” a source said about Adams if and when the criminal case is dismissed.“He owes a lot of people a lot of money.”Adams’ diminished current political stature contrasts wildly with the confident candidate who handily won 2021’s mayoral election after a prolific, energetic campaign.He then rode into Gracie Mansion with a promise to bring “swagger” to the Big Apple after eight years of bumbling Bill de Blasio.“When a mayor has swagger, the city has swagger,” he boasted just days into office.But swagger only carried Adams so far, especially as his mayoralty became increasingly scandal-plagued.
The mayor’s fortunes fell as the feds investigated him and the longtime cronies he installed in his administration — and then collapsed in September as he became the first sitting New York City mayor to face a federal indictment.Adams vigorously denied the corruption accusations and increasingly cozied up to Trump, with rumors swirling that he was seeking a pardon.The dismissal move from up top at the DOJ ...