Adams is polling last—here's what he has to say about it

Politics Unusual: Mayor Eric Adams, Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado

In this week's episode of Politics Unusual, FOX 5 NY's Morgan McKay speaks with New York City Mayor Eric Adams about his new bill proposal that would that would allow officers to forcibly remove people with drug addictions off the streets without their consent and commit them into hospitals for treatment. Also, a conversation with Lt. Governor Antonio Delgado's plan to challenge Governor Kathy Hochul in the gubernatorial primary next year.

NEW YORK - For weeks, polls have shown that New York City's Mayor Eric Adams isn't what the people want come November, at least so far.

What we know:

A recent Siena poll of registered voters shows that Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani holds a strong lead in the race. Mamdani polls at 44%, while former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, trails at 25%. Republican Curtis Silwa stands at 12%, and Mayor Adams is at 7%. He's also running as an independent. 

These numbers are unusual considering the fact that in local elections, incumbency typically has positive effects. 

Big picture view:

Adams' poor numbers thus far can at least partially be attributed to his favorability ratings. Last year, the Department of Justice charged him with bribery, conspiracy and campaign finance crimes, which has contributed to a sense of distrust between the mayor and his constituents. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul even weighed removing him as mayor earlier this year. Although the case was dropped, his ratings have remained low. 

Adams appeared as a guest on this week's "Politics Unusual" program, where FOX 5 NY Political Reporter Morgan McKay asked him if he had any plans in the coming weeks to pump up his numbers. 

What they're saying:

"My breakout moment is when New Yorkers are going to say, ‘I know this guy’s record, and I know he's a working-class New Yorker,'" he said, referencing the fact that the city experienced the lowest number of shootings and murders in recorded history back in May as an example. 

"We're building our foundation, starting our communication," Adams said of a campaign that's already months in. 

Adams also admitted that he "made a lot of mistakes" during his first two years as mayor. 

"Yes, I made mistakes. Yes, I trusted people I should not have trusted. Yes, some people had jobs that they should not have had," he said. 

Additionally, Adams discussed the fact that his former staffer Mohamed Bahi pled guilty last week for his role in a scheme to funnel illegal donations to his campaign in order to get public matching funds—which are taxpayer dollars—and how that's affected his run for reelection as well. 

"Some people think they're helping the campaign," he said. "They do things that technically they should not have done. I think that they make mistakes, but at no time did we coordinate with anyone that told them to do something inappropriate." 

Mayor Adams' matching funds

Dig deeper:

Earlier this month, the New York City Campaign Finance Board denied Adams' millions in public matching funds for the tenth time. The board said they denied his campaign for two reasons—the first being his campaign not having submitted the required paperwork, and the second being the fact that the board had reason to believe his campaign previously violated the law. 

"The board finds the campaign has provided incomplete and misleading information to the CFB and has impeded the CFB staff’s ability to complete its investigation," Board Chair Frederick Schaffer said during a board meeting, referencing Adams' denial of funds. "With respect to the second ground, the board’s conclusion is based upon its review of all of the available evidence, including, but not limited to, its own independent investigation."

Without these funds, Adams' campaign will have an even harder time bouncing back. After all, matching funds incentivize candidates to seek broader support from individual donors instead of solely relying on larger contributions from wealthy donors and special interest groups. 

In the meantime, Adams isn't giving up. He told POLITICO that he plans to ride out the campaign to the very end to stop frontrunner Mamdani last week. 

"If there were people running for mayor that I believe would continue the progress of our city, that’s an easy call," Adams said. "The people who are running — they are harmful to our city and the progress we’ve made. And I owe it to New Yorkers to get my story out to them and to run a campaign."