Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY) speaks throughout the The Jerusalem Publish New York convention on June 3, 2024 in Manhattan.
Picture by Noam Galai/Getty Photographs
Democratic Bronx Rep. Ritchie Torres has made his alternative within the NYC mayoral race: former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who has but to formally enter the competition.
Torres, in an announcement, stated he’s endorsing Cuomo as a result of the previous Democratic governor has the “competence and courage” the town wants in a frontrunner proper now.
“Andrew Cuomo has the competence to govern the city and the courage to stand up to the extremes of American politics — both the far-left and the far-right,” Torres stated.
Torres singled out mayoral contender Zohran Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who represents a part of western Queens within the Meeting, as a “far-left” determine whom he believes Cuomo can defeat.
“When it comes to confronting political extremism, what you need is not Mr. Nice Guy — what you need is Mr. Tough Guy,” he stated.
The endorsement was first reported by the New York Publish.
Will former Gov. Andrew Cuomo run for mayor of New York Metropolis and may he win?REUTERS/Annabelle Gordon
Torres’ early backing of Cuomo comes as Mayor Eric Adams’ hopes of successful reelection develop more and more dim. Adams is dealing with immense stress to resign, which he has resisted, following allegations that he engaged in a quid professional quo with President Trump’s Justice Division to have his corruption case dismissed.
Torres stated he believes Adams is compromised as a result of the DOJ moved to drop his costs with out prejudice, giving it the flexibility to convey them again at any time.
“I want a mayor who can govern independently of the far right, and Donald Trump represents the far right,” Torres stated throughout a Monday morning CNBC interview. “The fear of a re-indictment keeps Mayor Adams permanently under the thumb of Donald Trump.”
Nonetheless, the costs stay in place after federal Choose Dale Ho appointed an impartial lawyer on Friday to argue for protecting the case alive as a substitute of instantly granting the DOJ’s movement to dismiss.
The Congress member stated his announcement is each an endorsement of Cuomo and an indictment of Adams’ administration, which noticed 4 key deputy mayors resign their positions final week within the wake of the quid professional quo allegations.
“New York City is in crisis,” Torres stated. “Four deputy mayors have resigned. The city is less safe than it should be…And what we need now more than ever is the stable and strong and steady leadership that Gov. Cuomo can provide.”
He cited large-scale infrastructure tasks, just like the modernization of LaGuardia Airport and the constructing of Moynihan Practice Corridor, as a few of Cuomo’s key accomplishments in workplace.
Cuomo is anticipated to formally enter the race within the coming days because the interval during which candidates should begin gathering signatures for poll entry kicks off this week. Rumors of a possible Cuomo candidacy have circled the race for effectively over a yr, but he has held again on formally leaping into the fray.
Cuomo has been trying to make a political comeback since he resigned from his governorship in 2021 on account of almost a dozen ladies accusing him of sexual misconduct — accusations he denies.
The previous governor is anticipated to be a frontrunner if and when he enters the race. In a sequence of public polls over the previous couple of months, he has constantly led the present discipline, together with Adams, by double digits.
Torres additionally confirmed throughout the interview that he interested by difficult Gov. Kathy Hochul in subsequent yr’s Democratic main for governor. If Cuomo wins the mayoralty, he presumably wouldn’t take part in that race.
A Cuomo spokesperson didn’t instantly return a request for remark.
