Adams’ competitors will face challenges if ‘equity’ is abandoned

Leading up to Mayor Adams’ historic federal indictment, New York’s top progressives are circling, ready to pounce like piranhas.

Public Advocate Jumaane Williams, known for his “everyone’s racist” stance, is practically preparing to step into the role of Interim Mayor, while state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, a key player in the state’s troubled criminal justice reforms, is eager to run in a special election.

The lineup of candidates poised to take Adams’ place leans far to the left ideologically, including current and former city Comptrollers Brad Lander and Scott Stringer, as well as state Sen. Jessica Ramos.

Progressives, including Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, are urging Adams to resign immediately, revealing how much the mayor, despite his management failures, has kept the more extreme elements at bay.

New York finds itself in a risky position, with potential successors advocating for policies that have contributed to a more dangerous and divided city both economically and racially. 

New Yorkers are in need of a candidate who prioritizes practicality over ideology, respecting the city’s core values and focusing on tangible outcomes rather than idealistic goals.

The prevalence of woke warriors in New York’s political arena highlights how special interests have trumped essential priorities such as education, safety, and economic prosperity in the pursuit of “equity.”

Many are unaware that New York City is still laboring under infrastructure established during former Mayor Bill de Blasio’s progressive tenure, which Adams has struggled to address.

At the heart of this challenge is Executive Order 45, signed by de Blasio in 2019, which shifted agencies’ focus away from effective service delivery to metrics centered around demographics such as race, gender, income, and sexual orientation.

The misguided emphasis on “equity” has undermined the city’s core missions, creating rifts particularly in law enforcement, education, transit, and safety enforcement.

As agencies prioritize collecting data to measure equity, their performance has suffered, with the city becoming less equitable due to a narrow obsession with identity metrics.

City agencies are failing to fulfill their core mandates, as the focus on identity metrics prohibits them from delivering effective services.

Mayoral contenders like Jumaane Williams, Brad Lander, and Zellnor Myrie are unlikely to address these structural failures or propose solutions beyond perpetuating failed woke policies.

Adams may have made mistakes in his leadership, but the city needs more than a clean-up operation from the Justice Department to restore its vitality.

With Adams potentially stepping down, New Yorkers must support a mayoral candidate who prioritizes practicality over ideology to ensure the city’s success for all.

Hannah E. Meyers is a fellow and the director of policing and public safety at the Manhattan Institute.