Crime dominates final stretch of NYC mayoral race in test for Democrats
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With crime on the rise in New York City, Democratic candidates running for mayor have focused intensely on law and order in a race that has highlighted the challenges the party may have in pushing liberal policies against the backdrop of increasing violence.
The dynamic was on full display in the final debate of the race Wednesday evening, when the eight remaining primary candidates faced a barrage of questions about public safety and policing issues.
The candidate considered the most pro-police in the race, former New York Police Department Officer Eric Adams, has climbed to the front of the pack in recent polls that have shown the further-left candidates, such as civil rights attorney Maya Wiley, trailing the centrists.
RUNNERS AND RIDERS IN THE NEW YORK CITY MAYORAL RACE
Public safety and police questions dominated much of Wednesday’s debate, exposing further the wide ideological divides that exist within the Democratic Party.
“If we don’t get gun violence under control, it’s going to stop our economic recovery,” Adams said during one of his first answers of the night, tying the public safety issue to another problem that is top of mind for many New Yorkers. He pledged to expand parts of the police force, such as a plainclothes anti-gun unit.
Wiley, who has proposed cutting $1 billion from the NYPD budget, argued instead that police should be asked to do less in the city.
“We are hiring police officers to do the jobs of social workers,” she said. “We are hiring police officers to do the jobs of psychologists.”
Andrew Yang, the former presidential candidate who was once considered the front-runner, began his opening statement by making a plea to protect public safety and by touting an endorsement from a police union. He sparred with Adams during the night, painting himself as the favorite of police despite his opponent’s years with the NYPD.
Crime in the Big Apple has climbed steadily in recent months, compounding problems for the city as businesses struggle to attract customers back after the pandemic. Overall crime climbed 22% between May 2020 and May of this year, with the rate of robberies jumping nearly 47% and the rate of shootings spiking 73% in that time period, according to the NYPD.
Crime on the subway system has also sparked concerns — but not every mayoral candidate agreed on how to handle it.
Asked at the debate to raise their hands if they would station more police officers on transit systems, Wiley, Comptroller Scott Stringer, and Dianne Morales did not budge — all of them have advocated for police reforms that defund or dismantle parts of the police.
Stringer has pushed to disband the police’s protest unit.
Morales has gone the furthest of the liberal candidates in the race, pushing to cut the NYPD budget in half and completely overhaul how the force operates.
“I have called for, yes, a reduction of $3 billion in the NYPD budget. We have the largest budget for a police force in the country,” Morales said at the debate on Wednesday. “The reality of it is, we have got to move away from these systems that oppress our communities. We know that policing is not keeping us safe — all of the violence is happening under their watch.”
Polls have shown the liberal-leaning candidates mostly trailing the trio of leading centrists — Adams, Yang, and former sanitation chief Kathryn Garcia — in what could be viewed as a reflection of the party’s mood in the post-Trump era. Recent Democratic audits of the tactics that did not work in congressional races in the 2020 election have concluded that some of the Left’s language — in particular, the “defund the police” movement — may have alienated some Democratic voters.
The latest Marist poll showed Adams leading the pack, with 24% of support from Democratic voters, followed by Garcia at 17%, and Yang and Wiley virtually tied at 13% each. Stringer trailed at 7%, and Morales polled at 3%, along with two other second-tier candidates, Shaun Donovan and Ray McGuire.
New York City’s mayoral race is not the only city contest being shaped by climbing crime and increasing fears about safety.
In Atlanta, rising crime has dominated the mayoral contest in a city that saw widespread protests last summer over the death of George Floyd.
Incumbent Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms opted not to run for reelection amid intense criticism of the violence that spread on her watch.
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New Yorkers have cited crime as their top issue heading into the final stretch of the race.
Voters will head to the polls on Tuesday to select their Democratic nominee for mayor. The winner of that primary is widely expected to go on to run the city due to New York’s deeply Democratic electorate.
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Tags: News, Police, New York City, police brutality, Crime, Andrew Yang
Original Author: Sarah Westwood
Original Location: Crime dominates final stretch of NYC mayoral race in test for Democrats
