With Mayor Eric Adams vowing to fight for re-election as he simultaneously fights a corruption indictment brought by the Manhattan U.S. attorney, he may now face yet another prosecutor — but this time as a political rival.
Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Walden plans to announce his candidacy for mayor Thursday, promising to run an administration that won’t find itself fielding constant subpoenas and search warrants.
“People are sick and tired of all of this nonsense,” Walden told THE CITY. “They don’t want people taking bribes like in the fire department. They want people working for them.”
Even before entering the race Walden had already taken aim at Adams, representing ex-FDNY chiefs who accused the mayor of pressuring the Fire Department to expedite safety inspections for developers and businesses that donated heavily to the mayor’s campaign. Two chiefs have been charged with running a side-gig taking bribes to speed up inspections while this was going on.
Walden joins an increasingly crowded field as the taint of corruption enshrouds City Hall and more candidates jump into the race to make Adams a one-term mayor.
On Wednesday socialist Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani (D-Queens) declared his candidacy, vowing to appoint members to the Rent Guidelines Board who would freeze rent for four years. “City Hall is engulfed in corruption but it is the outrageous cost of living that most people are talking about,” he said.
Mamdani is one of a dozen or so elected officials who have called on Adams to resign, a chorus the mayor has refused to hear even as many of his closest aides have stepped down after investigators looking into a wide variety of potentially corrupt acts seized their phones last month.
Four other prominent Democrats have already entered the race: Comptroller Brad Lander, former comptroller Scott Stringer, Assemblymember Zellnor Myrie (D-Brooklyn), and state Sen. Jessica Ramos, D-Queens. Vigilante-turned-broadcaster Curtis Sliwa has also said he’ll run against Adams as a Republican again.
Walden is currently registered as an unaffiliated independent. He could run if there’s a non-partisan special election in the event Gov. Kathy Hochul decides to remove Adams — an action she has so far been disinclined to take. For the regular primary in June, he would have to register as either a Democrat or Republican to run.
Last year a lawsuit Walden filed on behalf of seven former FDNY chiefs revealed allegations that Adams and his team had pressured the department to give favorable treatment to VIP donors on fire safety inspections.
Such favorable treatment ultimately became part of Adams indictment, with prosecutors alleging Adams pushed a former fire commissioner to expedite inspection of a building housing the Turkish consulate after receiving illegal straw donations and lavish travel perks from Turkish sources. Adams has denied the charges.
One of the FDNY officials in the lawsuit, former chief of fire prevention Joseph Jardin, informed the FBI about the Turkish consulate incident but also described a wider pattern of City Hall pressuring the department to place real estate developers and big businesses on a so-called DMO (Deputy Mayor of Operations) list that let them cut the line ahead of schools, hospitals and homeless shelters for crucial inspections. That list included a high-end sushi restaurant backed by one of Adams’ biggest donors, the mega-developer SL Green.
Running Against Scandal
In an interview with THE CITY, Walden said he would embrace stronger protocols to reduce the potential for graft, including more aggressive vetting of top appointees that would be transparent, and include efforts to uncover whether candidates were living beyond their means.
Walden also noted his non-law enforcement-related litigation, including suing the New York City Housing Authority over its failure to clean out lead paint from thousands of apartments that housed young children, and representing Brooklyn community groups who sued to try and keep Long Island City Hospital from shutting down in Cobble Hill.
In announcing his candidacy, Walden will unveil a list of policy advisors, including former prosecutor Dan Alonso advising him on anti-corruption protocols, actress Jonovia Chase advising on trans rights, former Department of Citywide Administrative Services commissioner Stacey Cumberbatch advising on indigent issues, and Avni Patel, former Bronx prosecutor advising on South Asian policy.
Currently representing Astoria and Ditmars-Steinway in the state Assembly, Mamdani officially announced his candidacy on Wednesday, pledging to lower the cost of living for New Yorkers.
Mamdani, who has been endorsed by the New York City chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America, released a platform that promises to freeze rent for rent-stabilized apartments, offer free child care and make the city bus system free. He has also made clear his desire to raise taxes on the wealthy.
In his campaign video, Mamdani touched on the alleged corruption inside the Adams administration and also included shots of former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who resigned in scandal but is reportedly eyeing a run for mayor.
Cuomo, who is sitting on a $7 million campaign treasury, was forced to step down following an investigation by state Attorney General Letitia James documenting accusations of sexual harassment against him. Cuomo has denied all of these accusations.
With just eight months until the June primary, Cuomo has yet to declare his intentions. On Wednesday his spokesperson, Rich Azzopardi, declined to reveal when or even if Cuomo will make his decision public.
“This is all premature,” said Azzopardi.
Additional reporting by Katie Honan
