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To the editor:
We have a legally unshackled Mayor Eric Adams running as an independent, polls showing ex-Governor Andrew Cuomo leading the pack of Democratic candidates and Republicans unlikely to offer up a good candidate. That leaves little room for optimism.
As usual, the mainstream news media gives coverage that's a combination of name recognition and horse race. State Senator Jessica Ramos appears to be the best Democratic candidate. She has a strong pro-worker record.
But she's not a big name and the corporate media tends to ignore candidates with strong pro-worker records. And while Cuomo is a big name, let’s not forget that as governor, he used the threat of layoffs to get poorly-paid state workers to accept a three-year wage freeze.
Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani seems to be trying to gain name recognition through idiocy. He's said that as mayor, he'd set up an agency for non-police emergency responses. This would include responding to gun violence. He has not explained how unarmed responders would deal with armed perpetrators.
Adams called himself a “blue-collar mayor" and ran as a pro-worker candidate but he has not lived up to his promises. But if the corruption charges against him had not been dismissed, he could have legitimately claimed he was being treated unfairly.
If he was found guilty of the charges against him, how would that have merited a possible 45 years in prison? Wouldn't a hefty fine and a ban from holding public office have been sufficient?
Richard Warren
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