Eric Adams, an African-American, former police officer and anti-racist trade unionist, has been elected mayor of New York, the Associated Press (AP) announced Tuesday evening, November 2, followed by most of the major American media, based on preliminary results.
The elected 61-year-old Democrat largely defeated his Republican rival Curtis Sliwa, 67, according to the first results released by the New York elections office. He becomes the second black mayor in the history of the American economic and cultural capital.
“It’s a dream come true, I couldn’t be more proud to represent this city that we all love”, he tweeted, as soon as his victory was known.
It’s official — our five-borough, knock-every-door, reach-every-voter campaign was successful: We have won the rac… https://t.co/GmfRRdPJiQ
Eric Adams won the Republican primary this summer after a campaign focused on security. Second, his experience as a former police officer had largely protected him from the attacks of his Republican opponent, Curtis Sliwa, founder of an anti-crime militia.
Beaten up by the police when he was a teenager
Eric Adams has relied heavily on his personal journey during the campaign. He said he was beaten by police officers when he was a teenager. When he later became a police officer, he had no hesitation in criticizing the institution, standing up for black agents and denouncing injustices.
However, in the wake of the protest movement that followed the death of George Floyd, he did not support the proposals from the left wing of the Democratic Party, calling for switching some subsidies allocated to the police to social programs, in order to act on the roots of crime.
He was also particularly probusiness, far removed from the statements of the muse of the American left, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.
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