On the day of his indictment, Eric Adams’ critics span the ideological spectrum

It’s not just those pesky socialists anymore. A wider breadth of New York City lawmakers are now calling on Mayor Eric Adams to resign, following news breaking on Wednesday that he has been indicted. Prosecutors with the Southern District of New York unveiled the five-count indictment on Thursday, including charges of bribery, fraud and soliciting and accepting illegal foreign donations.

Some of the calls for resignation were expected; almost all of the candidates running against Adams for mayor next year called for his resignation, describing the spiraling federal investigations as a distraction. 

But what started as a few isolated calls to resign last week from DSA elected officials like Assembly Member Emily Gallagher and Council Member Tiffany Cabán began to snowball after news of the indictment broke on Wednesday. State Sen. John Liu, a Democrat critical on issues like mayoral control but not especially critical otherwise, joined the calls to resign, as did conservative Democratic City Council Member Bob Holden, who endorsed Adams in the Democratic primary in 2021. 

That list also now includes state Sen. Iwen Chu, Council Members Chris Banks, Linda Lee and Erik Bottcher – all Democrats, but far from the far-left end of the ideological spectrum. 

The building calls and their breadth make it more difficult for Adams to credibly claim that the people calling for his resignation are political enemies who have been against him since the beginning. That the indictment makes Adams’ political position more difficult in general goes without saying.