Meet the D.R.E.A.M. team

Progressive organizers and candidates are runnin’ down a D.R.E.A.M. in the New York City mayoral race. Separate organizations – including United Auto Workers Region 9A and a grassroots political action committee – are encouraging voters to adopt a collective mission in the ranked-choice Democratic primary this June: “Don’t Rank Eric or Andrew for Mayor.”

The PAC, New Yorkers for A Better New York Today, was formed in February to raise money for a social media, merchandise and (they hope) influencer-backed messaging blitz to cut into former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s strong position in the race, and incumbent Mayor Eric Adams’ less stable position in the race. Among the group’s organizers is former Rep. Jamaal Bowman’s communications director, Lawrence Wang.

It’s unclear who actually came up with the D.R.E.A.M. motto first, though Brandon Mancilla, director of UAW Region 9A, noted there’s plenty of crossover in the ecosystem of progressive organizations, and word gets around. “I think the important part here is that this has spread,” Mancilla said. “The conversation is there. The slogan is catchy.” (The union has released an unranked endorsement of New York City Comptroller Brad Lander, state Sen. Jessica Ramos and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani.) 

Spokespeople for both UAW and the PAC say they’d originally envisioned using the D.R.E.A.M. acronym to mean “Don’t Rank Eric Adams for Mayor,” but Cuomo’s entrance to the race – and his subsequent dominance in recent polls – prompted the pivot. Luckily, the letters worked out. 

So far, the PAC’s cash haul is extremely modest compared to the coffers in Cuomo’s campaign or the resources of a PAC supporting him. The top donor to the D.R.E.A.M. PAC so far is The Jewish Vote, the political arm of Jews for Racial and Economic Justice, which says it contributed $5,000 to the effort. Only two other contributions totaling $4,500 have been reported through weekly disclosures to the state Board of Elections so far, including one from a relative of Wang’s. Wang said the PAC is taking in additional donations under $1,000 that aren’t required to be in those disclosures.

“There’s no world where we’re going to outraise the money going to support Andrew Cuomo,” said Wang, who worked on Bowman’s record-breakingly expensive congressional primary last year and is co-founder of the left-wing communications firm Greenpill. “We want to use creative means to reach people,” he added, noting that the PAC launched with a small batch of merch sales – including an anti-Adams cap and later, a city Department of Transportation-inspired anti-Cuomo tee. (Wang didn’t provide exact figures on how much each item has sold – or which has sold more – but noted they’ve had around 180 sales total and have had to order a second run of both items.) A comedy show – “the roast of Andrew Cuomo” – affiliated with the New York City Democratic Socialists of America will serve as a fundraiser for the committee on April 4. 

Many on the left have looked to the Working Families Party to set out a strategy that won’t lead to a repeat of 2021, when progressive candidates for mayor failed to coalesce. The group has yet to make official endorsements in the race, but has spoken in support of the D.R.E.A.M. message.

Cuomo has dominated recent polls and no progressive candidate has come closer to him than Mamdani, a Democratic socialist who has become a fundraising juggernaut in the race. A trio of polls this week had Cuomo in first place with a strong lead, followed by Mamdani.

Many candidates have explicitly declared support for the D.R.E.A.M. message, including Mamdani, Ramos, Lander, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams and former Assembly Member Michael Blake. Though some candidates have also expressed either support or openness to cross-endorsing, it’s unclear whether – and if so, when – that kind of more concrete coalescing will happen. 

Adams’ campaign spokesperson Todd Shapiro said in a statement that the mayor welcomes “spirited engagement” in the campaign from all civic and political groups, but it’s the vote of the people that matters. “We trust that voters will continue to judge this administration based on its record, not on backroom strategies,” he said.

A spokesperson for Cuomo’s campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the D.R.E.A.M message. “Our city is in crisis – a crisis of affordability, of quality of life and of leadership, and in this race, Governor Cuomo, and Governor Cuomo alone, is the only proven, tested leader to tackle these issues head on and who voters know can get the job done,” Cuomo spokesperson Rich Azzopardi told New York magazine in a recent story on the movement. “New Yorkers aren’t stupid: these are serious times that demand a serious mayor, not performance art from defund the police, DSA-extremist and anti-Israel activists.”