WFP’s mayoral strategy takes shape with slate endorsement

Striding arm-in-arm together toward City Hall on Sunday, four candidates competing for the most powerful elected position in New York City delivered a clear message: Rank us for mayor on your Democratic primary ballots this June. 

City Comptroller Brad Lander, City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, state Sen. Zellnor Myrie and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani were all endorsed by the New York Working Families Party on Saturday and the next day accepted that endorsement outside City Hall. The largely harmonious, friendly display brought to mind the kind of coalition strategy that some progressives have been urging candidates to adopt in order to outperform former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is well ahead in polls. 

“In a moment where people tell us that politics is simply division, I am also proud to stand alongside candidates who are united in the belief that we have to turn the page on disgraced leadership in this city and in this state,” said Mamdani, who has pulled into second place in recent polls and has logged impressive fundraising. The other candidates similarly said they were proud to stand with the slate – committing to working together was a prerequisite for endorsement by the WFP.

The New York Working Families Party’s endorsement of four candidates in the mayoral race is the first step in the major progressive organization’s endorsement strategy this year. Now that the party has endorsed a slate, it will later choose one of those candidates to rank first, and possibly detail second, third or fourth place rankings too. The party is also urging voters not to rank Cuomo or Mayor Eric Adams, and several candidates on Sunday embraced the D.R.E.A.M (Don’t Rank Eric or Andrew for Mayor) pitch in recognition of that call.

State Sen. Jessica Ramos and former Assembly Member Michael Blake also applied for the Working Families Party’s mayoral endorsement, but were not chosen. Asked why the party didn’t choose a fifth candidate to add to its slate given that voters can rank up to five candidates on their ballots, Working Families Party co-director Ana María Archila suggested that one important criteria for their endorsement was a candidate’s longevity in the race. “We assembled a team that is deeply rooted in the mosaic of New York City, but also that has the strength and the ability to wage a fight from now until Election Day,” she said. Earlier in the press conference, Archila noted that there was “serious debate” among members during the endorsement process. 

The WFP has been a supporter of Ramos since her 2018 state Senate run. Asked about the party’s decision not to include her in its slate, Ramos said in a statement, “While I would have welcomed their endorsement, my campaign has always been about building a broader, people-powered movement – one that includes working families, unions, and communities fighting for a city that works for all of us.” 

With just under three months until Election Day, some of the candidates also took a little time for some good old-fashioned self-promotion. A crowd of a couple dozen at Sunday’s press conference hoisted up WFP signs for most of the program, but half a dozen Mamdani-branded ones popped up during the Assembly member’s remarks. Adrienne Adams, a recent entrant to the race, highlighted her own record as council speaker, fighting for library and early education funding.

The strategy forming on the left flank of the mayoral field comes as Cuomo maintains a comfortable lead in polls and amasses support in vote-rich areas like Southeast Queens, where Adrienne Adams’ base is and where Eric Adams drew substantial support in 2021. Just a couple hours after the WFP event on Sunday, Cuomo accepted the endorsement of Queens County Democratic Party Chair Rep. Greg Meeks at the party’s Forest Hills headquarters.