With Adams ditching the primary and Cuomo absent, mayoral ire turns toward little-known Tilson

Former hedge fund manager Whitney Tilson drew some heat from his fellow Democratic mayoral candidates at a forum Monday night over several diverging policies he said he would pursue if elected. 

The forum, co-hosted by BronxNet, City & State, and nonprofits Community Service Society of New York and the Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, centered on affordability issues like the housing shortage, looming federal funding cuts, criminal justice and health care equity. Throughout the dozens of similar mayoral forums over the past couple of months, there generally hasn’t been much major disagreement or tension between the candidates who’ve participated – largely because front-runner former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and New York City Mayor Eric Adams have steered clear of any events that didn’t allow candidates to appear one by one. Of course, participating candidates have still taken plenty of shots at both men during these forums, but on stage at least, they’ve largely lacked a common enemy. 

In Monday’s forum however, Tilson’s answers to questions about the New York City Police Department's use of stop-and-frisk and whether U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement should be able to have an office on Rikers Island certainly livened things up. 

While the other candidates strongly condemned the NYPD’s stop-and-frisk tactics – a controversial practice in which police stop and pat down people they suspect to be dangerous and sometimes search their belongings – Tilson was far less critical. He credited the fact that police officers have started stopping people based on “reasonable suspicion” more often for helping to bring down the city’s murder rate. He also seemingly misunderstood a federal monitor’s report that found roughly a quarter of the stops completed by NYPD anti-crime units in 2023 were unlawful, claiming a quarter of the stop and frisks that occurred in 2023 resulted in an arrest – a “pretty reasonable number,” he said. In reality, the report had nothing to do with how many people were arrested as a result of stop-and-frisk.

“Black and brown people are disproportionately stop-and-frisked,” state Sen. Jessica Ramos cut in. “That is not ok.”’

“You’re listening to some answers from folks who have clearly not been engaged in police brutality,” former Assembly Member Michael Blake said as the question was turned to him. “As someone who has had cops mess with me twice, stop-and-frisk does not lead to you feeling safer.”

“I really do disagree with my friend Whit,” former Comptroller Scott Stringer said. “I mean 25% is an egregious number.”

On whether ICE should be allowed to operate an office on Rikers Island – something the Adams administration is currently locked in a legal dispute with the City Council over – answers ranged from “hell no” to “no way Jose.” Tilson was again the lone exception. He said federal immigration authorities should be allowed to return to the embattled jails complex, but not under the Trump administration, which has proven its “lawlessness.” Asked to explain his support, Tilson said he believes that in some cases local authorities should have the option to turn people who are here illegally that have joined gangs and committed crimes to federal authorities after they are arrested. When Ramos pointed out that the vast majority of people incarcerated at Rikers Island have not been convicted of a crime, Tilson said he thinks in some cases, the city doesn't “need to wait for conviction.” A chorus of boos from the crowd ensued. 

“This is unconstitutional what is being said right now,” Blake said. 

There were a handful of other, albeit far less tense, instances when Tilson stood apart from the other candidates – like whether he would support a rent freeze for rent-stabilized apartments (he would not) and when the moderators informed him that New York City landlords aren’t allowed to discriminate against potential tenants based on whether they receive housing vouchers or other forms of government assistance to help pay their rent.

On a stage full of candidates still struggling to break through in polls, Tilson, a longtime Democratic donor and charter school advocate who has never served in city or state government, faces the longest odds. Recent polling has projected him at about 0%. One recent poll from the Siena College Research Institute that measured voters’ first choice candidate under ranked-choice voting, placed City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams, Comptroller Brad Lander, and former Comptroller Scott Stringer at 6%, state Sens. Jessica Ramos and Zellnor Myrie at 4%, and former Assembly Member Michael Blake at 1%. Cuomo meanwhile seized about 34% and Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani, who has seen the most growth in the polls, got 16%. Both Cuomo and Mamdani skipped the affordability forum on Monday night. Adams recently announced he would skip the Democratic primary altogether and run as an independent candidate.

“If you think this city is going in the right direction, are happy with the status quo, and how career politicians are running this city then I’m not your guy,” Tilson said in his closing statement. “If on the other hand you are fed up and believe there needs to be real change, I believe I am the only change candidate in the race.”