At the top of the voting intentions, Eric Adams is expected to succeed Bill de Blasio as mayor of New York on Tuesday, November 2. Back on an atypical course, which started in Brooklyn, before a long career in the police force and a political rise within the Democratic Party.
At 61, he faces Republican Curtis Sliwa, whom he crushes in the polls for the moment (70% against around 30%). Eric Adams should therefore become, this Tuesday, the second African-American mayor in the history of “the city that never sleeps”, after David Dinkins, who occupied the chair between 1990 and 1993. Self-proclaimed “Joe Biden of Brooklyn ”, he is attached to the right wing of his political party, which places him rather at the center of the political spectrum.
Pro-business, Eric Adams is well regarded on Wall Street, the famous business district. But the Democrat also enjoys the support of lower-income neighborhoods, because of his past in Brooklyn and his commitment against racism, as a police officer and then a politician.
A long career as an anti-racist police officer
It all started when, at the age of 15, he was arrested and molested by police in Brooklyn. Against all expectations, this pushed him to join the police to change the system from within, ten years later.
In all, he spent twenty-two years in the police service, eventually reaching the high rank of captain. In 1995 he created a union to fight racism.
Important financial issues and hot issues
Among the priority subjects of his mandate, the future mayor of New York will have to manage the exit from the Covid-19 pandemic, the increase in social inequalities, poor housing and the rise in violence, in particular against the African American community.
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