Everything seems to line up. Eric Adams, candidate for mayor of New York, won on July 6 the Democratic Party primary held on June 22. The 60-year-old is now the favorite to replace Bill de Blasio at the head of the progressive city after the ballot next November.
Former police officer victim of police violence
The story of Eric Adams is worthy of a fiction. When he was only 15 years old, he was arrested by the police along with his brother. According to the politician, officers repeatedly punched them in the genitals, to the point of urinating blood for several days after the incident. Years later, as he relived the incident with every police car crossed, he decides to enter law enforcement to put the episode behind him and evolve the New York Department (NYPD) .
For more than twenty years, he rose through the ranks fighting racism in the ranks of the police. He ended up being appointed captain, while continuing to criticize certain practices and measures used by law enforcement in New York. While he had already applied to join the US Congress at age 33, he ended up leaving the ranks to fulfill his political ambitions.
Long-time elected in New York
As during his career as a police officer, Eric Adams takes the time to rise through the ranks. In 2007, shortly after leaving the NYPD, he entered the New York City Senate. He then criticizes the “stop-and-frisk” (literally “arrest and search”) of the New York police, a method which, according to him, violates the rights of minorities. He also defends same-sex marriage.
In 2013, he left the local senate to become the president of the Brooklyn district. An election that allows him to be the first person of color to obtain this position. He thus becomes a major figure in New York politics, gaining legitimacy that allows him to obtain 31% of the vote in the Democratic primary for mayor of New York on June 22. After the votes of the other eliminated candidates were carried over, he obtained more than 50% and, by extension, the Democratic nomination. A result which gives him every chance of becoming the next city councilor in a city with a large Democratic majority.
A disease that changed him
Security and the police aren’t the only topics that touched Eric Adams in his life. In 2016, doctors told him he had diabetes. According to his statements, he was gradually losing his sight, and was also in danger of amputations. After changing his diet and starting to work out by walking on a stepper, he lost a lot of weight and gradually regained his health.
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An episode in his life that turned him into a champion of balanced food. As New York City gradually recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, he plans to use this experience to reform the city’s healthcare system. If he does win next November, he should in any case have the opportunity.
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