Eric Adams is currently Brooklyn’s Borough President, a position he has held for the last eight years. He served in the State Senate between 2006 and 2013, representing Central Brooklyn. Citizens Union supported his elections to both of those positions. Prior to becoming an elected official, Adams served for 22 years in the New York Police Department, leaving the force as an officer after he was targeted in a shooting. He has a compelling personal story and is considered by many to be an inspiring leader.

Adams emphasizes public safety and economic recovery as his priorities. He plans to battle what he calls the dysfunctionality of the City, which he sees as “the root of all its problems.” He wants to balance the public safety needs of all communities, while assuring that the NYPD becomes a role model for accountability, and believes that as a former police officer of color he can accomplish that ambitious agenda. He promises to make the current discipline process in cases of police misconduct fairer and faster, and to recruit well-skilled, professional investigators. He seeks to move investigations conducted by the Internal Affairs Bureau (IAB) to an outside body like the Department of Investigations. To improve community-police relations, he wants community members to have a say in the appointment of precinct commanders.

On the economy, Adams promises to eliminate fees and reduce fines for small businesses, to provide direct cash assistance for New Yorkers in need, and invest significantly in green jobs. As Brooklyn Borough President, he has proven track record of advancing economic development in his borough, while responding to the needs of communities affecting by new development.

Adams has faced questions concerning fundraising and conflicts of interest. While permissible under local law, his fundraising operation at times has subjected him to scrutiny he would do well to avoid going forward. Adams says, while he considers these criticisms unfair, he nevertheless intends to establish a compliance team at City Hall, if elected.

Adams’s inspiring leadership and vision for our City promoting public safety and economic recovery are the reasons Citizens Union endorses him to become the next Mayor of New York City. Citizens Union looks forward to him embracing its good government agenda and turning around our City at a time when we so desperately need his kind of competent, committed and compassionate leadership.

Curtis Sliwa, the well-known radio personality and founder of the Guardian Angels, is the Republican party nominee to be the next New York City Mayor. Sliwa has been a city fixture in his red beret since the 1970s, when he and members of the Angels patrolled the subways unarmed in an effort to combat crime and violence. He hosted several conservative radio talk shows and was a commentator on New York politics on local newspapers and networks. For several years he also chaired the New York State Reform Party. Yet, this is his first bid for office.

Sliwa is running on a law-and-order platform. He wants to restore funding cuts made to the New York Police Department and add thousands of officers to patrol the subway. At the same time, he says he is the “compassionate” candidate in the race, highlighting his support for more supportive housing for the homeless and a no-kill policy in animal shelters.

In his interview, Sliwa expressed support for much of CU’s election reform agenda. That includes using the mayor’s office to press for Board of Election reform, expanding Ranked Choice Voting, making it easier for candidates to get on the ballot, and moving to a nonpartisan open-primary system. He promised to appoint a Charter Revision Commission, consisting of election reformers across the political spectrum, to tackle those issues, and said he believes city government needs “more oversight, not less oversight.”

The one area Sliwa did not think required more oversight is policing. He believes mayors have been too involved in the Police Department, which he said has more oversight than any other agency. He opposes most police reforms proposed in CU’s candidate questionnaire, including those that would strengthen the Civilian Complaint Review Board and its ability to investigate cases of police misconduct.

While Curtis Sliwa shares many of our views on election reform, his positions on police reform and accountability are not in line with Citizens Union’s values. We appreciate his years of involvement in the city’s civic life and his interest in learning from experts on how to run the city. Yet as we emerge from the pandemic, New York City needs a leader with more experience and a proven track record.