Citizens Union has chosen not to endorse a candidate for Mayor in the 2025 General Election.

This year’s slate of mayoral candidates presents a polarizing range of choices for the voters. Although each candidate brings both strengths and weaknesses, none has presented a compelling anti-corruption and democracy agenda, or a plan for restoring trust in local government. Differing opinions among the Citizens Union Board of Directors, along with questions about the candidates’ commitment to implement effective government reforms, has led the organization to take the unusual step of issuing a No Endorsement in the 2025 Mayoral election.

Citizens Union remains true to its mission and values and looks forward to working with the successful candidate to ensure that New York City is a model for public service integrity and broad scale democratic engagement.

Whoever steps into office on January 1, 2026, will need to clean a City Hall tarnished by corruption scandals, weakened accountability, and eroded public trust. Restoring integrity will require more than a change in leadership – it demands a renewed commitment to honest governance and ethical standards. That means eliminating self-dealing and cronyism through new safeguards on incoming officials and restoring ethics policies removed by the Adams Administration. It means empowering watchdog agencies with the resources, access, and independence needed to root out corruption and misconduct. And it also means setting a new tone across city government in favor of transparency, collaboration, and professionalism.

That is why Citizens Union is releasing a new reform blueprint to aid the next Mayor, to restore ethics, accountability and trust in New York City government.

 

READ MORE | How to Restore Public Trust and Clean City Hall: Proposals for the Next Administration

 

Candidates on the Ballot

• Zohran Mamdani (Democratic, Working Families) [declined to interview]
• Curtis Sliwa (Republican, Protect Animals)
• Andrew Cuomo (Fight and Deliver)
• Irene Estrada (Conservative) [not interviewed]
• Joseph Hernandez (Quality of Life) [not interviewed]
• Eric Adams (Safe & Affordable) [quit the race]
• Jim Walden (Integrity) [quit the race]