My Mayoral Ballot
With the New York Democratic primary coming up next week — and early and absentee voting well underway — I figure it’s about time to share my top-five mayoral ranking for anyone who’s interested.
I’ve been following the race closely since wrapping up the extended 2020 election cycle with the Georgia Senate runoffs in January. So for those of you with, you know, jobs, I want to offer my take as someone who’s had nothing but time to pay attention to the ins and outs of this free-for-all for City Hall.
Below, find how I’ll be filling out the mayoral portion of my ballot—along with a little bit of my logic. (Also, if you haven’t already, read my op-ed on the benefits of ranked choice voting in the Gotham Gazette!)
1. Kathryn Garcia
Like the New York Times editorial board, I think the former sanitation commissioner and Covid-19 “food czar” is our best choice for Gracie Mansion. After eight years of de Blasio, it’s clear that managerial competence is essential for increasing the vibrancy, vitality, and equity of this great city.
While de Blasio rode into office on his tale of two cities, he was unable to catalyze that progressive vision into more than universal pre-K; perpetual combativeness with Governor Cuomo (who is undoubtedly the bigger villain in the drama, even if the bully often comes off better); and frustrating deference to the NYPD. As a result, experience effectively running a major bureaucracy is a deal-breaker for my top rankings, and Garcia has that box checked — and then some.
Of course, as the preceding twelve years of Mike Bloomberg’s mayoralty demonstrates, managerial competence can only take us so far if a clear vision of improving the city for all isn’t part of the equation. On that front, I give Garcia two cheers.
First, the most critical barrier to the equal accessibility of New York’s economic, cultural, and social opportunities is the unaffordability of our housing. Garcia has spoken with refreshing candor about the role a drastic supply shortage has played in driving prices up, and has made addressing it a centerpiece of her plans.
In about ten years, New York has built just 100K units for 500K new residents, which has driven prices sky-high. When we do legalize housing construction, it’s in the city’s least politically powerful areas. That means less affluent, largely Black and brown communities bear the brunt of new development — while better off, whiter neighborhoods actually lose units. The rezoning of Soho and Noho will begin to redress this inequity, which perpetuates high prices and a segregated city, but much more needs to be done — and Garcia will face the housing shortage issue head on.
Second, Garcia has ambitious plans to improve quality of life and economic outcomes for all New Yorkers. For example, she’ll ramp up installation of bus and bike lanes and guarantee employment for young New Yorkers. These programs are clear paths to a fairer and more sustainable city, and her ability to execute means they’ll very likely actually get done if she’s in charge.
Unfortunately, Garcia is not as progressive as I’d prefer when it comes to policing, and her lack of commitment to divesting from the NYPD and investing in better alternatives to public safety means there is still room for improvement in her roadmap for New York’s renewal.
However, she has made clear commitments to improved accountability — which de Blasio was never able to achieve—and pairs that talk with policy ideas to walk the walk. Those include: increasing the minimum age for new officers from 21 to 25, mandating residency in the five boroughs, and embedding mental health professionals with officers to address non-violent situations. More profoundly, though, her proposals on jobs, housing, and the streets offer proven solutions to reducing rates of crime before it happens. Effectively augmenting economic and housing opportunities for vulnerable New Yorkers is the surest path to a safer city.
Ultimately, Garcia’s candidacy is inspiring, and we are lucky to have the chance to elect her. We missed our chance with Christine Quinn, Hillary Clinton, and Elizabeth Warren to put the most competent woman in office; let’s not make the same mistake a fourth time. To elect New York’s first woman mayor in recognition of a career of effective public service would show that we respect hometown heroes—folks who aren’t in it for the spotlight and just want the chance to get to work.
2. Shaun Donovan
Garcia likely has a better chance of lasting to the end of the ranked choice tabulations than Donovan, and so it’s unlikely my vote will be allocated to him after ranking her first, but one benefit of RCV is getting to think less about gaming the system and more about putting one’s true preferences on paper.
Donovan has often polled eighth of the eight major candidates after failing to connect with voters. That’s in spite of (or maybe because of) the massive money being pumped into the race by his father’s PAC. Perhaps this is not the year for another candidate who’s pale, stale, and male. For those willing to galvanize behind a straight white guy, Stringer was the obvious pick — having won elected office citywide and lined up a deep bench of progressive supporters. Still, I think Donovan would be a great mayor.
Like Garcia, Donovan has significant managerial experience in Bloomberg’s administration and as HUD secretary for Barack Obama. I also appreciate a man with a plan, and Donovan has 200 pages worth of them. Better than the plans existing, though, is that they’re refreshingly progressive — making it frustrating that he’s been left out of the left-flank conversation with Wiley, Stringer, and Morales.
For example, Donvan has committed to reallocating $500 million each year from the NYPD and Department of Correction towards proven approaches to public safety issues that don’t involved armed officers untrained to deal with mental illness, domestic violence, and homelessness. Donovan also knows how to address housing shortfalls — the most profound challenge we have.
However, his inability to catch on in the campaign foretells problems building the necessary public support and political coalitions necessary to effectuate his vision. And it is difficult to imagine choosing a new mayor who looks like so many of the old ones when we have excellent options who look more like the rest of the city. If Donovan somehow surges, though, I’d be glad to see my vote go to him — and to see him in City Hall.
3. Maya Wiley
My vision for New York City’s future is largely aligned with the story being told by the left-most candidates in the race.
We need to make this city accessible and affordable for all people: that’s how to secure its future for generations. Rather than doubling down on a failed NYPD paradigm that criminalizes and incarcerates vulnerable New Yorkers with impunity, we need to invest in all communities. We need to integrate our schools and ensure high-quality public education for every zip code. We need to make sure every New Yorker can get a job that offers a living wage and that everyone can afford their rent on a single income.
Maya Wiley is offering an impassioned vision for the future, and the coalescing of New York’s left behind her is evidence of her coalition-building and paradigm-shifting potential.
Then why not rank her first? After the de Blasio debacle, I just can’t help but prefer individuals who I believe can effectively steer the ship of New York City’s $90 billion budget and 325,000 employees. Wiley’s experience leading the CCRB and otherwise fighting for civil rights as an attorney and public intellectual bespeak a commitment of vision, but they don’t necessarily translate into governing acumen.
Unfortunately, her campaign has augmented rather than assuaged those concerns. Too often, Wiley has offered vague and disjointed answers to questions that suggest a lack of clarity—opacity that would make it impossible to enact a vision as ambitious as hers. We can’t just have a destination in mind for New York: we have to have a roadmap for getting there.
But thinking big, and building momentum, matters. I will be excited about a Wiley mayoralty even if I don’t think she’s the number one (or two) option available. I’ll be enthusiastic in ranking her third.
4. Scott Stringer
At this point, RCV strategy kicks in. If neither Garcia or Wiley is making it to the end of the line, that means the last men standing are Scott Stringer, Eric Adams, and Andrew Yang.
Stringer’s candidacy has rightfully come under scrutiny after an accusation of sexual misconduct from a volunteer on his 2001 campaign for public advocate. While diligent reporting digging into the claims has not unequivocally substantiated them, there has been a second related accusation and other concerns about his leadership.
Among subpar options, it is unquestionable that a Mayor Stringer would be better for vulnerable New Yorkers than a Mayor Adams or Mayor Yang — both of whom represent a status quo that fails to question the usefulness of police in our subways, cars on our streets, and segregation of our schools.
That’s why Scott Stringer will get my (unenthusiastic) fourth-place ranking.
5. Eric Adams
The fifth place slot is purely strategic. If it comes down to Eric Adams and Andrew Yang, one must choose the lesser of two evils. How wonderful that this is not the choice that faces all Democratic primary voters allocating a single primary vote (as it might have been under a pre-RCV system)! Now, all voters opposed to the ex-Republican and the celebrity candidate can push alternate outcomes for the race before facing this dread showdown.
If it does come down to these two, the choice to me is clear.
Eric Adams may not actually live in New York, but he has governing experience here, a record of challenging racism in the NYPD, and deep ties to the political establishment that suggest persuadability based on coalition politics.
Though he’s sometimes perceived as more progressive, Andrew Yang is not actually any better than the Brooklyn BP on reforming policing, addressing car hegemony of the streets, or desegregating schools— and he is benefitting from the same GOP and hedge fund donors who want to block any change to the governing regime.
Some voters will be choosing Yang over Adams because he is an “empty vessel,” but the downside risk of that calculus is just as real as the potential for miraculous improvement. Yang’s major work before becoming a professional candidate was running a nonprofit—poorly. That’s not just an absence of experience: it’s evidence that he can’t manage the basics of the job.
Moreover, the downside risk of a Yang mayoralty seems all the more likely given the candidate’s fatal incuriosity about the city he wants to run. He doesn’t know about how the MTA is funded, the repeal of 50-A, the presence of domestic violence shelters, the illegality of building a casino on Governor’s Island—and when the press draws attention to his ignorance, he doesn’t seem to care.
Leaving the city during Covid-19 and not knowing what a bodega is are sideshows to his unprepardeness for the role; if he were mayor, though, Yang would be the real sideshow. The stakes are too high for another four years of fighting the daily fires that come with having an unqualified celebrity at the helm of government. When it comes down to it, I’ll choose Adams—then fight like hell to make him better if he wins.
Garcia > Donovan > Wiley > Stringer > Adams: that’s my ballot! Hopefully it’ll be helpful to inform your thinking as you make your plan.
Much like Jessie Spano, I’m so excited — so excited — and yet so scared about how this race will shake out. Let’s be sure to make good choices and chart a brighter, better path for New York City.
