NEW YORK (WCBS 880) — Brooklyn Borough President Eric Adams is taking a victory lap as he leads in the mayoral primary vote count.
Holding a 75,000 vote lead over Civil Rights attorney Maya Wiley, but with more than 200,000 absentee ballots yet to be counted, Adams made a bold statement at a press conference in Brooklyn on Thursday.
"I am the face of the new Democratic Party," Adams said.
He warned the party to pay attention if they want to keep their congressional majority in the midterm elections.
"America is saying we want to have justice, and safety, and end inequalities," Adams said.
Adams believes his message of justice and public safety, along with his New York story resonated with voters.
"The more people heard me and learned of me, they just like me, that was the bottom line," Adams said. "We feel good, we believe we're at a good place, you know, some people point out that I did well in Brooklyn because I'm the Brooklyn Borough President, the reality is, I did well in all the outer boroughs."
Adams said as mayor he would appoint the city's first female police commissioner, bring dyslexia screening to public schools to end the school to prison pipeline, and form a joint gun task force with the state and federal governments to end street violence.
The final results in the mayoral primary won't be known until mid-July.
If Adams becomes the Democratic nominee, he will face off against Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa.
"His philosophy on public safety, he has one, but this city is more than just public safety, it's about economy, it's about healthcare, it's about education, it's about affordable housing," Adams said. "There's a qualitative difference between Curtis Sliwa and Erica Adams, and we're going to see that in the next couple of months."
