The Mayoral Field Expands
Will our next mayor champion the Abundance Agenda?
First things first: come join us on Thursday, August 15 for our next Abundance New York happy hour in Brooklyn! (Venue TBD, so RSVP to get updates)
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Before I jumped into the world of politics in 2016, I went to business school. Truth be told, I had no business aspirations, but in the nonprofit sector I saw how well-intentioned subject-matter experts would often rise to leadership positions with little management training. I decided that I needed to pick up “leadership skills” for my own impact-driven career.
I’ve been reminded of those leadership classes over the last few weeks, witnessing one national leader recognizing when it’s time to step down, another stepping up on a moment’s notice, and a parade of executives and legislators touting their accomplishments as they audition for the vice presidency.
Here in New York, the leadership picture has been less rosy—from Governor Hochul’s stunning eleventh-hour reversal on congestion pricing to Mayor Adams’s attempts to consolidate power in the mayoral office through a charter revision. But we’ve seen other leaders emerge to offer fresh, alternative approaches—including Brad Lander’s announcement on Tuesday that he is entering the mayoral race.
Lander’s campaign launch video focuses on Adams’s failures of leadership: “Nothing can replace New York City, but we can replace a leader when they fail the basic tests of the job: to be honest with us, to keep our families safe, to make sure our kids learn. The basic things New Yorkers need their government to do.” As comptroller—NYC’s CFO and fiscal watchdog—Lander has a better perch than anyone to call out the current mayor’s mismanagement, and to tout his own abilities as a manager and public servant.
At Abundance New York, we see “government capacity”—the ability of our leaders to execute on policy objectives by marshaling and motivating public sector talent—as a fundamental, cross-cutting objective, one that animates our policy pillars focused on the built environment.
While we think it’s too early to endorse a mayoral candidate, we’re eager to see the field expand precisely because of Adams’s failures to exercise leadership and build government capacity. In their exploratory bids, Lander, State Senator Zellnor Myrie, and former comptroller Scott Stringer have each critiqued Adams’s leadership and offered alternative approaches to overseeing New York City’s $112 billion budget and 400,000 government employees. At the same time, managerial competence is necessary but not sufficient; we’re also eager to hear more about each candidate’s alignment with the Abundance Agenda.
Read below for more detail on what we’re looking for from the mayoral contenders as the primary campaigns play out. But the mayor is just one office: we’re also looking to invest in a deeper bench of Abundance leaders—including you! If you’ve ever contemplated running for office, from dog catcher to mayor, we’re planning a series of informational and training sessions in the fall. Stay tuned, and fill out our interest form (if you haven’t already) to tell us whether you may want to run someday.
In the meantime, happy August!
Catherine
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A big(ger) vision on housing
Credit where credit is due: Adams’s signature housing policy, the City of Yes for Housing Opportunity, promises the biggest residential zoning overhaul since 1961. Reforms to build a little more housing in each neighborhood will lead to an estimated 100,000 units of housing over the next 15 years. (Unfortunately, Adams has antagonized council members whose help he needs to get the proposal over the finish line.) We’re eager to hear more from all mayoral candidates on what they’d prioritize next. Lander and Stringer have both focused their plans for construction on affordable housing—necessary but far from sufficient as experts estimate that New York will need to build 500K to 1M housing units simply to meet current demand. Myrie has been more encouragingly forthright about the need for housing of all kinds.
A holistic approach to public transit and public space
Adams’s rhetoric upon entering office felt promising: he pledged to be New York’s “bus mayor.” While he’s helped the city make strides on finally containerizing our trash, Adams has failed even to comply with legal mandates around bike and bus infrastructure as traffic fatalities reach record highs. Further, Adams supports Governor Hochul’s congestion pricing pause; Lander, on the other hand, is leading the coalition of advocates suing to force its implementation.
A willingness to go on offense to climate-proof our city
New York needs to reduce vehicle miles traveled, decarbonize our buildings, and implement resiliency measures to climate-proof our city for generations. Adams is getting a failing grade on the first two, allowing car hegemony to persist and taking steps to weaken Local Law 97, and an incomplete on number three. What is our next mayor’s plan to drive even more ambitious climate and resiliency policy while connecting the dots between dense, walkable cities and climate impact?