Adrienne Adams, N.Y.C. Council Speaker, Attacks Trump Ahead of Potential Mayoral Bid

The annual State of the City address by the speaker of the New York City Council, Adrienne Adams, would typically be seen as a blueprint for the Council’s agenda in the coming year.

But her speech on Tuesday carried far more weight.

Ms. Adams formed a campaign committee to run for mayor last week, in preparation for a potential late bid, with the Democratic primary looming in June.

She is expected to make a final decision this week, but signs seem to be pointing to her jumping in the race. She is assembling a campaign team and participated this weekend in a screening for the endorsement of Local 32BJ of the Service Employees International Union, an influential city union.

Even if she doesn’t run, her vision for New York City also carried added importance given the diminished influence of Mayor Eric Adams; under Ms. Adams’s leadership, the Council has overridden the mayor’s vetoes on critical criminal justice measures.

Should she choose to run, Ms. Adams faces an uphill battle. She’ll have a compressed period to raise money and boost her low name recognition. None of the four previous Council speakers who have run for mayor have been successful, and no woman has ever served as mayor. And the entrance into the race over the weekend of former Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, who polls show is the front-runner, has shifted the center of gravity in the contest.

Ms. Adams mentioned none of that in her speech at Jazz at Lincoln Center, where she instead focused on accomplishments such as plans to boost the production of affordable housing, extend discounts for those struggling to pay bus and subway fares and protect immigrant and L.G.B.T.Q. people from the policies of the Trump administration.