Former Democratic New York Governor Andrew Cuomo announced he is running for mayor in New York City Saturday morning, confirming months of speculation he’d challenge embattled Mayor Eric Adams to lead the city.

Cuomo, who resigned as governor amid a flurry of sexual harassment allegations in 2021, said in a video post on his X page that New York was in “crisis” partially after housing thousands of foreign nationals in recent years.

He argued in a 17-minute video announcement that he would restore order and make people feel safe.

“You see it in the empty storefronts. The graffiti, the grime, the migrant influx, the random violence,” he said. “The city just feels threatening.”

“The city just feels threatening, out of control and in crisis,” he said. “These conditions exist not as an act of God, but rather as an act of our political leaders — or, more precisely, the lack of intelligent action by our political leaders.”

Cuomo said New York City had devolved into a place where citizens eyed one another with suspicion and police officers had been demonized:

We must also restore a relationship of mutual trust and respect between the police and the community. The police have been devalued, and today, people don’t even want to apply to be police officers. That must change.

Opponents of the former governor told Politico ahead of Cuomo’s announcement Saturday that the former governor would be vulnerable given his controversial record:

Cuomo’s orbit of advisers disagrees with that assessment. The former governor, they have argued, is best positioned to address the sustained concerns voters have with crime and the sense the city has drifted following the pandemic. Cuomo has long prided himself on his managerial capabilities and oversight of crises like Hurricane Sandy. His initial handling of Covid made him a national political celebrity. And he will likely leverage his smashmouth political reputation to paint himself as an effective Trump foil.

Cuomo’s return to politics was also met with an icy reception online:

https://twitter.com/ajlamesa/status/1895898535264133294

While the former governor has plenty of detractors, Politico reported he is expected to jump into the race as the frontrunner.

The post ‘Graffiti, Grime, The Migrant Influx’: Andrew Cuomo Launches NYC Mayoral Run in 17-Minute Vid Calling City ‘Out of Control and in Crisis’ first appeared on Mediaite.

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