Queens BP weighs in on state of mayor’s race after staying mum on primary

Borough President donovan Richards, who was mostly quiet during primary season, weighed in on Queens Assemblymember zohran mamdani’s apparent primary win, Andrew Cuomo, Eric Adams as well as a hypothetical primary in queens next year. Eagle file photo by Jacob Kaye

By Ryan Schwach

After mostly staying quiet during the lead up to June’s primary election, Queens Borough President Donovan Richards dished out his thoughts on the state of the mayor’s race to reporters on Monday.

While Richards gave his opinion on a number of candidates and issues in the race on Monday, he stopped short of endorsing the Democratic nominee, Zohran Mamdani, continuing his lack of endorsement in the race for Gracie mansion.

The BP said that he expects to sit down and meet with Mamdani soon, and wants to hear more about the young fellow Queens electeds’ plan to govern for all of the World's Borough.

“I think he has work to do to build bridges outside of his base,” said Richards. “I hear the [Democratic Socialist of America], but now you have to govern for everybody.”

“His team has reached out, we're going to sit down,” the BP added. “I look forward to definitely learning more about his vision, especially for Queens.”

Mamdani has represented Queens since 2021, but Richards said that he is one of the few local electeds he does not have a relationship with. The BP said he hasn’t spoken much with Mamdani, who called him ahead of the primary and asked for his endorsement.

“I don't have that relationship,” he said. “He has been helpful to me, helping me navigate maybe some complexities within the South Asian and Muslim community, even through this war, because it is very polarized right now.”

The BP had positive things to say about Mamdani, noting that his campaign energized thousands of young voters and other communities behind affordability and a relatable message.

“I think he ran a very powerful, passionate, youthful campaign, and it definitely paid off dividends,” he said. “There's very few people who can bridge that gap, but it is generational. Young people on Tik Tok watching this guy eat a [burrito] on the train. You can relate to that.”

Just as Mamdani’s food-related campaigning may have helped him with voters, Richards said they only hurt former Governor Andrew Cuomo, who trailed Mamdani by seven points on election night.

“If you can't say bacon, egg and cheese, you lost my vote,” he said, referring to Cuomo’s infamous “bagel order” from an interview with the New York Times. “We know it's not a cheese, egg and bacon. What? Where are you from? I thought you were from the south side?”

Richards did not issue an endorsement in the primary, choosing not to back Cuomo or his longtime ally, Council Speaker Adrienne Adams.

“Cuomo came with a lot of baggage, I didn't endorse him, glad I didn't,” he said.

The biggest issue preventing him from backing Cuomo was the former governor’s handling of the COVID pandemic in Southeast Queens.

“I go back to COVID, I will never forget how Far Rockaway was treated,” he said. “I'll never forget how Southeast Queens were treated. That informed me of my decision to not endorse. I kept coming back to my constituents I couldn't bury during COVID. I swear it just kept coming back to me.”

Richards’ old Far Rockaway City Council district was among the hardest hit by the COVID pandemic.

“I couldn't bring myself to vote for him,” he added.

Richards has also been slow to publicly criticize Mayor Eric Adams, and did not call for his resignation last year following federal charges when many other local officials did.

“I think some of the challenges the mayor will have pertain to his stance on immigration, whether it's a perception or not, his closeness to the White House, who has largely not stood for Queens values,” he said.

However, Richards is not throwing any support behind anyone yet.

“I look forward to hearing from him,” he said about the current mayor’s bid for reelection. “One thing I'll say about Eric Adams is, do not discount his campaigning prowess. He's a great freaking campaigner. Mamdani can't take it for granted.”

Richards also commented on Monday on the future of another mayoral candidate, State Senator Jessica Ramos, who chose to endorse Cuomo late in the race despite her heavy criticism of the former governor throughout the race and her time in elected office.

The BP said that he would back State Assemblymember Jessica González-Rojas if she chose to primary Ramos next year, a possibility reported by City & State this week. Richards said González-Rojas would get his endorsement “on day one.”