Whitney Tilson to Governor Hochul: Let New York City Keep Its Municipal Autonomy and Allow It to Hold a Fair Election. Remove Adams Now!
February 24, 2025
Mayoral candidate Whitney Tilson asks Governor Hochul not to impose oversight restrictions that will strip New York City of its independence. Instead he calls for a fair election, which includes not giving any mayoral candidate powers beyond what the New York City Charter allows.
New York, NY – Mayoral candidate Whitney Tilson is calling for Governor Kathy Hochul to withdraw her proposal to implement state oversight of New York City and instead allow the City to hold an immediate special election. In particular, it would set a dangerous precedent to give Brad Lander, the City’s comptroller and a mayoral candidate, authorities and powers that are not included in the New York City Charter.
“At a time when our federal government system is threatened, Governor Hochul should not further subjugate New York City to Albany. More than eight million New Yorkers should not be paying for the bad behavior of one individual,” said Tilson. “Governor Hochul, set aside pollical interests and do the right thing – remove Eric Adams immediately.”
The Governor’s “guardrails” oversight plan, which requires approval by the City Council and State Legislature, includes creating a new state deputy inspector general focused on New York City and granting additional funds to the state’s comptroller to scrutinize city finances. It will also allow non-mayoral elected officials like the city comptroller, public advocate and City Council speaker to sue the federal government and establish a fund for them to do so. Governor Hochul has stated that these new measures would expire at the end of 2025 – but with the option for her to renew.
History shows that once Albany establishes a certain power over New York City, it never relinquishes it. These proposed measures are an unnecessary power grab that will permanently undermine local authority and limit the power of future city mayors.
They also undermine the integrity of our upcoming mayoral election.
“The fact that Comptroller Lander is running for mayor and Governor Hochul is seeking to provide him with more authority during a mayoral election year is straight-out election interference. It smells like a backroom deal, a quid pro quo that is another sad example of how politically corrupt our government has become.
“NYC doesn't need two overlords, it needs none. This convoluted plan itself is the strongest evidence that the process to remove Adams must begin immediately,” Tilson said. “Governor, stop waffling and do the right thing.”