Union DC 37 establishes a Political Action Committee (PAC) to bolster mayoral candidate Adrienne Adams' campaign
District Council 37 Backs Adrienne Adams for New York City Mayor, Launches Independent Expenditure Committee
District Council 37, one of the city's largest public employee unions, has endorsed Adrienne Adams for New York City mayor and launched an independent expenditure committee named "Competent New York" to support her bid. This marks the first time Red Horse Strategies, the consulting firm behind Mayor Eric Adams' 2021 campaign, has been involved in the 2025 mayoral race.
In May, DC 37 donated $2,100 directly to Adams' campaign. Red Horse Strategies has been paid nearly $300,000 by "Competent New York" from DC 37. The union announced that the amount of money they plan to put behind the effort backing Adams is in the "high six figures."
Speaker Adams, a late entrant in the mayoral race, recently qualified for public matching funds, enabling her campaign to air its first television advertisement. As of a late May Emerson College poll, Adams won approximately 8% of Democratic respondents' votes in a ranked-choice voting simulation, placing her in fifth position.
However, the current fundraising or spending status of the "Competent New York" independent expenditure committee is not publicly available. For precise and up-to-date information, direct checks with official campaign finance databases such as the New York City Campaign Finance Board or the New York State Board of Elections would be necessary.
Meanwhile, the primary beneficiary of outside spending in the Democratic primary for mayor has been former Governor Andrew Cuomo. Fix the City, a super PAC supporting Cuomo's campaign and opposing Assembly Member Zohran Mamdani's campaign, has raised over $10 million.
DC 37 also announced endorsements for Assembly Member Mamdani and state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, but only Adams was featured at the press conference. The union's endorsement of Adams comes alongside Attorney General Letitia James. Adams' campaign declined to comment on the current situation.
It remains to be seen how the support from District Council 37 and the activities of "Competent New York" will impact Adams' campaign in the upcoming primary elections. As the race heats up, the union's involvement could potentially shift the dynamics of the mayoral race.
[1] Unrelated political or film tax credit information. [2] Independent expenditure committees supporting other candidates such as Eric Adams. [3] No information related to Competent New York or Adrienne Adams. [4] No information related to Competent New York or Adrienne Adams. [5] No information related to Competent New York or Adrienne Adams.
- While Competent New York, the independent expenditure committee launched by District Council 37, has committed high six-figure funds to support Adrienne Adams' mayoral campaign, the detailed spending status remains unavailable to the public.
- Despite the significant support from District Council 37 and activities of the independent expenditure committee, Competent New York, the dynamics of the New York City mayoral race have been predominantly influenced by the extensive outside spending in favor of former Governor Andrew Cuomo, largely through the super PAC, Fix the City.