Former manager of Kase Capital Management Whitney Tilson has thrown his hat in the Big Apple mayoral ring. Tilson, 58, is well-connected: he sits on the boards of Bill Ackman's Pershing Square Foundation, and the KIPP Academy charter school in the South Bronx. Leading up the November 5 election, he stumped for Kamala Harris, and was a vocal critic of Joe Biden.
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Tilson joins the growing ranks of those to seek the keys to Gracie Mansion. Not counting Andrew Cuomo, the most familiar name is Scott Stringer, former New York City Comptroller. The current Comptroller, Brad Lander, is also running, as is Queens State Senator Jessica Ramos.
NY Post EXC: Biden-bashing, Democrat Wall Street investor Whitney Tilson to run for NYC mayorhttps://t.co/POItVdl4HY
— James Franey (@jamesfraney) November 26, 2024
Embattled Mayor Eric Adams will attempt to right his ship, though he may face an uphill battle with fundraising given the swirl of lawsuits and key staff departures weighing on his campaign.
Further complicating matters, Adams is seen as a possible beneficiary of president-elect Donald Trump's deportation agenda. Adams desperately wants to rid the city of illegal aliens, especially violent gangs like Tren de Aragua, but will likely be in the middle of a legal tug-of-war between Trump and liberal leaders such as Governor Kathy Hochul and Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez.
Lastly, Adams' image has been stained by recent, highly publicized violence in the city.
NYC Rep. Ritchie Torres torches ‘complicit’ Adams and Hochul admins after serial stabber who killed 3 slipped through the cracks https://t.co/78Pt3YP2HB pic.twitter.com/1ImKZtsJry
— New York Post Metro (@nypmetro) November 25, 2024
Cuomo is the most difficult piece of the mayoral puzzle to place. He is by far the best known candidate, but much of that familiarity is born of infamy. The final reckoning will come down to two camps of Democrat voters: those who perceive him as the best man for the job, scandals and all, and those who cannot accept Covid policies that resulted in thousands of nursing home deaths. The sex scandal that resulted in Cuomo's ouster, while not as toxic as the nursing home catastrophe, certainly doesn't help.
As for Tilson, his immediate problem is visibility. He is a virtual unknown among rank-and-file voters. He needs a lot of campaign funding, and a unicorn moment like Bill De Blasio experienced when a photo of his son Dante went viral.
Working in Tilson's favor: he could be perceived as a get-things-done businessman in the mold of Michael Bloomberg, whose law-and-order reign was generally very well received by New Yorkers. He has begun to position himself as tough on crime, which is sure to be an important part of the election calculus.
Watch this (which has more than 30M views) if you want to see a major reason why NYC has lost 500,000 residents since 2020 (-6%, the second worst among largest cities, trailing only SF at - 7%).
— Whitney Tilson (@WhitneyTilson) November 21, 2024
This gang member, a migrant from Venezuela, just assaulted and robbed one of DA… pic.twitter.com/dR7kz0e8xZ
