A former Obama aide joined the crowded race Tuesday to unseat Mayor Eric Adams, ripping Hizzoner for allegedly cozying up to “incoming Fascist President” Donald Trump.
The Rev. Michael Blake, 41, a political consultant and former New York assemblyman, teed off his Democratic mayoral campaign in his native Bronx by taking whacks at Adams over the indictments against the mayor and his relationship with the president-elect.
“We deserve a leader who won’t have headlines about investigations but rather have headlines about jobs,” said Blake, who worked in public engagement among other things for ex-President Barack Obama.
“Never forget that on Nov. 2 of last year, when Mayor Adams literally landed in Washington, DC, for a meeting at the White House to address the migrant situation, he turned back around because his fundraiser was being raided,” Blake said. “He decided that it was more important to protect himself than protect you.”
Blake — who served in the assembly from 2015 5o 2021 — described himself as a “visionary moderate leader with progressive policy leanings.”
He said he plans to support universal child care and to offer tax credits to get businesses to return to New York City.
Blake, the former vice chair of the Democratic National Committee, said he will lean on his experience working across local, state and national governments to get his goals accomplished.
The candidate said that unlike Adams, he also plans to fight the “incoming fascist president,” while the mayor has been “literally spending every possible day” trying to align with Trump.
“Unlike Mayor Adams, I won’t use my Saturday nights trying to be close to him in a UFC fight, but I’ll actually use my nights to make sure that you are safe and secure,” Blake said, referencing a brief encounter Adams recently had with Trump at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.
The candidate has previously run for a House seat and city public advocate and lost both times.
Blake’s statements are just the latest push from the crowded mayoral field to turn Adams into a political pariah.
Lawyer Jim Walden kicked off his independent campaign for mayor Monday with an unlikely appearance from Adams ally ex-Gov. David Paterson.
Political sources were confounded by Paterson backing a longshot mayoral candidate after standing with the mayor just last month during Adams’ historic indictment.
“I don’t know what he’s thinking,” an operative told The Post of Paterson’s appearance with Walden.
Another mayoral candidate this week also joined the jostling bids for the June Democratic primary.
President Biden-bashing Wall Street investor Whitney Tilson filed the necessary paperwork late Monday with a vow to slash crime by 50%, tackle corruption and solve the migrant crisis, he told The Post in an exclusive interview.
Tilson also said he won’t accept campaign donations from organizations that do business with New York City, providing a stark contrast for voters against Adams, who has been tainted by a federal indictment for allegedly accepting bribes.
