The Election Strategy of the Working Families Party: "Don’t rank Eric Adams"
The left-flank third party is implementing a fresh endorsement strategy aimed at defeating the New York City mayor in the upcoming election next year.
TroibNews 
NEW YORK — The Working Families Party acknowledges it made mistakes during the 2021 New York City mayoral race.
Rather than selecting one standout progressive to challenge Mayor Eric Adams next year, the WFP is leaning towards supporting multiple candidates, provided they all agree not to rank Adams.
This strategy can be termed as an anti-endorsement.
According to Ana María Archila, co-executive director of the WFP in New York, if candidates want WFP backing, “they have to actively remind people that they cannot rank Adams if they don’t want Adams as their mayor.”
On Tuesday, the party will begin its endorsement process for the 2025 Democratic primary and will issue a memo outlining its approach to ousting the mayor.
The strategy aims to utilize the advantages of ranked-choice voting, a system that allows primary voters in New York City to select up to five candidates based on their preferences, which was introduced in 2021.
“Candidates have to understand that they cannot win alone in a voting system that is ranked-choice,” Archila emphasized. They require “a strategy to win that is not just self-promotion.”
Reflecting on the previous election cycle, Archila remarked, “the left was very … lefty. Chaotic in its behavior.” The WFP initially backed Scott Stringer as its top candidate, with Dianne Morales and Maya Wiley following in second and third.
However, the party retracted its support for Stringer after he faced decades-old sexual harassment allegations, which he denied. Shortly after, the WFP suspended its endorsement of Morales due to her handling of a unionization effort by her staff.
Ultimately, Wiley, their third choice, became the WFP’s primary endorsement, but her candidacy may have been too late to make a significant impact. She finished third in the primary, and her votes helped propel Adams to victory over Kathryn Garcia when they were redistributed.
“One of the hard lessons of 2021 is you don’t know which campaign is going to collapse,” Archila noted. To combat this uncertainty, she advocates for “unity around the strategy, more than unity around a candidate.”
In addition to encouraging candidates to promote the idea of not ranking Adams, the WFP expects them to demonstrate “a willingness to collaborate” with fellow progressives and prioritize issues related to affordability and the cost of living.
The goal is to elect a mayor who can "stand up to authoritarian forces,” which they believe Adams has failed to do.
In response, a political adviser to Adams, who wished to remain anonymous due to lack of authorization to speak publicly, stated, “New reason, same haters.”
This week, the party will send out an extensive endorsement questionnaire to mayoral candidates. After conducting interviews, they expect to announce a list of “working families champions” in March.
While this won’t be a ranked endorsement, the party may consider establishing a ranking “right before people start voting” if there’s a need for consolidation.
Archila has been in contact with City Comptroller Brad Lander, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, and state Senators Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos.
Stringer, who is running once more, remains a contentious figure. When PMG asked if he would apply for WFP support, his campaign spokesperson Sam Raskin indicated, “we’ll decide which endorsements to seek in the coming weeks.”
Archila believes that having more candidates running to the left of Adams could engage additional voters and unify them in an effort to defeat him — or even former Governor Andrew Cuomo, should he decide to enter the race.
However, the influx of candidates may also suggest a party unable to effectively manage its candidates due to its diminishing power since the tenure of former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“I’m a little skeptical they have the weight to hold together those egos in a coordinated fashion,” remarked one aide to a mayoral candidate. “But it’s worth a shot.”
A version of this story first appeared in New York Playbook on Tuesday.
Jessica Kline contributed to this report for TROIB News
Rather than selecting one standout progressive to challenge Mayor Eric Adams next year, the WFP is leaning towards supporting multiple candidates, provided they all agree not to rank Adams.
This strategy can be termed as an anti-endorsement.
According to Ana María Archila, co-executive director of the WFP in New York, if candidates want WFP backing, “they have to actively remind people that they cannot rank Adams if they don’t want Adams as their mayor.”
On Tuesday, the party will begin its endorsement process for the 2025 Democratic primary and will issue a memo outlining its approach to ousting the mayor.
The strategy aims to utilize the advantages of ranked-choice voting, a system that allows primary voters in New York City to select up to five candidates based on their preferences, which was introduced in 2021.
“Candidates have to understand that they cannot win alone in a voting system that is ranked-choice,” Archila emphasized. They require “a strategy to win that is not just self-promotion.”
Reflecting on the previous election cycle, Archila remarked, “the left was very … lefty. Chaotic in its behavior.” The WFP initially backed Scott Stringer as its top candidate, with Dianne Morales and Maya Wiley following in second and third.
However, the party retracted its support for Stringer after he faced decades-old sexual harassment allegations, which he denied. Shortly after, the WFP suspended its endorsement of Morales due to her handling of a unionization effort by her staff.
Ultimately, Wiley, their third choice, became the WFP’s primary endorsement, but her candidacy may have been too late to make a significant impact. She finished third in the primary, and her votes helped propel Adams to victory over Kathryn Garcia when they were redistributed.
“One of the hard lessons of 2021 is you don’t know which campaign is going to collapse,” Archila noted. To combat this uncertainty, she advocates for “unity around the strategy, more than unity around a candidate.”
In addition to encouraging candidates to promote the idea of not ranking Adams, the WFP expects them to demonstrate “a willingness to collaborate” with fellow progressives and prioritize issues related to affordability and the cost of living.
The goal is to elect a mayor who can "stand up to authoritarian forces,” which they believe Adams has failed to do.
In response, a political adviser to Adams, who wished to remain anonymous due to lack of authorization to speak publicly, stated, “New reason, same haters.”
This week, the party will send out an extensive endorsement questionnaire to mayoral candidates. After conducting interviews, they expect to announce a list of “working families champions” in March.
While this won’t be a ranked endorsement, the party may consider establishing a ranking “right before people start voting” if there’s a need for consolidation.
Archila has been in contact with City Comptroller Brad Lander, Assemblymember Zohran Mamdani, and state Senators Zellnor Myrie and Jessica Ramos.
Stringer, who is running once more, remains a contentious figure. When PMG asked if he would apply for WFP support, his campaign spokesperson Sam Raskin indicated, “we’ll decide which endorsements to seek in the coming weeks.”
Archila believes that having more candidates running to the left of Adams could engage additional voters and unify them in an effort to defeat him — or even former Governor Andrew Cuomo, should he decide to enter the race.
However, the influx of candidates may also suggest a party unable to effectively manage its candidates due to its diminishing power since the tenure of former Mayor Bill de Blasio.
“I’m a little skeptical they have the weight to hold together those egos in a coordinated fashion,” remarked one aide to a mayoral candidate. “But it’s worth a shot.”
A version of this story first appeared in New York Playbook on Tuesday.
Jessica Kline contributed to this report for TROIB News
