First Lady Chirlane McCray said she won’t run for Brooklyn Borough President, ruling out her long-rumored move from Gracie Mansion to Borough Hall in a Thursday evening television interview.
“It was a difficult decision, I’ve thought about running for Brooklyn Borough President, I’ve thought about it long and hard and decided that in this urgent moment there’s so much work to be done right now, right here where I am,” McCray told NY1 on Oct. 15.
The wife of Mayor Bill de Blasio said she decided to focus on the many tasks at hand for City Hall amid the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and the pandemic’s devastating toll on the Five Boroughs.
“The pandemic has devastated so many families and people are hurting and I want to make sure that New Yorkers have all the services they need and our city comes back stronger than ever after this crisis,” so McCray.
When asked by NY1 anchor Cheryl Wills if she plans to run for any other political office, McCray declined to give specifics, saying only time will tell.
“I don’t know what the future holds for me at this moment, there’s a lot of uncertainty,” Herroner said. “My focus is on the work that I’m doing right now, gonna continue that focus that brings me joy and satisfaction.”
The politician’s exit leaves a field of several well-established candidates looking to succeed incumbent Eric Adams in 2021, such as councilmen Robert Cornegy (D–Bedford-Stuyvesant), Antonio Reynoso (D–Bushwick), and Mathieu Eugene (D–Flatbush).
Assemblymember Jo Anne Simon launched her campaign for beep on Oct. 1 with an emphasis of having a woman occupy the office ending a run of 19 consecutive men who have occupied the seat at Borough Hall since the great City of Brooklyn was incorporated as one of just five boroughs in 1898.
Other than the state legislator, the only other women remaining in the race are former Bushwick Council candidate Kim Council and Community Board 17 member Pearlene Fields, according to the most recent filings with the New York City Campaign Finance Board.
The rumor mill for her beep bid went into high gear earlier this year just before the pandemic hit, when McCray became more active in the borough and dropped hints of a possible run to local media outlets, leading some pols to describe it as Brooklyn’s worst-kept secret.
Around the time, she launched a $9 million taxpayer-funded mental health initiative to connect first-time parents in Brooklyn to various services, along with a podcast with Fort Greene arts organization Bric called “Thrive with Chirlane McCray,” prompting Reynoso to denounce the moves as an “obviously political ploy,” Politico reported.
