What Happens if Eric Adams Resigns or Leaves? Who Could Be NYC Mayor?

Mayor Eric Adams’s political future is in doubt after federal prosecutors indicted him on corruption charges in one of several inquiries ensnaring City Hall. Amid calls to resign, Mr. Adams has insisted he is innocent and that he is staying in office as New York City’s mayor.

Five main ways Adams could leave office

Mr. Adams, a Democrat, could decide not to run for re-election, but finish his term, which ends in December 2025. If he runs, he could lose to another candidate in the Democratic primary next June.

Three other ways Mr. Adams could leave office include:

The mayor could resign on his own. He could face pressure from key power brokers, or decide that it is in the city’s best interest for him to step aside.

Or, Gov. Kathy Hochul could remove Mr. Adams under the city charter. The complicated process is untested. So far, she has urged Mr. Adams to prove he can lead the city and to remove city officials under federal investigation, several of whom have departed.

Or, a five-member group, known as a committee on mayoral inability, could be formed to remove him under the city charter. An untried and complex process, it is one even critics of the mayor say is unlikely to happen because his appointees would be involved.

The members would be:

• the city comptroller, Brad Lander
• the City Council speaker, Adrienne Adams
• the longest serving borough president, Donovan Richards
• the city’s corporation counsel, who is expected to be Muriel Goode-Trufant
• and a deputy mayor selected by the mayor.

Four of the five members would need to decide Adams was incapable of serving.

In these three scenarios, Jumaane Williams, the current public advocate, would become acting mayor.

The process of choosing a new mayor

If Mr. Adams leaves office before his term ends, what happens next depends on the date he steps down.

A special election would be held to serve out the remainder of Mr. Adams’s term. It would be non-partisan with ranked-choice voting, a system where voters select multiple candidates in order of preference. Voters would have less time to get to know the candidates, and name recognition could be key. A regular election would have separate Democratic and Republican primaries, which also use ranked choice voting, and the winners of those would face off in a general election.

People who hope to succeed Adams

Four Democrats are already running against Mr. Adams in next year’s election for mayor, and more candidates are likely to enter the race if Mr. Adams is further weakened, or if a special election takes place.