Former New York City Council Speaker Adrienne Adams is no stranger to making history: She led the most diverse and the first women-majority council in New York City history as the chamber’s first-ever African American speaker. As the first woman to have represented her district in Queens, she fought tirelessly to address the many issues impacting her constituents, who ranged from Jamaica and Richmond Hill to Rochdale Village and South Ozone Heights. This included fighting against senseless gun violence that posed a direct threat to too many children and families just trying to live their lives. Now, as she works to take her fight statewide and make history again as part of New York’s first all-woman ticket, she’s determined to keep building on this progress and shepherding in a safer future for every Empire State resident.

During her tenure on the New York City Council, Speaker Adams made public safety a top priority. In the wake of the United States Supreme Court’s dangerous and irresponsible ruling in NYSRPA v. Bruen, which struck down New York’s concealed carry law, Speaker Adams sponsored and joined her colleagues in passing a measure to expand the list of sensitive locations where firearms are restricted. Like many New Yorkers, she is deeply alarmed by the rise in hate-based violence in recent years from coast to coast. In response, she formed the council’s Task Force to Combat Hate, which worked to bring people of all backgrounds together from diverse communities to develop policies and initiatives focused on improving community safety. Knowing that gun violence cannot be solved with a one size fits all approach, Speaker Adams also made record investments in community-based solutions designed to address the root causes of our nation’s epidemic. In particular, she expanded support for crime victims in communities that experience high levels of violence but are underserved by traditional victim services—while also securing funding to establish New York State’s first four Trauma Recovery Centers and creating a new $5.1 million budget initiative to fund community safety and victim services at the neighborhood level. 

The choice New York voters face at the ballot box this fall is clear—and it’s imperative they send leaders like Speaker Adrienne Adams to Albany, who will always put their safety first and fight to keep the Empire State moving in the right direction. With her helping lead the way on gun violence prevention statewide as New York’s next lieutenant governor—just as she did as one of the Big Apple’s most transformative local leaders in recent history—we know a safer future is within reach.

We are proud to endorse Adrienne Adams for lieutenant governor of New York.