Welcome back, everyone. Thanks for joining us From the Lobby for our Monday Morning Minute, the podcast version of our popular weekly newsletter. Each week we check in with Jack, managing partner at O’Donnell & Associates and author of our Monday Morning Memo to take a deeper dive into the topics written about this week.
Summary of this Episode
Guests
- Jack O’Donnell: Managing Partner at O’Donnell and Associates
- Joanne Pasceri: Director of Communications at O’Donnell and Associates
Major Topics Covered
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- Indictment of NYC Mayor Eric Adams: Discuss the recent indictment of Mayor Adams, exploring the charges brought against him and the potential legal and political ramifications for New York City governance.
- Impact on City Administration: Analyze how the indictment might affect the functioning of the city’s administration, including possible disruptions in policy implementation and public services.
- Public and Political Reactions: Examine the responses from the public, city officials, and political figures, noting any calls for resignation, support statements, or demands for further investigations.
- Historical Context: Provide context by referencing previous instances where New York City mayors or other major city officials faced legal challenges, comparing the current situation to past events.
- Future Implications for NYC Politics: Speculate on the potential long-term effects of the indictment on upcoming elections, policy directions, and the overall political climate in New
Full Transcript of the Episode
Note: This is a generated transcript. Please excuse any typos.
Joanna Pasceri 00:00
Welcome back, everyone. Thanks for joining us from the lobby for our Monday morning minute, the podcast version of our popular weekly newsletter. Each week we check in with Jack, managing partner at O’Donnell and Associates, and author of our Monday morning memo to take a deeper dive into the topics written about this week, the bombshell indictment against the New York City Mayor tops our memo on September 30, let’s bring in Jack. This is the first time a sitting mayor of New York City has been indicted. What does this mean for the city the entire state?
Jack O’Donnell 00:34
What a good question. I mean, you can’t underestimate how important this is. I think that the city drives so much of what happens in the state. The real answer is we don’t know what’s going to happen next. Eric Adams came into office. A lot of us know him from his time in Albany or his time as Brooklyn Borough President, his win as mayor as the triumph of that sort of centrist part of the party that’s focused on making government work, focused on public safety, quality of life, a number of these issues and a lot of that’s sort of in peril here, and where it goes remains to be seen, right?
And so that’s where I think this has to play out for a little while. This is just one of, we believe, four investigations that are swirling around the mayor or swirling around some of the people near him. So while this is a really big development, there’s still a lot more to come.
Joanna Pasceri 01:38
If Adams decides to resign, what happens next?
Joanna Pasceri 01:41
You mentioned in the memo that Governor Hochul does have the authority to remove Mayor Adams if he doesn’t resign on his own. Do you see her exercising this power?
Jack O’Donnell 01:41
Jumani Williams, the public advocate, would become the acting mayor, and then, depending on the timing, we would be into next year’s general election cycle, which is a primary in June and a general in November. But if he resigns before a certain date, there could be a special election. So that would shake things up, but so far, he said this weekend, I’m not going to resign. I’m going to continue to rain. So more of that to come.
Jack O’Donnell 02:20
I don’t think so at this point again. I think it’s something that the governor and her team will look into. Though, we did see George Pataki when he was governor. Did remove the Bronx da again, these are accusations, and I don’t think until either they get a lot worse or there are more accusations, I don’t think the governor wants to step in, step in here, and interfere either with the judicial process or also with the electoral process, so I think she’s watching it really closely. But I think we’re all waiting for the next shoe or shoes to drop.
Joanna Pasceri 02:58
Turning now to Washington, where a budget mandate has been approved, funding the federal government until December. What kind of stress does this create at the end of the year?
Jack O’Donnell 03:08
A lot we are going to have a really knock them down, bang them up. Lame duck session. I think that a number of legislators in the Senate and in the House of Representatives are kind of just like the rest of us and watching to see what happens. There are realistic scenarios where Republicans control the presidency and both houses, and there are even scenarios where Democrats who control both houses and the presidency.
So I think a lot of folks are looking to see how that plays out, and then determine kind of what they’re willing to do, and then how far that’ll take us and what that looks like. So not just those of us watching from the outside and holding our breaths on election day, but even most of the elected officials doing the same.
Joanna Pasceri 03:58
On the campaign trail. The VP candidates will face each other in a debate tomorrow.
What are your predictions?
Jack O’Donnell 04:05
I think this is going to be really feisty and and spicy. VPS are kind of the attack dogs of the campaign, and that is 100% true again this year. JD Vance has not pulled any punches talking about Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and vice versa. Walls has really kind of rose to prominence with his dismissal of JD Vance and Donald Trump as weird, and he’s had a number of other really kind of biting remarks in in different rallies and on the campaign trail.
So I think this is going to be really sort of fun to watch, and especially for those of us who live and breathe this. And that said, I’d be really shocked if it made any impact on the overall numbers and and the state of the race.
Joanna Pasceri 04:58
Favorite read this week. Our news links.
Jack O’Donnell 05:01
Well, to that end, we had a couple stories about the Montana Senate race. And this is one of the smallest by population states in the country, and is going to determine, to a large extent, how the country goes. You’ve got John tester is very well liked in Montana, but seems to be not doing as well with the Montana population that has grown with a lot of folks moving there sort of post pandemic. So whether he can prevail, whether things like an abortion referendum that is on the on the ballot there, whether that’ll drive enough Democratic turnout for him to survive, he’s never, never won in a landslide, but that’s a big part of what we’re watching for who will control the United States Senate next year.
Joanna Pasceri 05:48
Jack, thanks for the deeper dive into this week’s Monday morning memo. Are you getting our memo in your inbox each week? It’s easy to subscribe. Just head to our website at odonnellsolutions.com that’s odonnellsolutions.com thanks for joining us. We’ll be back from the lobby with Jack O’Donnell.
