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Meet Eric Adams’s Inner Circle

His key aides include three longtime advisers, his campaign
manager and a Brooklyn power broker.
Give this article 11

By Emma G. Fitzsimmons and Katie Glueck

Published July 22, 2021 Updated Oct. 4, 2021

Tracey Collins
Longtime partner
Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn Jordan Coleman
Brooklyn Democratic leader Son

Peter Aschkenasy Vito R. Pitta

Key supporter Campaign lawyer

The Rev. Herbert Daughtry Matthew Rey

Early mentor Political strategist

Billde Blasio Ben Tulchin

Current mayor His pollster

Nathan Smith
Bratton
Bill
Political strategist Jason Ralston
Former police Democratic strategist
commissioner and ad maker

Sheena Wright John Lapp

President of the Democratic strategist
United Way of Frank Carone Evan Thies
Prominent lawyer Communications and ad maker
New York City and Adams confidant adviser

Eric Adams
David C. Banks Menashe Shapiro
Education adviser Rapid response and
strategic adviser

Ashley Sharpton Tiffany Raspberry

Key endorser Lobbyist, friend
and adviser
Katie Moore Ingrid P. Lewis-Martin
Campaign manager Deputy Brooklyn
The Rev. Al Sharpton borough president Ruben Diaz Jr.
Civil rights activist Key endorser

Pragya Nandini Donovan Richards Jr.

Deputy campaign Key endorser
manager
Justin Brannan Ydanis Rodriguez
City Council ally Key ally
Adrienne Adams Laurie A. Cumbo
City Council ally Key ally

By Taylor Johnston

More than a decade ago, when Eric Adams was a New York state
senator, he met with three key advisers at Balboa, a restaurant in
Brooklyn, to plot his political future.

Over plates of Caribbean food, Mr. Adams and his associates

charted a path designed to take him to City Hall.

Mr. Adams began to set up “mayor classes” — meeting with dozens

of local government veterans to learn about the major issues facing
the city — and was twice elected as Brooklyn borough president
before winning the Democratic primary for mayor in June. In
overwhelmingly Democratic New York, he is the heavy favorite to
win in the general election in November.

Today, Mr. Adams still relies on those three advisers as part of his
small inner circle: Nathan Smith, a political strategist; Evan Thies,
a communications consultant; and Ingrid P. Lewis-Martin, a
longtime aide. His campaign manager, Katie Moore, and Frank
Carone, a Brooklyn power broker, also played pivotal roles in his
ascent to become the Democratic nominee for mayor.

As Mr. Adams, 60, begins formulating what lies ahead for him and
the city, he will be relying on these advisers, as well as new allies
who supported him over the last year as he built a winning
coalition of unions and Black and Latino voters outside Manhattan.

His network includes people he knows from Brooklyn politics and

from his years in Albany, union officials, religious leaders,
campaign staffers, wealthy donors , members of Mayor Bill de
Blasio’s orbit and longtime mentors.

Here is a guide to the allies who could help shape his

administration and his agenda.

The Inner Circle

Nathan Smith, political strategist

Mr. Smith is a founding partner of Red Horse Strategies, a

consulting firm. He and the firm have worked on behalf of
prominent members of Congress, including Representatives Grace
Meng and Gregory Meeks, and he has assisted Mr. de Blasio’s
initiatives . Mr. Smith also has experience in labor politics. He is one
of Mr. Adams’s most trusted political advisers.

Evan Thies, communications adviser

Mr. Thies helped Mr. Adams craft a campaign message that

focused on his personal narrative. He is a founder of Pythia Public
Affairs, a communications firm, and has worked for elected officials
including Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo on his 2006 attorney general
race, and businesses that include Lime, the scooter company. Mr.
Thies also helped shape Mr. Adams’s policy platform.

Ingrid P. Lewis-Martin, deputy Brooklyn borough president

Ms. Lewis-Martin has worked with Mr. Adams for years, including
as his chief of staff when he was a state senator, and now as his
deputy in Brooklyn Borough Hall. She is regarded in some corners
as fiercely protective of that relationship and of her role in Mr.
Adams’s world — a dynamic that can at times cause friction,
according to some who have dealt with her. But she is seen as
having Mr. Adams’s ear and is likely to join his administration.

Katie Moore, campaign manager

Ms. Moore was the political director of the Hotel Trades Council, a
powerful union that represents hotel workers and whose
endorsement was critical for Mr. Adams. Mr. Adams respects her
political savvy and calm demeanor, and she could join him at City
Hall.

Frank Carone, prominent lawyer and Adams confidant

Mr. Carone, a longtime counsel to the Brooklyn Democratic Party

with a reputation as an old-school power broker, has been an ally of
Mr. de Blasio’s. He is politically influential, though some of his
dealings over the years have drawn scrutiny. He has been a key
donor, adviser and friend to Mr. Adams — Mr. Adams has worked
out of office space belonging to Mr. Carone’s firm, an arrangement
that Mr. Adams had to account for during the campaign.

Other Key Players

Tracey Collins, his longtime partner

A former school principal, Ms. Collins is a high-ranking official at

the city’s Department of Education. Ms. Collins, who co-owns an
apartment in Fort Lee, N.J., with Mr. Adams, has not appeared
with him on the campaign trail and is unlikely to join him at Gracie
Mansion if he is elected. But she is his most important adviser on
schools, and Mr. Adams published a book last year about their
plant-based diet.

Jordan Coleman, his son

Mr. Adams is close with his 25-year-old son. Mr. Coleman has lived
at times with his father in Brooklyn, where he studied for a
master’s degree at Brooklyn College. Mr. Adams asks his son for
advice about what is important to younger New Yorkers.

Vito R. Pitta, lawyer and lobbyist

Mr. Pitta, a lawyer for the Adams campaign, is a partner at the law
firm Pitta LLP and works for a lobbying firm that has lobbied Mr.
Adams on behalf of clients — an arrangement that has been
criticized by government watchdogs.

Matthew Rey, political strategist

A partner at Red Horse Strategies with roots in New York politics,

Mr. Rey advised Mr. Adams and was well regarded — even by rival
campaigns — as a numbers expert, with a background in political
targeting and strategy.

Key advisers from the national stage include Ben Tulchin , who was
Mr. Adams’s pollster and previously was Senator Bernie Sanders’s
presidential campaign pollster; and Jason Ralston and John Lapp,
two veteran national Democratic strategists who made Mr.
Adams’s television ads.

Menashe Shapiro, strategic communications consultant and rapid-

adviser

Mr. Shapiro, a New York City consultant with a background in

research, advised Mr. Adams and was a vocal defender of his
candidacy. He also helped the candidate forge relationships with
important constituencies, including with Orthodox Jewish leaders.

Tiffany Raspberry , a lobbyist, is a friend and adviser. She founded

York Group Associates, a lobbying firm, and is part of a collective
of Black women in politics from Brooklyn who call themselves the
Olori Sisterhood .

Ruben Diaz Jr. , the Bronx borough president, was a key ally whose
endorsement helped Mr. Adams in the Bronx and with Latino
voters. Donovan Richards Jr. , the Queens borough president, was
also an important surrogate in a critical borough.

Ydanis Rodriguez and Laurie A. Cumbo, City Council members

who were early endorsers, campaigned with Mr. Adams and
criticized his rivals at times. Both could serve in an Adams
administration. Mr. Adams is also aligned with Adrienne Adams of
Queens and Justin Brannan of Brooklyn, both of whom endorsed
him in the primary. Mr. Adams could support one of them to
become the next Council speaker.

Pragya Nandini , Mr. Adams’s deputy campaign manager, advised

him on policy and helped Mr. Thies create a 100-point plan for
improving the city . A former Deloitte consultant, she is relatively
new to politics.

The Rev. Al Sharpton and Mr. Adams have known each other for
decades and worked together on such issues as opposing the Police
Department’s reliance on stop-and-frisk tactics. Although Mr.
Sharpton did not endorse Mr. Adams in the Democratic primary, he
spoke highly of him and did not endorse another candidate. His
daughter, Ashley Sharpton , endorsed Mr. Adams and was an
enthusiastic supporter, expressing outrage when two rivals
campaigned together.

David C. Banks , president of the Eagle Academy Foundation, a

prep school network, is a key adviser to Mr. Adams on education.
While Mr. Adams is viewed as friendly toward charter schools, Mr.
Banks’s schools offer a hybrid example : Poor children get extra
resources within the public system, using union teachers.

Sheena Wright , president of the United Way of New York City, is a

powerful leader in the nonprofit world and has worked with Mr. de
Blasio and Mr. Cuomo on government initiatives. She is likely to
play a key role in an Adams administration.

Bill Bratton , a former police commissioner under Mr. de Blasio and

Rudolph W. Giuliani, advises Mr. Adams on policing. Mr. Bratton
and Mr. Adams both worked on the transit police force and have
made similar comments on national television about balancing
public safety and police reform.

Mayor Bill de Blasio privately backed Mr. Adams in the

Democratic primary and is expected to serve as an adviser to Mr.
Adams if he becomes mayor. The two leaders talk frequently, rose
in the same Brooklyn political circles and share many of the same
supporters, including unions.

Mr. Adams is close to a number of religious leaders from different

backgrounds. The Rev. Dr. Herbert Daughtry, a prominent Black
minister and longtime activist, was an early mentor of Mr.
Adams’s, encouraging him to join the police force to combat
misconduct from within. Mr. Adams also has close ties to a number
of leaders in Brooklyn’s Orthodox Jewish community.

Peter Aschkenasy , a restaurateur, was chairman of One Brooklyn

Fund, a nonprofit that Mr. Adams used to raise money to promote
himself as Brooklyn borough president without the spending limits
that city law imposes on political campaigns. Mr. Aschkenasy
worked for former Mayor Edward I. Koch.

Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn , a state assemblywoman and chair of

the Kings County Democratic Party, has worked closely with Mr.
Adams in Brooklyn politics and endorsed him.

Emma G. Fitzsimmons is the City Hall bureau chief, covering politics in New York City.
She previously covered the transit beat and breaking news. @ emmagf
Katie Glueck is chief Metro political correspondent. Previously, she was the lead reporter
for The Times covering the Biden campaign. She also covered politics for McClatchy’s
Washington bureau and for Politico. @ katieglueck
A version of this article appears in print on July 23, 2021 , Section A , Page 12 of the New York edition with the
headline: Meet the Likely Next Mayor’s Political Team . Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe

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