State Attorney General Letitia James is encouraging Council Speaker Adrienne Adams to run for mayor — in an apparent bid to stop ex-Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s expected comeback bid for City Hall, sources told The Post.
“I spoke to Tish. She’s putting out feelers for Adrienne Adams,” one Democratic elected official said.
“People are looking for an alternative to Cuomo. None of the current candidates are capable of beating Cuomo,” claimed the source, who requested anonymity.
The term-limited council speaker’s name as a potential mayoral contender first seriously surfaced last weekend during the New York State Association of Black, Puerto Rican Hispanic & Asian Legislators Caucus’ annual event in Albany.
James, a fellow Democrat, chatted up the Queens pol during the event, sources said.
But the AG — who is no friend of Cuomo’s — also has been buttonholing prominent Democrats in person to gauge interest in a candidacy for City Hall by the speaker, who has called on Mayor Eric Adams to resign.
The embattled Adams, no relation to the speaker, intends to seek re-election despite calls for his resignation or even removal by Gov. Kathy Hochul amid the controversy over President Trump’s Justice Department moving to dismiss his federal corruption case.
A challenge by Adrienne Adams could siphon support from Cuomo in the black community.
The elected official, who has deep ties to the black community noted, “If it’s not Eric. It’s Cuomo.”
Veteran Queens Assemblywoman Vivian Cook said she’s had conversations with Cuomo, and is backing him.
“Of course I’m going to be with Andrew. I’ve known him since he was a young man,” Cook, 87, said.
James declined to comment when asked about her pushing an Adrienne Adams candidacy.
Others have spoken highly of Adrienne Adams, according to sources — including former Mayor Bill de Blasio, Queens Democratic Party chairman Greg Meeks and civil rights activist Al Sharpton. All declined to comment.
The speaker has led a council that is far-left, particularly on criminal justice issues — including pushing the controversial “How Many Stops” police reporting bill over the objections of the mayor and the NYPD and mounting the successful charge to override City Hall’s veto of the bill.
The Democratic Party insider argued an Adrienne Adams candidacy would have made more sense months ago, but it’s too late now with other candidates in the race, some of whom have already qualified for millions of dollars in matching funds.
Designated petitions to get on the ballot begin Feb. 25, and are due to be submitted at the Board of Elections April 3.
One veteran Queens Democratic lawmaker said she had not heard about Adrienne Adams running for mayor, or spoken to her.
Asked on PIX11 in December whether she would run for mayor, the speaker left her options open.
“As far as my future is concerned I have a lot of options and I’m not saying no to nothing,” Adams said at the time.
James and Cuomo, once friendly, are now rivals.
The AG commissioned the devastating investigative report in 2021 that substantiated accusations leveled against Cuomo by a slew of women including female staffers in violation of harassment laws — findings that forced him to resign.
The three-term Democrat has long denied the accusations.
Cuomo has not yet entered the race, but he’s already been endorsed by the Staten Island Democratic Party and the Village Reform Democratic Club in Greenwich Village.
Candidates running in the June Democratic primary for mayor include city Comptroller Brad Lander, former city Comptroller Scott Stringer, Brooklyn state Sen. Zellnor Myrie, Queens state Sen. Jessica Ramos, Queens Assemblyman Zohran Mamdani and financier Whitney Tilson, among others.
Guardian Angels founder Curtis Sliwa, the 2021 Republican nominee for mayor, is running again to be the GOP standard bearer for mayor.