POLITICS
Corey Johnson Drops Out of 2021 Mayoral Race
Battered by summertime budget fi ght, speaker exits contest, but vows future in public life
BY MATT TRACY
Citing, among other factors,
recent challenges
with depression, out gay
City Council Speaker
Corey Johnson has exited the
2021 race for mayor one year and
eight months after he announced
he was considering a run for the
city’s top offi ce.
“It was no secret that I had been
considering a run for mayor, and
that I have put my campaign on
pause for the past six months,”
Johnson said in a lengthy written
statement September 24. “I felt
strongly that it was the right thing
to do considering all that our city
has been going through, including
COVID-19, the resulting shutdown
and economic pain, and the long
overdue national reckoning on
race.”
Questions swirled around the
status of Johnson’s candidacy in
the race ever since the 38-yearold
became a prime target of criticism
for his role in leading the City
Council through a contentious
summertime budget battle that ultimately
fell short of activists’ demands
for substantial cuts to the
NYPD budget.
Spurred by the protests that followed
the police killing of George
Floyd in Minneapolis, reform advocates
had pressed for cuts of $1
to $3 billion or more out of a total
police budget of roughly $6 billion,
but the Council falsely asserted
that $1 billion had been trimmed,
when in fact a substantial portion
of that amount was transferred
to other city agencies without a
change in how that money was
spent.
Johnson, who ascended to the
speakership in 2018 at the start
of his second term representing
Manhattan’s District 3, elaborated
on his decision to bow out of next
year’s race by vowing to maintain
his posture as an elected offi cial
unafraid to discuss the impact of
his personal life on his public duties.
“Just as I was open about the
fact that I was considering a run
City Council Speaker Corey Johnson fi rst announced he was exploring a run for mayor last January
when he spoke with reporters outside City Hall near the Brooklyn Bridge.
for mayor, I now want to be open
about the fact that I have made
the diffi cult decision not to run,”
Johnson added. “This challenging
time has led me to rethink how I
can best be of service to this city,
and I have come to the conclusion
that this is not the right path for
me… In the same spirit of openness,
I would also like to add that
I have been dealing with some personal
challenges over the past few
months, namely depression. I am
sharing this because I know from
experience the value of speaking
honestly about one’s struggles.
I’ve been open about my sobriety,
which along with my partner and
mother, has been instrumental to
me during this diffi cult time, and
my HIV status…”
MATT TRACY
Johnson closed his statement by
emphasizing that his exit from the
race does not represent the end of
his public life, though he did not
elaborate on his political future.
Ken Sherrill, an out gay professor
emeritus of political science at
Hunter College, believes Johnson
was wise to exit the race now rather
than run the risk of suffering
a defeat next year that could ultimately
have dampened his future
chances at elected offi ce. Should
a local State Senate seat open up
or if Congressmembers Jerrold Nadler
or Carolyn Maloney eventually
decides to retire, Sherrill believes
Johnson could opt to pursue one of
those routes.
“That might be congenial to
Corey,” Sherrill said, underscoring
the fact that previous City Council
speakers have struggled to regain
their footing in political races after
leaving offi ce. “You don’t see anyone
who recovered politically, with the
possible exception of Chris Quinn,
who has a non-elected role” — as
CEO of Women in Need (WIN), a
homeless shelter provider, as well
as a frequent informal advisor to
Governor Andrew Cuomo.
Sherrill added, “The track record
of speakers running for mayor isn’t
good, and some of that I think is
that the skill set of being a legislative
leader is very different from
the skill set of being a high level
executive leader. Johnson could
see himself being a very infl uential
legislator on the state or national
level if he didn’t run for mayor.”
George Arzt, who served as a
spokesperson for the late Mayor
Ed Koch and also formerly worked
for City Comptroller Scott Stringer,
said Johnson’s withdrawal from
the race is “unfortunate” considering
that, in Arzt’s view, the speaker
would have been a strong contender.
“I understand his wishes,” Arzt
told Gay City News. “Not everyone
wants to go through a bruising
nine-month battle, but I’m sure
he’s not retiring from public life
and we’ll see him running for other
public posts… I believe he’s eyeing
some position for the future.”
The Lambda Independent Democrats
of Brooklyn (LID), a queer
political club led by Jared Arader,
also responded to Johnson’s departure
from the race by voicing
respect for his decision.
“These are hard times for the
people of New York City,” the club
said in a written statement. “LID
recognizes Corey’s commitment
to a better New York City, and acknowledges
how personal this decision
was for him. We look forward
to supporting a mayoral candidate
that will commit to working hard
for the people of our borough and
city.”
The Stonewall Democratic Club
of New York City declined comment
➤ COREY JOHNSON, continued on p.7
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