NYC Mayor continues pattern of nepotism

AP Photo/Brittainy Newman

As you may recall, shortly after taking office, NYC Mayor Eric Adams hired his brother Bernard to be the NYPD Deputy Commissioner at an eye-popping salary of nearly a quarter million dollars per year. Or at least he tried to. The city’s ethics commission eventually forced the Mayor to put him in a different position with a salary of just one dollar per year. His brother finally grew tired of that gig and left the position in February. But we’ve now learned that only a few weeks later, Adams hired Bernard’s wife Sharon (the Mayor’s sister-in-law) for a $150K gig at City Hall. She’s now a “strategic initiative specialist” (whatever that means) despite having previously worked in the public school system. Some things never change, apparently. (Free Beacon)

Advertisement

New York City Mayor Eric Adams (D.) gave a job paying a six-figure salary to his sister-in-law after an ethics office stopped him from giving one to his brother.

Sharon Adams, wife of the mayor’s brother Bernard Adams, stepped into the role of “strategic initiative specialist” in the city’s Department of Education on March 5, a job that pays as much as $150,000 a year, according to the City. That is more than a 100 percent increase from the job she previously held in the Richmond Public Schools system that paid her less than $73,000 annually.

This is not the first time Adams has tried to fill public-sector positions through nepotism.

I’ve long since abandoned the high – if cautious – hopes I had for Eric Adams when he was first elected. As an ex-cop himself, he talked a tough game on crime and promised to clean up the city. But despite making some welcome policy changes, he’s simply never been able or willing to turn the dial up all the way to (Mayor) Rudy Giuliani levels that were seen in the 90s. To be fair, there have been some improvements and his hands are frequently tied by the City Council, but the Big Apple is still a mess.

Adams’ performance issues have paled in comparison to the stench of corruption that has surrounded his office. The pattern of nepotism on display has been revolting. His former roommate landed a cushy job with a huge salary. Adams and one of his cronies hired each other’s girlfriends for high-paying positions. Another of his pals is making more than $240K to be an “adviser.” The list goes on.

Advertisement

It’s sickening to watch this pattern of people getting elected to public office and then thinking that the piggy bank is open and they can enrich all of their friends and relatives on the taxpayer’s dime, even when those people have few if any qualifications for the positions they are given. That’s not how public service was ever supposed to work. Nobody was ever supposed to go to City Hall (or Congress for that matter) to get rich, to say nothing of enriching their friends and family members.

Of course, why would Adams lose much sleep over this when he has so many examples to draw upon in Washington? We have a member of Congress funneling campaign cash to himself through an LLC. Maxine Waters has become legendary for flushing millions of dollars of campaign cash to her daughter. We’ll never know how many millions Ilhan Omar passed to her husband through his “campaign consulting” firm before they finally called a halt to it, seemingly out of embarrassment. And don’t even get me started on Biden Inc. (That’s probably where the aforementioned Texas congressman got the idea to use an LLC.)

So the unfortunate truth is that Mayor Eric Adams really isn’t all that unusual in the world of American politics. Perhaps he’s perfectly suited for a move to Washington after all. Then again, I probably shouldn’t be giving him any ideas.

Advertisement

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement