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NYC Mayor Says Lightfoot’s Loss Is A Wake-Up Call

[Screenshot CNN State of the Union]

Brianna Lyman News and Commentary Writer
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New York City Democratic Mayor Eric Adams said Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that Chicago Democrat Mayor Lori Lightfoot’s defeat is a warning to all politicians.

Lightfoot lost her bid for reelection Tuesday to challenger Paul Vallas. Lightfoot was routinely criticized for the city’s rampant crime problem, with Vallas promising to fire Chicago Police Department Superintendent David Brown and grow the department’s sworn officer staff back to 1990’s levels. Brown voluntarily stepped down Wednesday. A police officer was shot and killed in the line of duty just hours later.

Lightfoot has since blamed her loss on racism and sexism.

“You worked closely together on a range of issues, particularly on questions of crime,” host Dana Bash said. “That is an issue that dominated the election in Chicago. What is your takeaway from her loss?” (RELATED: Tucker Carlson Rips Lori Lightfoot For Blaming Election Loss On Racism, Sexism)

“Well, I think all of our big cities, I like to say, we are three parties: Democrat, Republicans, and mayors. Mayors, we are closer – we’re the closest to the problem. And I stated on a campaign trail and in the city, public safety is a prerequisite to prosperity. Same in Chicago, like New York, and many of our big cities across America. That is why we’re zero focused, double-digit decrease in shooters,” Adams said.

“Double-digit decrease in homicides. We have witnessed this year, particularly in the month of February, all of our index crimes is low, low for the entire year. We are focused on public safety, because people want to be safe. They don’t feel safe and they’re actually safe, you’re going to lose control of your city.”

“Is what happened to her a warning sign for you here in New York?” Bash asked.

“To the contrary! I think it’s a warning sign for the country. Eric Adams has been talking about public safety, not only on the campaign trail, but for the first year,” Adams said. “I showed up at crime scenes. I knew what New Yorkers were saying. And I saw it all over the country. I think if anything, it is really stating that this is what I have been talking about. America, we have to be safe.”

Chicago’s murder rate was 30% higher in 2022 than 2019, while motor vehicle theft complaints were 130% higher during the same time frame, according to police statistics.