Deputy Max Rose speaks to the constituents. | Mary Altaffer / AP photo
NEW YORK – Former deputy Max Rose will not run for New York City this year.
The Staten Island Democrat withdrew on Sunday, several weeks after opening an account with the city’s Campaign Finance Council and announcing that he was exploring a candidate for mayor.
“After serious consideration, I will not run for mayor of New York this year,” he said in a statement on Sunday.
Rose, a veteran of the Army, turned his attention to City Hall after losing his candidacy for re-election for a second term in Congress, defeated by Congresswoman Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican.
But he faced a large field of rivals and some electoral mathematical difficulties: his base on Staten Island and southern Brooklyn has one of the lowest appearances in the Democratic primaries. And the moderate positions he took in Congress may have put him at odds with the main Democratic electoral blocs in other parts of the city.
“I ask all candidates to recognize that in the five neighborhoods, no one believes that the City Hall is on the side of the working class. People are scared and unsure whether the New York they love will still exist in the years to come, ”said Rose. “The next mayor cannot just balance the budget, he or she must build a social contract that leaves no one behind. New York City can set an example of government for the rest of the world. “
He gave little insight into his political future, but said he and his wife Leigh hope to adopt a baby this year. Their son Miles was born last spring.
“Although I am not a candidate for mayor in this cycle, I am not going anywhere in the struggle to make our city and country keep its promise,” he said.
Rose lost the dispute dispute by Congress in November after her opponent, Malliotakis, attacked him for participating in a Black Lives Matter protest. Criticism of Mayor Bill de Blasio was also highlighted in this dispute, with Rose running an ad declaring in full: “Bill de Blasio is the worst mayor in the history of New York City. That’s the whole ad. “
With Rose out of contention, candidates for mayor include attorney Maya Wiley, former sanitation commissioner Kathryn Garcia, city controller Scott Stringer, Brooklyn neighborhood president Eric Adams, former HUD secretary Shaun Donovan, city council member Carlos Menchaca, former veteran services commissioner Loree Sutton, former non-profit executive Dianne Morales and former Citigroup vice president Ray McGuire.
Former presidential candidate Andrew Yang ran and was spotted last week on locations around Brooklyn filming what could be an ad video.