Pre-Council
Before holding elective office,Adams worked professionally in corporate executive training,human capital management,and child care training. During 2012–2017,she was a three-term chairperson of Queens Community Board 12. [1] She was appointed to the Queens Public Library Board of Trustees in 2015, [4] and appointed to Governor Andrew Cuomo's Local Planning Committee (LPC) for the Jamaica Downtown Revitalization Initiative in 2014. She once served as co-chair of the Jamaica Now Leadership Council,established in 2015. [5]
In 2016,Adams ran unsuccessfully for New York State Senate against incumbent James Sanders Jr. [3]
New York City Council
Adams won her 2017 City Council primary with 39% of the vote (3,499 votes). Her opponent Richard David got 32% of the vote (2,822 votes) and her other opponent Hettie Powell received 29% (2,589 votes). Adams went on to win the general election with 86% of the vote. [2] During her first term she was elected by her colleagues in the Black,Latino and Asian Caucus to serve as co-chair of the caucus,and at various points also served as chair of the Subcommittee on Landmarks,Public Sitings,and Dispositions,and later chair of the Committee on Public Safety. [1]
In January 2022,the New York City Council elected Adams as Speaker. She is the second politician from the borough of Queens to serve as Speaker (Peter Vallone Sr. was the first Speaker). She is the third woman and the first Black person to serve as Speaker. [6] Her election was a political defeat for newly elected mayor Eric Adams,a fellow centrist Democrat and high-school classmate but no relation,who had privately been trying to win support for rival Speaker candidate Francisco Moya. [7] [8]
Speaker Adams has declined to take up legislation opposing conversion of the health insurance of most NYC municipal retirees to Medicare Advantage,in place of traditional Medicare with Medigap supplemental coverage. New York politicians,retirees and their former unions have been divided on the budget-cutting conversion to Medicare Advantage since Mayor Bill De Blasio and the Municipal Labor Committee first proposed it in 2021. Court challenges were continuing into 2025. [9] [10] [11] [12]
In December 2024,Speaker Adams and 30 other Council members approved a modified version of Mayor Adams's zoning reform proposal called "City of Yes for Housing Opportunity". Promptly signed by the mayor,the bill authorized the construction and conversion of an estimated 80,000 additional housing units in New York City over 15 years. [13] [14] Nevertheless,Speaker Adams and Mayor Adams have increasingly diverged on issues facing the city,especially regarding budget priorities,criminal justice policies,and commissioner appointments. [15] [16] In February 2025,after four deputy mayors resigned in the wake of criminal corruption charges against the mayor,Speaker Adams joined several other New York officials calling for his resignation or removal. [17]
New York City Council members are limited to two consecutive four-year terms,so Adams is ineligible for re-election when her second term concludes at the end of 2025. For her successor in the 28th district,she has endorsed her chief of staff,Tyrell Hankerson. [18]
