Mayor Adams returns focus to state bail laws, days after the election

What should Democrats make of the results? [FORWARD TO A FRIEND]( [VIEW IN BROWSER]( [DONATE]( [WNYC Politics Brief] [Ad: New Jersey Symphony's 2022/2023 centennial season with yo yo ma]( Sponsored Message Mayor Adams returns focus to state bail laws, days after election [By Elizabeth Kim and Jon Campbell]( [Eric Adams behind a podium] Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock Two days after watching the Democratic Party suffer key congressional losses in New York and a too-close-for-comfort margin of victory in the governor’s race, Mayor Eric Adams renewed his call for Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers to [make another round of changes to the state's bail laws](. Adams told reporters last Thursday that he wanted the state to further expand the list of crimes that require bail for repeat offenders to include all grand larceny, burglary and robbery charges. (Repeat offenders who cause harm to another person or property — including theft, under [a revision to the bail laws passed in the spring]( — can already face cash bail in most cases.) The mayor later added that the electoral performance by Republicans — who made gains in [Long Island congressional races]( and [state-level contests in southern Brooklyn]( — should prompt a "wake-up call" to Democrats. "Too many people in Albany have dug in," Adams said during a recent MSNBC interview. "To not recalibrate is a big mistake." From the start of his mayoralty, bail reform has pitted Adams, a centrist Democrat, against both Hochul and members of his party, including Democratic state legislative leaders who have pointed out that [available data suggests no clear link]( between the rise in crime and changes to the state’s bail laws. In her [first post-win interview with WIVB-TV]( in her hometown of Buffalo, Hochul declined to commit to making any further changes to the bail laws, though she did say she is "always open to improving our laws." Any changes to the bail laws would have to be approved by the state Legislature, which will remain controlled by a huge Democratic majority after Senate and Assembly Democrats were able to ward off the type of red wave that engulfed their congressional colleagues on Long Island. And while Adams and [other Democrats]( are pointing to close races as evidence that the party needs a different approach to crime, others accused the mayor of continuing to fan fears around public safety at a moment when crime is still nowhere near historic highs. "The sooner we stop repeating false Republican talking points, the sooner we can flip these seats back blue," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez [tweeted](. --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- [Ad: New Jersey Symphony's 2022/2023 centennial season with music director xian zhang]( Sponsored Message --------------------------------------------------------------- More political headlines from today: [Orthodox Jewish voters in a gym in Brooklyn] [Many in NYC's Orthodox neighborhoods flipped for Zeldin as yeshiva school oversight strengthens]( In Orthodox Jewish areas of South Williamsburg, a majority of voters went for Republican Lee Zeldin after mostly supporting former Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s campaign in 2018. [map of NYC neighborhoods colored and shaded based on votes] [Here's how every NYC neighborhood voted in the governor's race]( Our maps show how New York’s Republicans managed to pick up new supporters, mostly in Brooklyn and Queens, since the last election for governor in 2018. [a Dominion voting machine] [Mercer County, N.J. clerk calls to investigate voting scanners after Election Day 'glitch']( The Mercer County Clerk said she would work with the county prosecutor to see if the problem with their Dominion voting machines was based on error or "intentionally done to create chaos." --------------------------------------------------------------- 🗳️ --------------------------------------------------------------- [Ad: New Jersey Symphony's 2022/2023 centennial season with yo yo ma]( Sponsored Message [the logo for The People's Guide to Power] [How'd it go in New York and around the country?]( WNYC/Gothamist senior political reporter Brigid Bergin hosts a conversation about the results of the 2022 midterms and where we go from here. [LISTEN]( Support WNYC + Gothamist Make a donation to support local, independent journalism. Your contributions are our largest source of funding and pays for essential political coverage and more. [DONATE]( [Facebook]( [Facebook]( [Twitter]( [Twitter]( [Instagram]( [Instagram]( [WNYC]( [WQXR]( [NJPR]( [GOTHAMIST]( [WNYC STUDIOS]( [THE GREENE SPACE]( Copyright © New York Public Radio. 160 Varick Street, New York, NY 10013 All rights reserved. [Terms of Use.]( Want to change how you receive these emails? You can update your [preferences]( or [unsubscribe]( from this list